Just over one-third of shoppers report having an extraordinary (“wow”) retail experience during the past six months, according to new Wharton faculty research. The research results, reported in “Discovering ‘WOW’—A Study of Great Retail Shopping Experiences in North America”, suggest that for retailers to evoke a “wow”, they must succeed in delivering on as many as 10 different elements of the shopping experience simultaneously. Especially important to customers were brand experience, courteous employees, knowledgeable salespeople, and expediting the shopping process.
The report highlights the five most crucial areas for producing a great shopping experience. In the report’s words, these are: Engagement: being polite, genuinely caring and interested in helping, acknowledging and listening. Executional excellence: patiently explaining and advising, checking stock, helping to find products, having product knowledge and providing unexpected product quality. Brand Experience: exciting store design and atmosphere, consistently great product quality, making customers feel they’re special and that they always get a deal. Expediting: being sensitive to customers’ time on long check-out lines, being proactive in helping speed the shopping process. Problem Recovery: helping resolve and compensate for problems, upgrading quality and ensuring complete satisfaction.
The marketing literature has made it well known how much damage a negative experience can do. Disappointed and angry customers are likely to tell many other people about their experience. This report looks at the flip side, and finds that four in five shoppers will tell an average of three other people about a wow experience. The top driver of loyalty is engagement, with 63% of those reporting that during their great shopping experience, store employees were “very polite and courteous.” 55% mentioned salespeople who were knowledgeable about the product in the store. One of the report’s authors stresses the importance for retailers of having a clear, simple problem resolution process, and to avoid employees simply passing on the problem.
Differences between shoppers appeared when the results were analyzed according to age, gender, and nationality. Consumers over age 50 were more likely to mention store representatives who seemed genuine and caring, and they especially liked being acknowledged and treated courteously. Younger shoppers are more likely to view their retail experiences as being more transaction-oriented than relationship-oriented. Interestingly, Canadian shoppers more than U.S. shoppers were more likely to cite “getting a deal” as a, important part of the brand experience. Canadians also cared more about an exciting store atmosphere or design.