Majority of consumers feel ignored by retailers

Thursday, September 15, 2016 - 09:11 by David Aiken

Ninety six per cent of people feel that retailers do not understand their needs, according to a new report from Omnico. This suggests that major changes need to be made both online and in-store, to address the gap between expectations and the actual experience of shopping.

Twelve hundred people were questioned as part of the study, with analysts finding that people tend to be less satisfied with companies which have spread themselves across a multitude of platforms.

Some firms are doing a good job of blending safe shopping online with bricks and mortar retail, since 62 per cent of consumers said that they had encountered at least one example of seamless multichannel retail so far. However, most people also encountered issues when trying to use mobile apps and social media services operated by shops.

The chief benefits that consumers seek when shopping with a retailer are speed and ease of use, which is perhaps why fewer than a tenth of those questioned said that they preferred to buy items via safe shopping online and then pick them up in person.

Report spokesperson, Mel Taylor, said that consumers are attuned to the advantages of slick multiplatform shopping but have an increasingly low tolerance for retailers that are unable to give them a consistent experience online and in-store.

Other concerns voiced in the report include stocking issues and fears about the ease with which items can be returned after a purchase. And almost a third of respondents said that they had had less than ideal experiences with the online returns process.

The solution to this is for retailers to work harder to integrate all of the experiences and platforms they offer with one another, creating a coherent strategy so that customers are not left befuddled by disparate shopping options.