Survey: Retailers have difficulty harnessing customer data

Consumer data is readily available to retailers, but delivering a high-quality customer experience is still challenging.

According to a new survey of retailers, including executives and decision-makers, conducted by Forrester Consulting for customer experience solutions provider CSG, 85% of companies surveyed have more data on their customers than two years ago. However, less than one-third (29%) have high confidence in data quality.

Only about half (51%) of companies surveyed can use customer data to personalize and customize interactions, while less than half (46%) can orchestrate actions in real time. Decision-makers surveyed indicated that the top challenges of delivering a good customer experience include the existence of internal silos (38%).

Almost six in 10 (57%) executives surveyed agree that the customer experience budget has been spread across various departments to create a more integrated plan. Sixty percent of companies surveyed believe the failure to deliver a positive customer experience could likely result in decreased customer retention, and 57% anticipated a possible decrease in sales or loss of company revenue.

Other notable findings include:

•    62% of decision-makers surveyed agree that more customers are making purchase decisions based on experience alone compared to two years ago.

•    Customer demands that have changed in the last two years include increased demand for quicker response times (53%), increased demand for more personalization (59%), and increased desire for connected online and offline experiences (55%).