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At Artur.com, an active satisfaction management tool, we analyzed 200,000 pieces of customer feedback from 24 Slovenian companies to identify the main negative customer experiences that drive churn.

In recent years, brick-and-mortar stores have been battling the rising trend of online shopping and the resulting migration of customers from physical locations to the web. The isolation brought about by the Coronavirus significantly deepened this problem. Consumers spent seven weeks in isolation, realizing that they could buy less, yet find everything they needed online. Following the lifting of measures, we can expect "renunciation" demand—consumers finding pleasure in consuming less.

Shoppers fear the financial aspects of the current crisis, as well as infection. The deteriorated shopping experience caused by anti-COVID measures (social distancing, wearing masks, queuing to enter stores, limited shopping hours, etc.) further increases the appeal of online shopping.

The main advantage of physical stores is the personal shopping experience. This has changed drastically due to the virus. Fewer customers are visiting stores, employees must adapt to new ways of working, and customers are now bothered by things that previously didn't matter.

Customer Churn Stores Can Influence

Part of lost customers and sales is due to external factors stores have less control over. However, a significant part is due to errors in the customer journey that stores can influence. At Artur.com, a customer satisfaction management tool, we analyzed over 200,000 pieces of feedback from customers visiting branches of 24 Slovenian companies (Marche, Kompas, Babycenter, s.Oliver, Pikapolonica, etc.). We wanted to determine the most common reasons for visitor dissatisfaction.

Slovenians are not overly critical shoppers; the average CSAT score for a visit is a high 4.67 (on a scale of 1-5). However, the enthusiasm scale tells a different story—only a quarter of customers are truly delighted with the shopping experience. We can conclude that Slovenian shoppers' expectations are relatively low. For example: an average shopper needing bread will consider leaving the store with bread a successful purchase and give a good rating, regardless of whether they waited too long at the checkout or the store didn't have their favorite loaf.

Customers with an "average" experience are less loyal, indifferent about where they make their next purchase, and return to the company's branches less often.

Approximately one-tenth of measured interactions ended with a negative customer experience; 9.1% of experiences were negative, of which 3.2% were extremely negative. These customers represent a direct churn risk. According to the analyzed data, Slovenians are reluctant to give negative ratings. Therefore, when they do, these ratings carry much more weight, indicating a serious user experience problem.

Reasons Why Store Visitors Leave

The largest share of negative experiences (38%) is attributed to poor staff attitude. Customers are bothered by apathy, unfriendliness, sometimes hostility, unavailability, or being ignored, and in some cases, an overly pushy attitude.

The second reason for lost customers and sales is lack of expertise (29% of negative experiences). One of the main advantages of physical stores over online shops is the personal relationship; buyers expect sales staff to be professionally trained enough to advise them correctly.

False promises are another strong generator of negative experiences (11%). For example, a customer is offered a discount they cannot use or isn't applied, they order goods and wait too long, or a product is advertised but unavailable in-store, etc.

High prices and poor selection account for only 7% of negative experiences. We can infer that customers distinguish between the purchasing decision and satisfaction. A high price influences whether a customer makes a purchase, but does not necessarily affect their satisfaction with the shopping experience itself.

During the epidemic, entirely new reasons for dissatisfaction have emerged related to infection prevention measures. Customers are bothered by waiting outside stores, disregard for safety measures, or conversely, extreme enforcement of them.

Overcoming Churn with Excellent Shopping Experiences

Online sales will continue to cause customer churn for physical stores, a trend stores will have little influence over. However, they can prevent lost sales due to "their own" errors in the customer experience.

Feedback analysis data shows that the main challenge for stores in the future will be ensuring an excellent personal shopping experience. Most negative experiences currently stem from staff attitude or professional competence. Customers come to stores to see and test products, relying on store staff for useful advice to help with their purchase decision.

Companies that systematically monitor the quality of staff interactions will be able to actively eliminate experience gaps that cause negative shopping experiences and, consequently, customer churn.