Great Shopping Experiences

A study by the Jay H. Baker Retail Initiative at the Wharton School, the Verde Group and the Retail Council of Canada called Discovering WOW – A Study of Great Retail Shopping Experiences in North America (which can be purchased for $2,500) has discovered — brace yourself — that 50% of all shoppers have experienced truly great “WOW” shopping trip.

Yet even when the earth moves, it doesn’t always translate into customer loyalty. Of the 26 “great shopping experiences” assessed in the study, less than 50% resulted in improved customer retention. The “Wow” experience happens often (52% of shoppers), and recently (35% within the last 6 months), usually falling into five distinct categories:

• Engagement - being polite, genuinely caring and interested in helping, acknowledging and listening

• Executional Excellence - patiently explaining and advising, checking stock, helping find products, having product knowledge, providing unexpected product quality

• Brand Experience - exciting store design/atmosphere, consistently great product quality, making customers feel they’re special and that they always get a deal

• Expediting - being sensitive to customers’ time and long check-out lines, being proactive in helping speed up the process

• Problem Recovery - helping resolve and compensate for problems, upgrading quality and ensuring complete satisfaction

Not surprisingly, the study found customers who have had a “WOW” experience 75% more loyal to that store than those who didn’t get a tingle, but “Brand Experience” and “Engagement” turn out to be the only elements that significantly built loyalty with “Brand Experience” the most important (40% more so than any other factor). Interestingly, stores had little trouble delivering “Engagement” elements, and did well with the others—with the notable exception of “Brand Experience,” the most crucial for building customer retention (see Appendix Item #1).

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