As physical stores battle for customer loyalty, delivering a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience has become key to standing out. Unfortunately, recent data shows customer satisfaction levels in the UK are at their lowest since 2010, with a UKCSI score of 75.8 out of 100, down from previous years. This dip in satisfaction poses a real threat to the growth and recovery of retail businesses, especially in brick-and-mortar stores where personal interactions define the customer experience.
As Jo Causon, CEO of the Institute of Customer Service, pointed out, “higher levels of customer satisfaction correlate with financial stability and growth.” Simply put, you must keep your customers happy to succeed in retail.
Considering the growing demand for a better customer experience, understanding how to track, analyze, and improve customer service is vital to long-term success. After all, poor customer service leads to customer dissatisfaction and hurts your bottom line, with businesses worldwide losing an estimated $75 billion due to poor service.
Measuring customer service can help you identify areas for improvement, track performance, and maintain a competitive edge. But how can you effectively measure something as subjective as customer service? This article will guide you through how to measure customer service in a retail setting, discussing the associated challenges and benefits, and introducing the essential metrics and tools.
Customer service in the retail industry
Customer service in the retail industry is the cornerstone of a memorable shopping experience. The in-person interaction between employees and customers can leave lasting impressions and set your stores apart from the competition online. Whether a customer is greeted with a smile, helped efficiently, or offered personalized recommendations, every action reflects your store’s service culture.
In the retail industry, customer service extends beyond simple transactions. It involves understanding the customer’s needs, resolving their problems, and enhancing their shopping journey at every stage. While the digital world has tools like live chat and automated responses, brick-and-mortar stores thrive on human interaction—making it crucial to ensure that service is consistently excellent.
Benefits of measuring customer service
Good customer service leads to more than satisfied customers—it fosters brand loyalty, repeat business, and positive word-of-mouth. Here are some of the numerous benefits of measuring customer service:
- Improved customer loyalty – when you measure and act on customer feedback, you show customers that their experience matters. This can increase retention rates and turn one-time shoppers into loyal customers.
- Enhanced employee performance – by tracking service metrics, you can identify training needs and improve employee performance, ensuring your staff delivers consistent, high-quality service.
- Increased sales and revenue – better customer service leads to higher satisfaction, and satisfied customers are more likely to make repeat purchases, increasing your stores’ average transaction value.
- Competitive advantage – measuring service enables you to stay ahead of competitors by identifying areas of strength and opportunities for improvement, ensuring that your stores’ remains a top choice for shoppers.
Challenges of measuring customer service
While the benefits are significant, measuring customer service can come with its own set of challenges, including:
- Subjectivity – customer experiences vary widely depending on expectations, making it difficult to standardize feedback.
- In-the-moment reactions – customer opinions can be influenced by specific incidents, meaning one poor interaction may overshadow an otherwise positive experience.
- Data integration – combining and integrating data from different channels can be challenging, especially when offline and digital formats are mixed.
- Real-time feedback – gathering feedback in real-time has traditionally been harder in physical stores compared to online environments.
Customer service metrics
In brick-and-mortar retail, providing excellent customer service is about more than just greeting customers with a smile—it’s about creating a seamless, enjoyable experience from the moment they walk through the door. To measure and improve this experience, you must track key customer service metrics. These metrics offer valuable insights into performance, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. For physical stores, the stakes are even higher, as the personal touch of in-store service can make or break a customer’s loyalty.
Every interaction matters whether it’s how long a customer waits for help or how easily they can find what they’re looking for. Below are the key customer service metrics that you should focus on to ensure you are delivering a top-notch experience.
1. First Response Time (FRT)
In a physical retail environment, First Response Time refers to how quickly a customer is acknowledged or assisted by a store associate. You should strive for minimal delay in acknowledging customers when they enter the store or approach a service counter. A long wait for assistance could lead to frustration, causing the customer to leave without purchasing.
In retail, speed is critical. If you’re slow to respond, especially in busy environments, customers may feel ignored or undervalued, driving them toward competitors.
2. Time to resolution
Time to Resolution is how quickly staff can address and solve customer issues or queries. Whether a customer is asking for product availability, requesting a return, or seeking advice, quick problem-solving is essential to creating a positive in-store experience.
