The research conducted across 2,000 UK consumers and over 250 retail decision makers showed that 40% of shoppers say just one bad experience would stop them returning to a brand. A third (32%) say shopping isn’t as fun as it used to be, with 36% feeling that what shoppers today have gained in convenience, they’ve lost in experience. 

Where brands used to think of loyalty in terms of reward schemes or points, the findings show that for today’s shopper, the drivers of loyalty run much deeper than a transaction or offer. And when it comes to what drives disloyalty, a bad returns process (30%) and a drawn out online checkout without payment options (21%) rank much higher for shoppers than retailers perceive them to be.

Retailers are recognising this shift and starting to evolve the way they think about loyalty. 41% of retailers agree that loyalty is no longer solely driven by rewards and 76% say they have to work harder than ever to retain customers. However, many (33%) are struggling to keep pace with changing consumer expectations around experience and are being held back by outdated tech (33%) and a short-term focus on sales (30%).

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