5 Customer Frustrations That Stores Still Haven’t Solved (But Desperately Need To)

I’ve been burned for illustration this much than erstwhile astatine a clothing store. Seconds aft stepping done the door, I autumn successful emotion pinch a jacket. The salesperson fuels that excitement, convincing maine I can’t time off without it.

But erstwhile I inquire to effort the garment on? “Oops, sorry, we don’t person your size.” It would person been bully to cognize that 10 minutes ago. I time off empty-handed, emotion strung along.

Sound familiar?

Each clip you fto a customer down, their loyalty ebbs a small much — and past it’s gone. If you don’t make it easy for group to bargain precisely what they want, they’ll return their business elsewhere. Increasingly, that’s online.

From moving pinch thousands of independent retailers, I’ve seen what happens erstwhile stores get the basics wrong. But here’s the bully news: merchants person much devices than ever to debar that fate. Here are 5 mundane customer frustrations that retailers tin — and should — fix.

1. They don’t person what I came for

That sizing snafu I went done highlights a large problem for galore retailers. Their shop doesn’t person the correct worldly successful banal astatine the correct time, leaving customers exasperated. Roughly 4 retired of 10 shoppers opportunity out-of-stock items punctual them to time off without buying.

Modern inventory guidance has made it overmuch easier to adjacent that gap. Today’s platforms way banal successful real-time, emblem shortfalls earlier they costs you a waste and spot request patterns. What utilized to require a heavy dive into spreadsheets and acquisition orders now happens continuously successful the background.

AI built into the POS takes inventory intelligence a measurement further. New conversational devices tin section questions for illustration “Which footwear styles are moving fastest heading into fall?” — surfacing reorder suggestions and sell-through information without a pivot array successful sight.

Integrated wholesale marketplaces past move that penetration into action. Thousands of brands are now accessible successful a fewer clicks, and acquisition orders sync straight to the POS.

2. The unit person nary hint astir what they’re selling

Store unit are expected to beryllium the experts — yet more than 8 successful 10 shoppers deliberation they cognize the products amended than the group trading them. That’s a existent vexation for anyone seeking guidance, but it’s besides a missed opportunity.

Remember that salesperson who didn’t cognize my size was retired of stock? With the correct instrumentality successful hand, they would have. A mobile instrumentality tin springiness unit instant entree to merchandise details, specs and inventory, truthful they person the answers earlier the customer has to ask.

Personalized recommendations based connected heavy expertise spell a agelong way, too. Even if you locomotion into a shop equipped pinch each the details, whoever helps you should adhd worth by acting arsenic a trusted advisor. At Michel Brisson, a men’s clothing shop successful my hometown of Montreal, the unit cognize their brands really well. They besides cognize what flatters different builds and assemblage types.

Product knowledge runs deeper than having the latest tools. Retailers should build it into their civilization by making that accusation abundant and accessible — connected the floor, not conscionable down a counter. Bring merchandise reps successful for demos, and fto elder unit mentor newer hires.

3. I conscionable want to salary and leave

Few things frustrate shoppers much than lining up to pay.

At galore mini stores, the customer gets sent to a antagonistic wherever the queue is growing, the costs terminal is slow aliases the 1 unit personnel who tin ringing group up is juggling 3 different things.

A lineup gives that shopper 1 much chance to suffer patience and caput for the exit. Nearly 40% of consumers opportunity they’ll take a competitor aliases wantonness their acquisition wholly erstwhile faced pinch a agelong wait.

Retailers who want to make checkout faster should deliberation astir the travel of their store. Apple is the benchmark here. Its stores are designed astir people, not astir a counter. Staff floats done the floor, checkout comes to you and the transaction feels for illustration a earthy extremity to the shopping experience, not a abstracted task.

A mobile POS closes that spread for everyone else. It lets unit return costs from anyplace successful the store, pinch the aforesaid handheld instrumentality they’re already utilizing to thief the customer.

That doesn’t mean stores should destruct the counter. For bigger, much analyzable purchases — say, a motorcycle and a heap of accessories — it still makes sense. But for the shopper buying 1 aliases 2 items, there’s small logic to make them hold down everyone else.

4. Loyalty programs are specified a hassle

As a longtime coder and the CEO of a POS tech company, I’m each astir building awesome products. But a loyalty programme for a mini shop doesn’t request a paper — beingness aliases integer — aliases an app.

All excessively often, specified programs are unnecessarily complicated. By forcing customers to jump done hoops, they consciousness for illustration a chore. Three-quarters of loyalty members extremity engaging wrong 2 months, without ever canceling.

So attraction connected what really matters: delighting your loyal customers and rewarding them for their business.

A loyalty programme should beryllium truthful elemental and seamless that customers don’t person to transportation aliases retrieve anything. Build it into checkout, and make it easy for unit to use. “Hey, you’ve spent $500 pinch us, truthful we’re giving you 10% disconnected these pants you’re purchasing today.”

5. This shop (still) doesn’t cognize thing astir me

Ever return to a shop — for the second, fifth, aliases 10th clip — and still consciousness for illustration you’re starting from zero astatine checkout? The unit person nary thought who you are, and it’s usually not their fault. The business simply hasn’t gathered that accusation and made it disposable to them.

Really emotion seen by a retailer tin make the quality betwixt a lifelong narration and ne'er coming back. Expectations are only rising: three retired of 4 customers expect amended personalization arsenic exertion advances.

Modern POS systems make that imaginable by giving merchants a afloat position of customers’ acquisition history, truthful unit person discourse for each returning shopper.

I’ve experienced that benignant of work myself, nether circumstances I wouldn’t wish connected anyone. On a caller travel to Paris, I sewage mugged. I escaped pinch conscionable a fewer bruises, but the attackers stole a golden necklace I wore each azygous day.

When I called the Los Angeles shop wherever I’d bought it successful 2023, the feline connected the telephone was capable to propulsion up a elaborate grounds of my purchase. Without that grounds sitting successful their system, I’d person been conscionable different stranger. Instead, the unit personnel knew precisely what I’d lost. He felt truthful bad astir what happened that he offered maine the aforesaid concatenation pinch a 10% discount.

That’s what knowing your customer looks like. I don’t deliberation I’ll ever bargain jewelry anyplace else.

Ultimately, nary of these frustrations is really astir technology. They’re astir whether your customer feels taken attraction of. The correct tech devices tin thief independent merchants present that feeling. When you propulsion it off, you don’t conscionable debar losing customers to Amazon. You go the shop they show their friends about.