Retailers struggle to slip social misfits tag, Eptica

Retailers are neglecting social media when it comes to customer service, according to the 2019 Eptica Digital Trust Study.

This found that, while they successfully answered 59% of routine queries asked via web self service, chat, email, Facebook and Twitter, there were wide variations in performance between channels. Retailers provided answers to 83% of queries on their websites but only responded correctly to 38% of tweets and 50% of Facebook messages. Performance had worsened on many channels since 2017 – then retailers answered 73% of emails. By 2019 this had dropped to 68%.

As part of the 2019 study, 20 fashion and food and drink retailers were evaluated on their digital customer experience, alongside brands from other sectors. Additionally, 1,000 consumers took part in a survey. 89% of the latter said they either will stop buying from brands that they don’t trust or will spend less. 59% ranked giving satisfactory, consistent answers as a top three factor in creating trustworthiness, while 63% rated making processes easy and seamless as key. Just 8% of consumers felt that brands were listening to them all of the time, with 74% believing they pay attention to their views half the time or less.

“The move to digital has transformed the retail landscape,” says Olivier Njamfa, CEO and Co-Founder, Eptica. “Greater choice means consumers are becoming more demanding and are actively seeking out brands that they can trust and who listen to them. While retail brands have made some improvements since 2017, they have slipped back in others, damaging trust and ultimately customer loyalty and revenues. If they want to succeed they need to listen to customers and use their insight. Only those who do this will thrive and stay ahead of the competition.”