Third of consumers feel ‘unvalued’ by retailers after purchasing

Over a third (34%) of consumers feel retailers don’t care about them after they’ve made a payment, a new report by Valitor has found. The report from the international payment solutions company, found that retailers are “failing customers” when it comes to the after payment experience. This is because shoppers do not expect the retail experience to end once they have parted with their cash; with 54% expecting at least a “basic level of care” following a payment. It found that while shoppers revealed they wanted to have a “long term relationship” with retailers, they nonetheless want to be “wooed and not bombarded” with marketing, with a third of shoppers feeling that the irrelevant offers that they receive end up “wasting their time” and lead to them feeling “annoyed”. However it also found the personalisation that would solve this issue though needs to be done “in the right way and for the right consumer” or there is a risk that customers could be further pushed away. Over a third (37%) of Generation Z consumers would “love it” if a retailer kept their data and personalised their service, it drops to less than one in ten of consumers aged 66 and over. The report also revealed that 47% of consumers are less likely to pay attention to marketing communications after a bad experience. Valitor also added APEX is synonymous with returns and refunds, with more than a quarter of shoppers stating that an easy process for these is the “most important factor”. However 57% of women and almost half of male shoppers claimed that returning a purchase is “rubbish”, as did almost half of male respondents. Half of shoppers also claimed the lack of free returns is the “most annoying issue” when dealing with a refund or exchange. Halldór Lúðvígsson, MD, o mni-channel solutions at Valitor, said: “The After Payment Emotional Experience (APEX) refers to the customer experience after a purchase has been made. Retailers who overlook this part of the shopper journey do so at their own peril; a poor APEX can see them haemorrhage customers, loyalty and sales. “However, our research shows that retailers are not only failing to deliver a positive APEX, they are also fundamentally underestimating its importance. In an already challenging retail environment, those who want to thrive must place APEX at the heart of their customer experience strategy.”