Improve Your Retail Store's Performance: Understanding Retail Consumers

If you have a store whether online or in Main Street, I highly recommend that you read Accenture's study entitled "Retail and CGS Innovation Survey: US Results." The study provides data on how consumers are using the Web to make purchase, what are the factors that pushes a consumer to buy from a store, what retailers must do to retain customers, among others.

Some of the findings of the study include:

• The key criteria for deciding where to shop are: price (85%), product selection (69%), and store proximity (57%)
• The keys to providing the best in-store experience are: store organization (61%), variety (59%), cleanliness (58%), customer service (57%), and friendly staff (55%).
• Many consumers check the Internet before going to the store: 49% will call ahead or check online to see if the item is in stock before going to the store; 69% will research the product features on the Internet before going to the store for their purchase
• Majority of the customers (69%) prefer to purchase items in a store than online, except electronics where the preferred method of purchase is online

You can download the report at the Accenture website