Survey: Back-to-school retailers should learn customer service

Cincinnati – Retailers seeking to attract back-to-school shoppers should make sure they are well schooled in the ins and outs of providing good customer service.



A new LoyaltyOne, Verde Group survey of 2,500 U.S. consumers shows that efficient service, more than price or product availability, drives store loyalty and repeat purchases for shoppers with kids younger than 18 at mass merchandise stores such as Walmart, Target and Staples.



Shoppers in households with kids younger than 18 are 19% more likely than the general population to say not having enough information available near a displayed item detracted from their shopping experience. These consumers spend $530 per quarter more at mass merchandisers than the general population.



Back-to-school shoppers also were 39% more likely to say their shopping experience was compromised when associates had a “not my department” attitude and 65% more likely to say a long checkout line detracted from their experience. In addition, these shoppers were 57% more likely to say waiting too long to be served detracted from their shopping experience.



Interestingly back-to-school shoppers were 26% less likely to say an associate not appreciating their business detracted from their experience and 11% less likely to cite not being treated with courtesy by an associate as a detraction.