Retail Point-of-Sale Tracking

 
Summary

A major retailer needed a way to better understand the experiences of their customers in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

Strategic Issues

The client was operating in a hypercompetitive sector of the economy where pricing pressure from the category leader was threatening the client’s market share. A new strategy was needed to attract and retain customers to their stores.

Research Objectives

The research plan had several strategic and tactical objectives:

  • Provide in-depth, actionable feedback on customer experiences to management.
  • Determine key drivers of satisfaction and points of intervention.
  • Understand the nature of consumer behavior in the retail environment.
  • Act as a continuous alert system to problems or potential problems in the store (e.g., messy store, unfriendly employees).
  • Provide a quantitative measurement for incentive compensation for employees.
 
Marketing Research Design and Methods

Decision Analyst designed an online research program that used the retailer’s point-of-sale (POS) system to generate invitations for the consumer to go to a Web survey and answer a series of questions regarding their shopping experience.

The program consisted of a main module survey, as well as several department-specific modules. The shopping behavior of the customer dictated which specific department modules they would receive in addition to the main survey module.

Results

Using the research program, the client was able to pinpoint specific areas for improvement in customer service and designed a program to incentivize managers using the research results, in order to maintain the gains in customer satisfaction. Currently, the client enjoys some of the highest customer satisfaction and loyalty ratings in the retail sector.

Customer Experience Optimization Services

If you would like more information on Customer Experience Optimization, please contact Jerry W. Thomas, President/CEO, (jthomas@decisionanalyst.com), or Bonnie Janzen, Executive Vice President, (bjanzen@decisionanalyst.com) or call 1-800-ANALYSIS (262-5974) or 1-817-640-6166.