The demand on CX during COVID-19 - April 2021 report

The demand on customer experience during COVID-19 April 2021 Report

Feefo data has revealed that during the height of the pandemic, service levels dropped by 18.5% as businesses were hit with new and changing customer expectations.

COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of customer experience with insight suggesting many brands will continue to adapt or accelerate digital CX strategies long after the dust of the global pandemic has settled.

At Feefo, we’ve been tracking the impact of the global pandemic on digital experience and have uncovered the effects of COVID-19 on CX, as well as how businesses could use their customers to better prepare for an unpredictable future.

Real people. Real reviews. Real insight.

Digital customer experience has declined, and is yet to recover The impact of COVID-19 on digital CX, 2019 - 2020 40.0

Percentage of online retail sales

35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0

4.12

4.10

4.19

4.25

4.22 3.57

3.51

2020 Apr

2020 May

3.66

3.76

3.84

2020 Jul

2020 Aug

3.98

3.95

3.82

3.70

2020 Nov

2020 Dec

15.0 10.0 5.0 0 2019 Nov

2019 Dec

2020 Jan

2020 Feb

2020 Mar

2020 Jun

Average CX service satisfaction rating, Feefo

1 (2019 service rating average compared to May 2020 service rating average) 2 (8.9% YoY decrease for Nov and Dec)

The demand on customer experience during COVID-19

2020 Oct

Online purchases as % of overall retail sales, ONS

With more people than ever visiting online channels, delivering a stand-out digital customer experience has never been more important, yet Feefo recently discovered that the surge in online shopping rates has negatively impacted digital CX. Our data has revealed that the average service rating dropped a huge 18.5% during the height of the pandemic (2019 service rating average vs May 2020 service rating average.)1 Interestingly, these service ratings are still yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.2 This suggests that brands are struggling to deliver against customers’ evolving expectations which had stemmed from an increase in online spend and activity, and that these new consumer expectations show no signs of returning to pre-pandemic trends in the near future.

2020 Sep

40%

9%

29%

Increase in response rate at the beginning of lockdown March 2020 – April 2020

Increase in response rate year-on-year 2019 – 2020

Increase in response rate during lockdown 1.0 April - June 2020 compared to 2019 average

Average monthly response rate, Feefo 2019-2020

Customers are keen to get their voices heard to navigate changing behaviours When looking at average response rates across all Feefo clients, our data revealed that responses to Feefo feedback requests peaked in April 2020. This suggests that despite dwindling customer experience service ratings across the digital space, customers were enthusiastic and willing to have their voices heard and help businesses navigate changing consumer behaviours.

The pandemic has forced many brands to adapt or accelerate their digital strategies as many consumers increasingly live their lives online, yet an increase in digital activity has greatly impacted consumer expectations, resulting in a downturn in overall digital experiences. Whether the cause has been delivery issues, weak infrastructure or frustrating digital journeys, the fact of the matter is that

significant changes need to be made to not only attract customers with the service level they’re looking for, but to keep hold of new digital shoppers too.

Luckily, high feedback response rates over the last year have highlighted just how great the opportunity to glean insight from your customers really is – an opportunity made even greater by the masses of new online customers who are armed with not only their expectations of what the digital experience should look like, but also a voice that they’re not afraid to use.

Businesses that utilise customer insight and maximise the potential of their growing digital customer base will get a better understanding of what has changed, and what could be done on the road to recovery with a customer experience that surpasses all expectations.

The results for this report were captured from aggregated service ratings across 3,500 Feefo clients with a minimum sample size of 50 responses per quarter. Feefo customers are asked to rate their overall experience and level of service on a scale of 1-5

To find out more about how you can use customer insight to enhance and improve your customer experience, get in touch with a member of our team.

Call us: 0 20 3196 8098 Email: sales@feefo.com feefo.com

The demand on customer experience during COVID-19