Innovation Key To Customer Retention

When retailers are recovering from a tumultuous fiscal year, they often look to innovation, since making shopping easier or more enjoyable for their customers is common sense in a competitive market. Consumers shopping in-store now expect the latest digital conveniences, pressing retailers to introduce innovations simply to retain their existing customers, says ‘Big Retail’s Innovation Mandate: Convenience And Personalization’ from PYMNTS and ACI Worldwide. In fact, 81 per cent of retailers now see mobile app access as table stakes for customer loyalty. The report says that retailers have found their customer base profoundly impacted by the digital shift with innovative features now the foundation of customer engagement. Losing the ability to provide features like mobile apps and digital coupons, means losing customers. Yet there are differences in the way some merchants prioritize specific digital features. For example, general retailers saw barcode and QR code scanner apps as most important for customer retention, as did convenience stores and pharmacy retailers. Grocery retailers, however, saw mobile apps as equally critical to customer loyalty as barcode and QR scanner apps. Merchants tend to implement innovations in a personalized way, based on how their consumers shop and their preferred experiences. Unfortunately, many retailers are not satisfied with the digital tools they currently have at hand and many are not confident in their ability to deliver engaging customer experiences or in the power of their digital tools to help them do so. Only about half of retailers believe that they have the right mix of digital tools to serve their customers well.