For example, a customer who needs help locating a specific product expects an immediate and accurate response. A fast resolution improves customer satisfaction and encourages them to make additional purchases. You can track time to resolution by monitoring how long associates take to address customer concerns, from initial inquiry to final resolution.
3. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) remains a key metric for retailers. You can gauge customers’ satisfaction with their in-store experience by asking them to rate their experience immediately after a transaction or interaction. This can be done through in-store kiosks, email receipts, or SMS surveys.
Collecting real-time feedback at the point of sale via a platform like TruRating allows you to gather valuable insights on customer satisfaction with things like the store layout, staff helpfulness, and overall ambience. For instance, customers may be satisfied with the product selection but frustrated by long checkout lines. Tracking CSAT allows you to identify and address these pain points, improving the overall shopping experience.
4. Promoter scores
Promoter scoring is another powerful metric for building long-term customer loyalty. This metric asks a simple but critical question: “How likely are you to recommend our store to a friend or family member?”
Promoter scores can be measured through short exit surveys or follow-up, emails after a customer visit, or using TruRating at the point of sale. A high promoter score means your store fosters customer loyalty, while a low score could indicate service or experience issues that need to be addressed. In brick-and-mortar settings, personal interaction plays a huge role in driving customer loyalty, so it’s crucial to regularly measure and act on this data to enhance in-store experiences.
5. Customer Effort Score (CES)
The Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how easily customers interact with your store. This could involve navigating the store layout, finding a sales associate for help, or making returns at the customer service desk. The less effort a customer has to exert, the better the experience.
For example, if a customer has to search for several minutes to find an associate or navigate a poorly organized store, their CES will be low, indicating frustration. You should aim to simplify every aspect of the in-store experience—whether it’s through better staff placement, clear signage, or intuitive store design. High CES scores correlate with customer loyalty and satisfaction, while low scores point to areas that need improvement.
6. First Contact Resolution (FCR)
First Contact Resolution (FCR) measures how many customer issues are resolved during the first interaction with a store associate, without further assistance. In retail, this could be as simple as helping customers find the product they’re looking for or answering their questions about a return policy.
High FCR rates reflect that your associates are well-trained and capable of handling most customer inquiries or issues. For example, if a customer asks about a product, the associate should be able to provide detailed information or lead them directly to the item. Poor FCR, on the other hand, might indicate the need for better staff training or more accessible product information.
7. Abandonment rate
While abandonment rate is more commonly associated with online shopping carts, it’s also relevant in brick-and-mortar stores. In-store abandonment occurs when customers leave the store without completing their intended purchase. This can happen for several reasons: long checkout lines, lack of available assistance, or difficulty finding products.
Monitoring abandonment rates can be challenging, but technologies like foot traffic analytics and in-store observation can help. By tracking how many customers leave without making a purchase, you can gain insights into potential problem areas—such as long wait times at checkout, confusing store layouts, or insufficient staff coverage during peak times.
8. Conversion rate
Conversion Rate measures the percentage of customers who purchase compared to the total number of customers entering the store. A high conversion rate means your staff and store environment successfully turn visitors into buyers. In contrast, a low rate could indicate inefficiencies in your customer service or store experience.
For example, if foot traffic is high but conversion is low, it might suggest that while customers are interested in your store, they aren’t receiving the assistance or finding the products they need to complete a purchase. Tracking this metric can help identify gaps in service or product availability.
Make sure to check out our Conversion Analysis Guide to enhance your in-store purchases.
9. Average Transaction Value (ATV)
Average Transaction Value (ATV) is the average amount a customer spends per transaction. While this is often considered a sales metric, it’s also closely tied to the effectiveness of your customer service. Higher ATV suggests that associates are successfully cross-selling or upselling products, enhancing the overall shopping experience.
For instance, if a customer comes in for a specific product and leaves with several additional items, it’s a sign that your associates effectively engage with customers and suggest complementary products. Monitoring ATV helps retailers understand how well their customer service strategies contribute to overall sales.
Measuring customer service
Now that we have examined customer service metrics that matter for retail stores, it’s time to explore the tools that help track and measure these important aspects of your business. Gathering feedback and tracking performance in physical retail can be more challenging than in digital settings, but the right tools allow retailers to monitor and improve customer service seamlessly.
Below, we’ll explore some of the most effective customer service measurement tools for brick-and-mortar stores, from in-store kiosks to cutting-edge platforms like TruRating.
