What is customer satisfaction in retail?

Customer satisfaction is business 101 for anyone in the retail sector - nail it and it could work wonders for your bottom lines. Fail to deliver and it could spell disaster.

But in such a competitive and challenging marketplace, how do businesses get their hands on and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction? 

In this article, we’ll dive into why customer satisfaction is mission-critical and how our game-changing new EPOSmove system can help retail businesses deliver it. 

What is customer satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction refers to how happy customers are with the product, service, or experience they get from a business.

In its purest form, customer satisfaction is a direct reflection of how a customer feels about interacting with your business.

The importance of customer satisfaction

High customer satisfaction can work wonders for a business, impacting revenue, loyalty, and growth.

Revenue

Research shows retailers who boast high levels of customer satisfaction are rewarded with better financial forecasts and better earnings than the competition. 

Pertinent to the world we’re living in right now (dare we say the C-word?), studies have gone on to report that no matter what else is going on in the market, the financial performance of a business can exceed all expectations if customer satisfaction is high. 

So, in a post-lockdown world when retailers can re-open their doors and begin trading once more, achieving high customer satisfaction could be a driving force behind a successful bounceback.

Loyalty

Customer satisfaction has also been shown to be a leading indicator of repeat custom and customer loyalty.

Customer loyalty is super lucrative to businesses, loyal customer spend on average 31% more with businesses, are 50% more willing to try new products and services, and save businesses substantial sums in marketing. 

Growth

Customer satisfaction has been found to lead to customer advocacy and help attract new consumers to businesses.

That’s because a happy customer will tell their friends, family, and colleagues about your business. Not only that but they’ll be more likely to provide you with a glowing review online, and if you consider that 71% of shoppers feel more comfortable making a purchase after reading a positive review online, that’s invaluable.

So, higher customer satisfaction can help you bring in more consumers, aid in your marketing efforts (for a fraction of the price), boost sales, and ultimately bolster your business’s growth.

What impacts customer satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction is influenced by a whole heap of factors that combined make up their customer experience with your business. The key for businesses is to offer a simple, smooth, and streamlined experience from start to end. 

Five leading indicators of customer satisfaction are:

1. Accessibility - customer satisfaction is negatively impacted when there are barriers or friction in the buying journey. Arduous processes or time-consuming tasks are big no-nos.
2. Convenience - customer convenience is an essential ingredient in customer satisfaction - if the perceived convenience of interacting with your business is low then the customer will view dealing with you as ‘hard work’ - hardly enticing. Convenience relates to manoeuvrability and accessibility as well as payments and post-sales interactions.
3. Simplicity - one of the easiest ways to encourage custom is by making it super simple to shop with you. Take away any complexity and make the decision to buy from you as simple as possible and you’ll work wonders for customer satisfaction.
4. Choice - Customers don’t like feeling limited by too few options, but equally choice overload can be enough to have them running for the hills. The idea is to hit the sweet spot in the middle, but more importantly, supporting your customers with accurate and up to date knowledge to inform their choices is key.
5. Memory - In a world where everything is automated, customers have grown accustomed to having their details stored and on hand whenever needed, meaning being asked time and time again for the same information is problematic and leads to frustration.

Consumers expect information to follow them along a buying journey and don’t expect to be asked for it multiple times no matter if they switch channel (from online to face-to-face, for example).

How to improve customer satisfaction: EPOSmove

Okay, so now we know how important customer satisfaction is and what factors can influence it, let’s get to the good stuff, how to improve it (spoiler, it’s super easy).

At takepayments we’ve been working away throughout the pandemic to bring businesses the latest and greatest in payments technology, and are proud to announce the release of EPOSmove.

It’s an integrated EPOS and card machine that fits in the palm of your hand in one sleek terminal. It looks great, but more importantly, it offers business owners limitless functionality and can make boosting customer satisfaction a doddle, here’s how:

Inventory management

EPOSmove boasts the creme de la creme of inventory management software, so from within the handheld terminal, you can access real-time stock information on the move.

That means, while a customer is browsing in-store, you can check on the spot whether the item they’re on the hunt for is available there and then - no waiting around and no lengthy trips to the back - convenience and simplicity? Tick and tick. 

Seamless ordering

And if the item has sold out and you’re out of stock? You can order it using your EPOS and arrange to have it delivered to the customers address there and then.

Pssst: this is also a great opportunity for you to upsell!

Simple payments

The integrated card machine means your customers can pay from anywhere within your business too, whether it’s for a delivery or in-store purchase, there’ll be no more waiting in line to pay at the till with EPOSmove. 

Loyalty programme

Within EPOSmove you can create branded loyalty schemes through tracked customer spend, meaning not only will you be getting your hands on all the perks of loyal customers, but your system will store customer data that will be at your disposal for future visits - you’ll never have to ask a customer to repeat their details again.

Next steps

If EPOSmove sounds like the solution for you then getting the ball rolling is simple - either fill out this form or reach out and chat with one of our friendly experts on 08082 397003.

You’ll be in safe hands with us, helping businesses succeed is our bread and butter and has been for over 25 years, that’s why we:

• Don’t charge sign up or exit fees
• Offer short 12-month contracts
• Provide round the clock support

Bryony Pearce

Copywriter