12 Replies to “What Do Shoppers Want from Retailers This Holiday Season?”
I am not surprised to see that customer service is 70% of why shoppers will return to the stores they shopped at last year for their holiday gifts. Customer service is vital to the shopper experience-it makes the customer feel at ease with the product, and it encourages purchases from the store. If an employee goes out of their way to help a customer find the right color shirt, size, or even style, the customer will want to return to the store because someone is making their shopping experience more enjoyable and personal. When I go shopping, I stop by the Guess store because the employees have always helped me find an outfit that’s customized for my style. Since I have worked retail, I would make sure to answer any questions a customer had, and if a customer would ask for a certain shirt style that was not on the store floor, I would go to the stock room and see if we had the product. Since clothing is 64% of what customers will buy this holiday season, retail stores need to remind their employees that customer service is key.
Most of the facts from this article make a ton of sense when it comes to Holiday shopping. It’s actually really easy to see that customer service is a reason as to why most people would come back to a company who they had satisfaction with the previous retail year. Also a couple of spots on this part that quizzed me were the fact that Black Friday isn’t the most commonly shopped on day in terms of retail (you would think it would be in terms of the numerous amounts of sales that they have on days like Black Friday, but in just the opposite light I can see why the days in December would make a lot of sense because it is closer to the Holiday and you would feel as though more retailers are trying to clear out their products). Also the whole clothing being the biggest seller in terms of the shopping season, that one surprised me a ton with the amount of technology and stuff flowing around that is available for purchase.
From these statistics it is obvious that consumers are shopping smarter (88% plan to research their holiday gift purchases) and more frugally (online stores and discount stores being the stop establishments projected for shoppers to patronize and free shipping and price cuts occupying over 70% of the tactics by which consumers will be enticed). I never have a very large Christmas list, but I would agree that these deals are what I would be looking for. I do a lot of shopping for myself online and free shipping is always a major factor in my transactions. Shopping for others (AKA my mother) involves browsing many of her favorite stores for a small gift. Macy’s is usually where I buy her gift, and I would expect them to have holiday sales for all of their departments. Since I fall into the category of the 69% of shoppers that will be loyal to the stores they purchased from last year, I will pay extra attention that the customer service plays a role in my purchase.
The holiday season in my opinion is one of the most planned out season regarding budget management. People spend their year setting aside the money they plan to spend for the holidays. Because of this, when customers have the opportunity to get free shipping, price cuts, coupons or sales, they will jump on it to save some money. This explains why such a large percentage of customers are enticed to purchase items at locations that offer these discounts. Holiday shopping can also be a very stressful experience for customers which is why it is so vital for a company to have good customer service. There is a 70 percent customer loyalty during this time of there year to stores with good cutovers service because they help to relieve the stress of this crazy time.
Retailers should definitely look at this research and then base their holiday plans. Gift cards have had a steady increase in popularity. They make it easier for the shopper, and make the receiver satisfied with the option of being able to buy whatever he or she wants from that store. Free shipping is certainly a huge promoter this year! Because of the short span of time to get out and shop, many buyers may choose to instead order gifts from the comfort of their own homes. Free shipping certainly makes a company more appealing! I’m not too surprised to see that good customer service is the leading factor in consumers choosing to remain loyal to a store they purchased from last year. A good experience with a store certainly leaves a lasting impression. Any extra service or discount a company provides will certainly draw in those bargain-hunting holiday shoppers.
I am very surprised yet happy that 88% of consumers research there purchases online. I thought that I was the only one to intensely search to find out what I am really buying and where I can get the best possible deal. I feel like most people just buy things on the spot, maybe they have an idea of what they want to buy, but I never thought other people actually went and did research about the products they were buying. I also found it interesting that 64% of purchases are on clothing, I guess since clothing can be given to every age that alot of it does get consumed during the holidays.
