Retail TouchPoints: New Study Reveals Sales Staff Driving Shopper Defections
By Amanda Ferrante, Assistant Editor
Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website, presented here for discussion.
A recent study by The Verde Group and the Baker Retail Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School shows that sales staffs are the single biggest detriment to the shopping experience, resulting in more lost business and negative word of mouth than any other shopping problem. The Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study also estimated that the defections caused by a lack of sales help or a poor associate experience ultimately results in a six percent loss of business for retailers.
Compiled from 1,000 American consumers surveyed by phone in March 2007, the research found that one in four Americans who experience problems when they shop are ignored by sales staff, receiving not so much as a smile, greeting, or even eye contact. Of those experiencing problems, 33 percent said they were unable to find a salesperson for assistance. Poor experiences turn three percent of consumers away from the retailer permanently and is the number one problem customers are likely to share with others -- increasing detrimental viral impact.
Other key findings of the study:
- 50 percent of shoppers said they have chosen not to visit a particular business because of someone else's poor experience;
- 25 percent of those experiencing problems said they found sales people, but it made little difference since the store employee ignored them;
- 22 percent reported aggravation with product stock-outs.
"It's odd that retailers are hiring associates who avoid customer contact," said Paula Courtney, president of the Verde Group. She suggests that part of the problem could be that associates are charged with too many distracting tasks, such as restocking shelves. "Are you asking too many tasks of them? Where's the priority? Are you rewarding for A but hoping for B?"
Ms. Courtney suggests retailers look to other industries for examples on strategies for dealing with dissatisfied customers. For example she pointed to the telecommunications industry, where customers that call into a call center for service are often routed to a "save desk" if they are threatening to leave due to a problem or are reporting a problem that puts them at risk for defection. For retailers, the comparable strategy might be for in-store reps to ask customers, "Did you experience any difficulty?" or, "What could we have done differently to improve your experience today?" at the end of the purchase transaction.
Discussion Question: Are overburdened store associates a primary driver of poor customer service at retail? What can store managers do at the store level to engender friendly and helpful sales associates? Should more safeguards such as a "save desk" be set up to minimize these apparently widespread poor sales experiences?