Businesses Need to Start to Understand the Changing Customer

It is ever more apparent that consumer attitudes and behaviors are shaping the future of retail. To add to this, considerable disruption has taken place in retail as a result of the pandemic, businesses must be up to speed on what customers want now.

According to Rafael Lourenco, EVP & Partner at ClearSale, U.K. retailers need to be more in tune with consumer trends and preferences. This means providing a more personalised and seamless online shopping experience - one that is designed to keep customers coming back.

According to Lourenco the 'consumer experience' drives more than two-thirds of customer loyalty. Shoppers, whether they are new to online shopping or not, want the look, feel, and functionality of online stores to be smooth, and consistent across channels.

To improve the customer experience today, Lourenco recommends to Digital Journal that retailers focus on the following strategies:

Offer seamless checkout and alternative payment methods

A study run by ClearSale found that half of consumers polled abandoned purchases because the checkout process was too long or complicated, so merchants should provide a fast, simple checkout process that doesn’t feel intrusive or require customers to share too much additional information.

Keep false declines to a minimum

Left unchecked, fraud filters can cause false declines, which can reduce the number of impulse buys and frustrate customers, driving them to never shop with the retailer again and/or express their displeasure on social media.

Provide real-time information on product availability and shipping

Consumers spent most of last year encountering long wait times and they want to know up front if your store has items in stock now, so connecting your store’s inventory data to product pages will give customers real-time information that will earn and keep their trust.

Prioritize personalised messaging and support

Now more than ever, people are also looking for meaningful interactions with brands, and shopping with a merchant who supports a cause they like is one way to do that. When it comes to offers and promotions, a report by Edelman shows that offering discounts, free trials, free delivery and other perks to help customers save money can communicate empathy and help create a stronger bond with your customers.

Original article at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/business/businesses-need-to-start-to-understand-the-changing-customer/article/586737