Findings from the online survey, called The Retailer’s Imperative: A Strategic Approach to Customer Experience, reveal that North American retailers are past the stage of debating the importance of customer experience management and are now trying to master it.
“Mastery of the customer experience is a challenge with many facets. Retailers are overwhelmed by the complexity of data, technology and understanding of the customer journey,” said Paige O’Neill, CMO at SDL. “Our latest research indicates that North American retailers are acutely aware of their technological shortfalls when it comes to creating a seamless, personalized customer experience across multiple channels.”
The online survey, which was sent to more than 225 senior marketers at North American retail companies with annual revenues of more than $100m, revealed some key findings.
Increasingly, companies understand the importance of delivering a superior customer experience. The combination of intense competition, more demanding customers and an increasing range of channels mean that organizations have to continually improve the service they offer to consumers if they are to retain business — regardless of the sector they are in. In fact, the vast majority (80 percent) of retailers surveyed are increasing their customer experience budgets, and 1-in-3 is planning a significant increase of more than 10 percent from their current level.
