Retail Buying Experience Survey Results 2013

1. Key Driver in Retail: Helpful
Expertise
Retail Buying Experience
Survey Results
2013

2. Agenda: The Most Important Driver of Retail: Helpful
Expertise
Retail has a Problem
eXperticity 2013 Retail Buying Experience Survey Results
A Renaissance in Helpful Retail Sales Expertise
Introduction to eXperticity
eXperticity Recommendations for Retailers
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 2

3. Retail Has a Problem
• The price wars are over: Walmart and Amazon won
• While self-service and selection did improve …
•
Quality of service and personnel suffered
•
Knowledgeable associates flushed out of the system
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 3

4. Customers Struggle to Fill Expertise Void
• Internet provides lots of raw data, very little wisdom
• Consumers want wisdom
•
Which product should I buy? Is it right for me?
•
Alternates when selection not available
•
How to get the most out of what I buy?
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 4

5. Retailers Centered on Helpful Expertise are Prospering
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 5

6. eXperticity 2013 Retail Buying Experience Survey
What do consumers want from retail sales associates?
What do retail sales associates provide?
Which retail brands are doing the best job?
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results
page 6

7. Methodology
Fielded by ReRez Research, Dallas, TX
600 U.S. Consumers
5 Affinity areas
•
Outdoor
•
Sporting Goods
•
Hunting or Fishing
•
Health and Nutrition
•
Prestige Beauty
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 7

8. Key Findings
• Expertise gap at point of sale
•
Consumers expect and crave helpful expertise in retail
•
Retail sales associates often fall short
•
Consumers struggle with alternative ways to find helpful expertise
• eXperticity’s recommendations
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 8

9. Consumers Expect Helpful Expertise from Retailers in Key
Areas
Respondents who Rate Service from Salesperson
as “Somewhat” to “Extremely” Important
74%
73%
73%
72%
71%
71%
70%
- Focus group attendee
69%
69%
68%
68%
67%
66%
65%
Product
Knowledge
Help Selecting
Product
Category
Knowledge
I've come to respect one
particular salesperson.
She always knows whether
a product is going to work
for me or not.
Find
Alternatives
I want them to be
knowledgeable and be able
to answer my questions
precisely, concisely and
competently.
- Focus group attendee
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 9

10. 40%of Consumers Find Sales Associates Fall Short
Respondents who say Salespeople fall short
of delivering Specific Services
44%
43%
43%
42%
41%
They don't know a lot about
the product because they
haven't had the proper
training.
- Focus group attendee
40%
39%
39%
38%
38%
37%
37%
36%
35%
I go in stores and the
people don't know the
product.
34%
Find
Alternatives
Category
Knowledge
Product
Knowledge
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 10
Help Selecting
Product
- Focus group attendee

11. Other Sources Consumers are Tapping to Find Helpful
Expertise
You can just research so
much and there's a variety
of opinions. It's hard to
separate fact from opinion.
Top Sources of Expertise for Consumers
74%
72%
72%
71%
70%
68%
66%
- Focus group attendee
66%
64%
62%
62%
The Internet can definitely
be information overload for
sure.
60%
58%
56%
Someone You
Perceive to be
an Expert
Online
Research
Online User
Reviews
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 11
Traditional
Product
Reviews
- Focus group attendee

12. Renaissance in Helpful Expertise
Consumers want helpful expertise
Is it worth it for retailers to invest here?
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results
page 12

13. Helpful Expertise Increases Sales
75%
30%
more engagement leads
to
50%
1
increase in conversion
of customers
offered, buy additional
items; and their
average order value
increases by
25%
1
1
The Store Strikes Back: Why Onmichannel Retailers Should Win over Pure-Play Competitors, The Kurt Salmon Review, March 2013
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 13

14. Helpful Expertise Keeps Employees Around
54%
of retailers say
TRAINING
is a key tactic to
4
reducing turnover
4
Five Best Practices to Retain High-Quality Employees, RetailCustomerExperience.com, 2011
Hay Group study finds employee turnover in Retail industry is slowly increasing, Hay Group, May 2012
5
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 14
Sales associates
report
2x
higher job
satisfaction if they
can meet
5
customers’ needs

15. Helpful Expertise Creates Loyal Customers
• 70 percent of all purchases come from returning customers
6
• Top three drivers of customer loyalty7
•
Customer service (57 percent)
•
Product availability (52 percent)
•
Store experience (45 percent)
100%
65%
increase in
8
profits
6
Delivering Your Intended Brand: Six Keys to an Authentic Customer Experience, Corvirtus
Customer Loyalty in Retail, ENK Research, Fall 2012
8
The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value, Harvard School Press, 1996
7
7
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 15
5%
increase in
8
loyalty
growth
8

16. eXperticity at a Glance
• Focused on bringing helpful expertise back to retail
• Strong market traction
•
579 brands
•
•
55,856 retailers
1,359,604 experts
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 16

17. eXperticity at a Glance
•
We engage and reinforce detailed product
knowledge
•
Brands reward expertise with product
discounts and unique incentives
•
Members watch their ranking within their
store and their expertise category
•
Brands/retailers gain insight on most
engaged/knowledgeable employees
•
Allow people with helpful expertise to identify
themselves
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 17

18. eXperticity Recommendations
Invest in the right people - There are people out there who love and use your products and your
competitor’s products every day.
Train the people who love your stuff - So often retail employees get trained in things like how to improve
service. That has a place, but if they don’t know the products inside and out, they won’t be able to provide the
proper guidance. And if your customers have a bad experience after they leave your store, that smiley face
from your team doesn’t mean much
Reward expertise - If your employees are in love with the stuff you sell and know everything about it, then
they probably want to be rewarded with your stuff—discounts merchandise, tickets to related events, etc.
Evangelize the value of helpful expertise - We are all consumers and fundamentally can speak to how a
great buying experience impacts your satisfaction. Leading people to the lowest price on your shelf doesn’t
build relationships. Ask customers what they want, why they want it.
Retail Buying Experience Survey Results page 18

19. Thank You