I’m surprised with a few things here. One is that good customer service is most important to most shoppers this season. The other is that 12% of people have no budget. I know the holiday season is about giving, but I would definitley have a budget. I fell like the people that don’t have a budget are those that have little kids. Also, I would think that rather than good customer service, people would want quality items and short lines. I feel like this survey may be a bit skewed because I don;t think people are honest about how they holiday shop.
I find this really interesting because I just did a survey for News 12 asking people if they planned to spend as much as they did last year and every person I talked to said they weren’t planning on spending more or less. I am a huge holiday shopper and i agree that the reason why I’m going back to the stores I went to last year is because of the customer service and that I’m comfortable shopping there. It’s not really surprising to me that what people really want is free shipping and how much that makes a difference. It will be interesting to see what happens this year considering that there is such a short amount of time between thanksgiving and christmas.
I’m not that surprised that customer service is at the top of the reasons why customer will be loyal to stores that shopped at last year. But personally I would shop at the store again because of free shipping. Mainly because I don’t normally physically shop. I enjoy it when shipping is free or just one dollar. I believe the best gifts are gift cards from the receiver’s favorite store because it’s still thoughtful however the shopper won’t buy something the receiver might secretly not like, or it’s the wrong size or color.
I’m not at all surprised at all the top marks for all the categorizes. Customer services, gift cards, and everything else all make sense to me the mos popular reasons to lead their perspective categories. the thing that did stand out to me was the fact 12% of people shop with no budget. That to me seems like a terrible mistake. You can easily over spending or not spending your money evenly per person you are shopping for.
I definitely believe that good customer service is one of the top things when deciding whether or not to shop at a store again. But I would not say that it is the only important thing, making sure that they have the items I want to purchase and making sure that I am not waiting on a ridiculously long line are also important. The only thing that would make me never go back to a store was if the person that works there was rude to me and was not able to help me with what I needed. When it comes to shopping I am very big with looking for sales but I am not one to buy something of significant lesser quality just because it is less price I would rather spend more on something that will last me a while. I also think it is good that 88% percent of people research out what they are going to buy before they go out because it ensures that they know what they are buying and that they are getting the best deal.
I am not surprised to see that customer service is 70% of why shoppers will return to the stores they shopped at last year for their holiday gifts. Customer service is vital to the shopper experience-it makes the customer feel at ease with the product, and it encourages purchases from the store. If an employee goes out of their way to help a customer find the right color shirt, size, or even style, the customer will want to return to the store because someone is making their shopping experience more enjoyable and personal. When I go shopping, I stop by the Guess store because the employees have always helped me find an outfit that’s customized for my style. Since I have worked retail, I would make sure to answer any questions a customer had, and if a customer would ask for a certain shirt style that was not on the store floor, I would go to the stock room and see if we had the product. Since clothing is 64% of what customers will buy this holiday season, retail stores need to remind their employees that customer service is key.
Most of the facts from this article make a ton of sense when it comes to Holiday shopping. It’s actually really easy to see that customer service is a reason as to why most people would come back to a company who they had satisfaction with the previous retail year. Also a couple of spots on this part that quizzed me were the fact that Black Friday isn’t the most commonly shopped on day in terms of retail (you would think it would be in terms of the numerous amounts of sales that they have on days like Black Friday, but in just the opposite light I can see why the days in December would make a lot of sense because it is closer to the Holiday and you would feel as though more retailers are trying to clear out their products). Also the whole clothing being the biggest seller in terms of the shopping season, that one surprised me a ton with the amount of technology and stuff flowing around that is available for purchase.
From these statistics it is obvious that consumers are shopping smarter (88% plan to research their holiday gift purchases) and more frugally (online stores and discount stores being the stop establishments projected for shoppers to patronize and free shipping and price cuts occupying over 70% of the tactics by which consumers will be enticed). I never have a very large Christmas list, but I would agree that these deals are what I would be looking for. I do a lot of shopping for myself online and free shipping is always a major factor in my transactions. Shopping for others (AKA my mother) involves browsing many of her favorite stores for a small gift. Macy’s is usually where I buy her gift, and I would expect them to have holiday sales for all of their departments. Since I fall into the category of the 69% of shoppers that will be loyal to the stores they purchased from last year, I will pay extra attention that the customer service plays a role in my purchase.
