The Customer-Centric Store: An IBM Report

Historic photo of People's Drug Store #5, located on the 800 block of H Street NE. Photo from the Library of Congress.

Good news and bad news for neighborhood commercial districts-independent stores. People want quality personalized experiences. Are we living up to those expectations?
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Retailers Offering a "One Size Fits All" Shopping Experience Will Lose Customer Loyalty

Shoppers Are Turned Off by Unhelpful Employees, a Disorganized Store and No Differentiation in Services, Products or Atmosphere, According to a New IBM Survey

Retailers will lose shopper loyalty unless they differentiate themselves in the eyes of consumers, according to a new IBM Survey of American shoppers. Those surveyed say lack of distinction in services, products and store atmosphere, as well as unhelpful employees, all top the reasons why they take their business elsewhere.

Retailers offering the same level of service and the same products as other retailers turn off more than half of all shoppers who have no customer loyalty to specific retailers, according to the IBM Survey. Forty-three percent of all respondents don't like retailers that have employees who are not helpful. Shoppers also tend to stay away from retailers that look and feel the same (46 percent) and have disorganized stores (31 percent).

As for the reasons that shoppers do chose specific retailers, store location and price aren't the only reasons they cited. According to the IBM Survey, consumers prefer retail stores where they are recognized as individuals, products are easy to find, and the employees are knowledgeable. Eight out of 10 shoppers (81 percent) are loyal to certain retailers rather than others, citing helpfulness of employees (34 percent) and a well-organized store (32 percent) as key reasons for going back.

Download The Customer-Centric Store: An IBM Report.
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Also, I forgot about a report that came out last fall, "Challenges for the Future: The Rebirth of Small Independent Retail in America," is another study, with a lot of great case studies, and practical advice that is well worth reading. For a summary, check out "Summary of Nov. 11 Media Teleconference on Independent Retail Study." This project was sponsored by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.

I have put links to both of these reports in the "Must Read Reports" section of links in the sidebar. I will say the IBM study, as you can imagine, focuses more on technology in building the customer experience.

It's not all technology--it's great products, great service, and tying them together in ways that are interesting and useful for the customer.