1. Point-of-sale (POS) feedback platforms
Point-of-sale (POS) feedback platforms are revolutionizing how physical retailers collect customer service data directly at the checkout counter, with TruRating leading the way in this field. When customers complete their transactions, TruRating asks them to provide feedback through simple, engaging questions displayed on the payment terminal. Questions like, “How would you rate your service today?” or “Was our staff helpful?” enable you to capture immediate impressions, allowing customers to provide insights while their experiences are still fresh.
One of the main advantages of using TruRating’s POS feedback solution is our impressive average response rate of 80%, which significantly enhances the reliability of the feedback collected. This high level of engagement enables you to collect statistically valid data that you can rely on to paint an accurate picture of customer sentiment at the moment of interaction. This immediacy also allows you to identify strengths and weaknesses in service delivery quickly.
TruRating doesn’t just capture immediate feedback, it provides robust analytics and reporting features to track trends over time. This capability allows you to analyze aggregated data, identify peak times for service quality, and assess the performance of individual staff members. For example, if feedback consistently points to lower satisfaction ratings during specific hours, you can use this information to optimize staffing schedules or implement targeted training sessions, thus improving service quality when it matters most.
2. In-store kiosks and tablets
Another popular tool for measuring customer service in retail stores is the use of in-store kiosks or tablets. Placed near the exits or checkout areas, these devices allow customers to provide more detailed feedback. Kiosks give customers the option to rate their experience on various aspects like staff helpfulness, cleanliness, or wait time, and even leave comments if needed. This can be an excellent way to collect more nuanced feedback, particularly for larger retail spaces where multiple factors influence the overall customer experience.
The downside to this method lies in placement and engagement. If the kiosk is positioned too far from the checkout or is not easily accessible, customers may not bother to stop and provide feedback. Additionally, customers who are in a rush might skip it altogether.
3. Automated feedback systems
Automated feedback systems are increasingly becoming a powerful tool for brick-and-mortar stores, allowing them to bridge the gap between in-person interactions and digital customer engagement. One of the most effective ways that retail stores are utilizing these system to measure customer service is through the collection of customer emails at the point of sale, typically to offer digital receipts. This method serves a dual purpose: customers appreciate the convenience of receiving a receipt via email, and it opens the door to continued communication and feedback opportunities.
After obtaining the customer’s email, the CRM system can automatically send a digital satisfaction survey shortly after their visit. These surveys usually inquire about the customer’s in-store experience, staff interactions, product availability, and overall satisfaction. This method is great for gathering detailed feedback without disrupting the customer’s shopping experience. However, the timing of automated feedback can also be a disadvantage. By asking for feedback long after the shopping experience, you may miss out on capturing the immediate emotions of the interaction. Additionally, customers may ignore the feedback requests altogether, leading to a low response rate.
4. Mystery shopper programs
Mystery shopping is one of the more traditional tools for measuring customer service in physical stores. In this method, an independent evaluator visits your store and assesses the quality of service without staff knowing they are being evaluated. Mystery shoppers report on a wide range of service aspects, including staff behavior, product knowledge, and overall store atmosphere. This can provide a retailer with an unbiased, third-party evaluation of their service quality, which is valuable for addressing any blind spots that might not be obvious through other feedback methods.
However, mystery shopper programs come with certain drawbacks. For one, they are typically infrequent, meaning you may only receive feedback a few times a year, which doesn’t capture daily or even weekly fluctuations in customer service quality. Moreover, there’s an element of subjectivity involved, as different mystery shoppers might interpret interactions differently, even if they are trained to follow the same guidelines.
Utilizing the right tools to craft an outstanding retail experience.
Measuring customer service in a brick-and-mortar store involves more than gathering feedback—it’s about using the right tools to collect real-time, actionable data that improves customer experience and service quality.
Customer satisfaction can make or break a business, and TruRating makes it easier to keep a pulse on how your customers feel. With an industry-leading 80% response rate, we capture honest, real-time feedback during the payment process, offering you unparalleled insight into their service performance. Whether you want to improve staff interactions, store layout, or overall experience, we can provide the data you need to make meaningful changes. Say goodbye to guesswork and start making decisions based on what your customers truly want.
To enhance your customer measurement strategy, learn more about our POS feedback platform or schedule a demo with our team today.