The holiday season in my opinion is one of the most planned out season regarding budget management. People spend their year setting aside the money they plan to spend for the holidays. Because of this, when customers have the opportunity to get free shipping, price cuts, coupons or sales, they will jump on it to save some money. This explains why such a large percentage of customers are enticed to purchase items at locations that offer these discounts. Holiday shopping can also be a very stressful experience for customers which is why it is so vital for a company to have good customer service. There is a 70 percent customer loyalty during this time of there year to stores with good cutovers service because they help to relieve the stress of this crazy time.
Retailers should definitely look at this research and then base their holiday plans. Gift cards have had a steady increase in popularity. They make it easier for the shopper, and make the receiver satisfied with the option of being able to buy whatever he or she wants from that store. Free shipping is certainly a huge promoter this year! Because of the short span of time to get out and shop, many buyers may choose to instead order gifts from the comfort of their own homes. Free shipping certainly makes a company more appealing! I’m not too surprised to see that good customer service is the leading factor in consumers choosing to remain loyal to a store they purchased from last year. A good experience with a store certainly leaves a lasting impression. Any extra service or discount a company provides will certainly draw in those bargain-hunting holiday shoppers.
I am very surprised yet happy that 88% of consumers research there purchases online. I thought that I was the only one to intensely search to find out what I am really buying and where I can get the best possible deal. I feel like most people just buy things on the spot, maybe they have an idea of what they want to buy, but I never thought other people actually went and did research about the products they were buying. I also found it interesting that 64% of purchases are on clothing, I guess since clothing can be given to every age that alot of it does get consumed during the holidays.
I’m surprised with a few things here. One is that good customer service is most important to most shoppers this season. The other is that 12% of people have no budget. I know the holiday season is about giving, but I would definitley have a budget. I fell like the people that don’t have a budget are those that have little kids. Also, I would think that rather than good customer service, people would want quality items and short lines. I feel like this survey may be a bit skewed because I don;t think people are honest about how they holiday shop.
I find this really interesting because I just did a survey for News 12 asking people if they planned to spend as much as they did last year and every person I talked to said they weren’t planning on spending more or less. I am a huge holiday shopper and i agree that the reason why I’m going back to the stores I went to last year is because of the customer service and that I’m comfortable shopping there. It’s not really surprising to me that what people really want is free shipping and how much that makes a difference. It will be interesting to see what happens this year considering that there is such a short amount of time between thanksgiving and christmas.
I’m not that surprised that customer service is at the top of the reasons why customer will be loyal to stores that shopped at last year. But personally I would shop at the store again because of free shipping. Mainly because I don’t normally physically shop. I enjoy it when shipping is free or just one dollar. I believe the best gifts are gift cards from the receiver’s favorite store because it’s still thoughtful however the shopper won’t buy something the receiver might secretly not like, or it’s the wrong size or color.
I’m not at all surprised at all the top marks for all the categorizes. Customer services, gift cards, and everything else all make sense to me the mos popular reasons to lead their perspective categories. the thing that did stand out to me was the fact 12% of people shop with no budget. That to me seems like a terrible mistake. You can easily over spending or not spending your money evenly per person you are shopping for.
I definitely believe that good customer service is one of the top things when deciding whether or not to shop at a store again. But I would not say that it is the only important thing, making sure that they have the items I want to purchase and making sure that I am not waiting on a ridiculously long line are also important. The only thing that would make me never go back to a store was if the person that works there was rude to me and was not able to help me with what I needed. When it comes to shopping I am very big with looking for sales but I am not one to buy something of significant lesser quality just because it is less price I would rather spend more on something that will last me a while. I also think it is good that 88% percent of people research out what they are going to buy before they go out because it ensures that they know what they are buying and that they are getting the best deal.