Retail Report: High Customer Expectations for Online Tools, Agent Interaction, and Loyalty Personalization

A new report by CFI Group and Radial shows that customers expect online tools that are easy and useful, live agents who are efficient and effective, and loyalty programs that enable agents to deliver personalized and customized service.

News provided by

CFI Group

Aug 02, 2018, 08:35 ET

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Retail customer expectations for customer service are growing more demanding. To meet these increased expectations, retailers must provide agents with advanced tools and systems needed to deliver an excellent customer service experience.

CFI Group and Radial surveyed 500 retail shoppers to better understand their expectations when engaging customer service. Below are some of the findings in the report.

Before contacting customer service, many retail shoppers are willing to try self-serve tools online.

45% expect to be able to check their order status online.
38% expect to be able to be able to receive general product or service support online.
64% try to resolve their issue before contacting customer service.
69% of those who try to self serve do so by visiting the retailer's primary company website.

When customers do reach out to customer service, they have high expectations that a live agent will resolve the issue.

67% expect the agent to have access to their order history.
55% expect the agent to see the history of prior contact with the retailer.
40% expect the agent to provide additional customized product offers.
Customers who speak directly with a live agent are 20% more satisfied and 27% more likely to recommend the retailer than those who interact partially or completely with IVR.

Offering a loyalty program is clearly one way to deliver such customized offerings and effective customer service that customers expect.

39% are members in the retailer's loyalty program.
Loyalty program members are 15% more satisfied and 13% more likely to recommend the retailer compared to non-loyalty customers.
67% of loyalty members are recognized as a loyalty program member by the contact center agent.
But non-loyalty members are 3% more satisfied and 5% more likely to recommend the retailer than are loyalty members who are not recognized as loyalty members.

To read more about the Retail Report by Radial and CFI Group visit: cfigroup.com/resource-item/retail-report-august-2018.

About CFI Group (www.cfigroup.com)
Since 1988, CFI Group has delivered customer experience measurement and business insights from its Ann Arbor, Michigan headquarters and a network of global offices. As founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), CFI Group is the only company within the United States licensed to apply customized ACSI methodology in both the private and public sectors. Using patented technology and top research experts, CFI Group uncovers the business drivers and financial impact of customer experience.

About Radial (www.radial.com)
Radial Inc., a bpost group company, is the leader in omnichannel commerce technology and operations, enabling brands and retailers to profitably exceed retail customer expectations. Radial's technical, powerful omnichannel solutions connect supply and demand through efficient fulfillment and transportation options, intelligent fraud detection, payments, and tax systems, and personalized customer care services. Hundreds of retailers and brands confidently partner with Radial to simplify their post-click commerce and improve their customer experiences. Radial brings flexibility and scalability to their supply chains and optimizes how, when and where orders go from desire to delivery.

David Baker
734.355.8232
[email protected]

SOURCE CFI Group