Loyal ‘fans’ spend 84 percent more than disappointed customers

Independent retailers who fail to impress their customers are missing out on vital revenue by as much as 84 percent, according to new research by truRating, the mass point-of-payment, anonymous consumer rating system.

The study, which collated over 22,000 ratings over the last year, found that people who highly rate their shopping experience, spend far more in their visit than those who are disappointed. In fact, on average these ‘fans’ are likely to spend 84 percent more than a customer who has had a poor experience.

In real terms, truRating states that customers who had a positive shopping experience spend 53.98 pounds compared to 29.41 pounds in an average transaction.

The research also uncovered behaviour patterns that linked spend to repeat custom and found that customers who spent more on a visit were more likely to return.

Georgina Nelson, CEO of truRating, said: “The correlation between exceptional service and spend is clearly strong, and these numbers really highlight the benefit of getting it right every time. It can be tricky to see what’s working and what’s not when you are busy running a business – it could be small things that are affecting customer satisfaction, but retailers might not have the time to step back and see the areas where improvements, if made, would have a really positive impact.

“If you can identify the times of the week your customers are happiest and spend more then you can start to see why that might be. Is it because you have a better ratio of staff to customers on those days, is it because the knowledge of those staff is better, or is it because your stock is replenished on those days? Getting access to the right insight can help you uncover the blind spots in your business and then focus your attention on changes that will make a difference for you and your customers.”