Retailers are asking for feedback but are shoppers feeling heard?

Retailers often request feedback, but are customers feeling heard?

Per new research from Quantum Metrics, which surveyed 1,500 US and UK consumers, it would seem not so much. The primary issue is “a listening gap” wherein digital brands seem to take customer feedback but “consumers never see action or a response that shows they were heard.”

In fact, 1in 3 consumers report not feeling heard by digital brands and when consumers reached out, they preferred chatting with a person.

Moreover, the study—-that spanned responses from consumers across the US and UK, 750 digital leaders, aggregated and annonymized behavioral data from the Quantum Metrics platform—also found that 37% believe that ChatGPT understands their feedback more than a retailer.

Meanwhile, 1 in 3 shoppers contacted support directly instead of filling out a form, and 50% called it the “most effective way” of being heard.

But what happens when a customer doesn’t actually feel like their feedback is taken seriously? Per Quantum Metrics, 56% abandoned a brand when it continually ignored or did not act on their feedback.

Earlier this year, CX’s X Index Report, which included responses from 59,000 shoppers across eight countries, noted that 59% abandoned a brand after a single bad experience.

At the same time, good customer service can be a powerful loyalty driver. Hubspot research previously found that 93% of consumers were likely to buy again from companies that deliver it.