NRF 2018: RETAIL’S BIG SHOW — ForeSee, the pioneer of Voice of Customer (VOC) solutions, today released its 2018 Retail Customer Experience (CX) Insights report. Based on survey data from over 40,000 shoppers across their store, web, and mobile experiences, the new report examines key trends and data that are driving the retail renaissance.

“Customer experience is at the heart of the brand promise,” said Eric Feinberg, author of the report and Vice President at ForeSee. “There is an incredible opportunity for retailers to benefit from the growth in channel surfing, new concepts that truly integrate store and online models, and to ride the wave of the retail renaissance that is lifting the whole sector.”

The data behind ForeSee’s Retail CX Insights makes clear that a new retail model is taking shape—one in which stores function as the fulfillment centers for their digital counterparts, and shoppers move fluidly between channels as they research, browse, and buy. In fact, 25% of shoppers that start in store check-out a digital channel during their buyer journey, while 35% that start in a digital channel go to a store during their purchase process, according to the ForeSee study.

The research also contains findings that signal the race to the bottom (on price) may be over, and that competing on customer experience is paramount for retailers. Key findings include:

  • Only 6% of shoppers selected an item primarily because of price vs. retailer preference
  • Nearly 45% of buyers across channels say their most recent purchase was driven mostly by retailer preference, and more than 75% say they shop at a preferred set of retailers, regardless of prices
  • Overall environment and experience, and findability rank as the top priorities for both in-store and digital purchasers

“The Customer Experience, as revealed in ForeSee’s Retail CX Insights report, is not about winning a race to the bottom on price. Rather it’s about delivering on a differentiated brand promise," said Paula Rosenblum, RSR Research. “It doesn’t matter if your business model is based on selling the highest quality products, convenience, assistance from knowledgeable sales associates or simply never being out of stock on key items. What matters is that you deliver on that promise.”

The report also takes an up-close look at customer experience findings for Amazon, Apple, Tractor Supply, and Williams Sonoma, who each ranked top in omnichannel, store, web, and mobile respectively in the Retail CX Rankings released last month.

About the ForeSee Experience Index
The ForeSee Experience Index (FXI) is a definitive CX report based on survey data from over 40,000 shoppers across their store, web, and mobile experiences. The retailers included in the study were chosen using the 2017 Deloitte Global Powers of Retailing report, which ranks global omnichannel retailers by revenue. ForeSee selected the top 50 non-grocery brands with operations in the U.S., U.K., or Canada for this report.

Download the complete ForeSee Experience Index: Retail CX Insights and the companion report Retail CX Rankings now.

Visit ForeSee at NRF Retail’s BIG Show, Booth #1844
ForeSee has a significant presence at Retail’s BIG Show at booth #1844, and at a CX-focused session titled “Get It Right: How to Compete and Win on Customer Experience (CX)” from 11:30 – 12:30 p.m. on Monday, January 15 in EXPO Hall Room 3, Level 1. The session will be led by ForeSee VP Eric Feinberg.

About ForeSee
Founded in 2001, ForeSee is the pioneer of voice of customer (VOC) solutions that measure and improve the customer experience. ForeSee CX Suite is powered by the only proven causal model that accurately connects CX improvements to business outcomes, empowering business leaders with strategic and tactical CX decisioning. Thousands of leading organizations in retail, financial services, energy and utilities, and the public sector reply on ForeSee to give certainty to their CX initiatives. Visit www.foresee.com to learn more or schedule a demo.