NEW DELHI: In today’s experience era, majority of CEOs believe customer centricity is essential for driving business growth. However, there is still a big gap between ambition and reality. While nearly all CEOs in India see the need to become customer-centric, just 37 per cent of consumers believe retailers offer truly customer-centric experiences, according to a Kantar CX+ study.
The new CX+ study released by Kantar is the only sector-specific index that assesses retailers based on a unique combination of their customer experience scores. In addition, the study identifies each retailer’s Experience Gap – which quantifies the difference between their Brand Promise and the actual customer experience delivered.
In the study conducted in early 2020, clear winners emerged in each of the sectors. Amazon was rated the top retailer in two sectors out of the three covered. DMart emerged as the winner in the grocery sector. While Flipkart figures in the top three in all sectors.
CX+ reflects that providing excellent customer experiences is no longer enough. In a connected environment, brands and customer experience have become synonymous. Thus, the roadmap to growth is based on 5 key CX success factors:
1. Clarity of brand promise
2. Empowered employees
3. Empowered customers
4. Creating lasting memories
5. Exceptional delivery
Kantar South domain lead for CX and commerce Asia Sushmita Balasubramaniam said, “We are currently going through major changes – economically and socially, and consumer priorities are changing in line with how the pandemic is unfolding. This has resulted in their purchases also changing, right from what they buy, where they buy, to how much they spend.
"In this changed scenario, retailers need to tread even more carefully since they are dealing with situations no one has encountered before. Our CX+ study reveals that for many retailers, there is a huge gap between the brand promise and customer experience. The retailers who emerge as leaders are those who have delivered a superior customer experience that is matched with a strong brand promise thus giving them a distinctive ‘Experience Advantage’ over their competition.
"Retailers have a tremendous opportunity to review their strategies, take the current challenges head-on and look for ways and means to service customer needs better in the coming months. They will have to do this in the presence of a strong traditional retail which became even more indispensable during lockdown times. Creating a shopping ecosystem with the customer at the centre – integrated retail that goes beyond just having a digital and physical presence, redefining the role of the physical store, offering safe yet personalized shopping environments are factors that will be critical to win.”
Other findings underline the clear benefits of delivering strong customer experience – in the three retail sectors
In grocery retail:
̶ Retailers that lead in the CX+ Index are 1.4x more likely to be recommended then those at the lower end of the index.
̶ The likelihood of their customers remaining loyal to them increases by 1.6x
̶ Retailers with whom the last interaction has been excellent become the most preferred retailer for the future in 1.4x cases.
̶ Delivering on basics is critical for a grocery retailer – variety and quality of products at good value coupled with ease of shopping – the key contributors to building a better experience
In fashion retail
̶ Retailers that lead in the CX+ Index are 1.5x more likely to be recommended than those at the lower end of the index.
̶ The likelihood of their customers remaining loyal to them increases by 1.6x
̶ Retailers with whom the last interaction has been excellent become the most preferred retailer for the future in 1.3x cases.
̶ Fashion retail needs to deliver on many fronts, with range and value leading the pack. But, in-store experience – digital or physical and use of technology to deliver an enhanced shopping experience becomes a key differentiator
In general retail
̶ Retailers that lead in the CX+ Index are 1.6x more likely to be recommended than those at the lower end of the index.
̶ The likelihood of their customers remaining loyal to them increases by 2.2x
̶ Retailers with whom the last interaction has been excellent become the most preferred retailer for the future in 1.3x cases.
̶ Like fashion, general retail also must deliver on many fronts. But, employees and support provided to customers to make the shopping process easier can be a key differentiator in experience
The study analysed 6,068 retail customers in India and was conducted in early 2020.
