What is the Customer Experience Barometer?

The Customer Experience Barometer is an online study by AGConsult into the customer satisfaction of the Belgian consumer. 

This first edition focuses on the customer experience of online shopping. 

The study is based on reviews of 642 purchases. The satisfaction before and after purchase was rated, both through a score (1 to 5) as well as an open question.

• The customer experience before purchase refers to everything that happens before purchase. This is the website itself, the clarity of the information and delivery costs, usability, service before purchase, etc.
• The customer experience after purchase does not only refer to the customer service. It’s about the total experience after purchase, such as confirmation emails, the clarity on delivery, packaging, how easy it is to return it, etc.

Large international webshops perform the best

The fact that large international webshops perform best when it comes to customer experience is not really surprising. There’s a reason why Belgian consumers like to buy there.

Customers are particularly happy with their extensive productinfo, an easy-to-reach customer service and the clear communication on delivery costs and time. After purchase these webshops are appreciated for their competent customer service and proactive communication.

“Beforehand there was clear info about how to return the product. This turned out to be really easy. (…) Communication about the return was clear and I was given my money back very quickly. My mind was eased before purchasing by the clear information and communication.”

When customers are critical, it’s usually about the unnecessarily large and boring packaging. Or that 1 order is delivered in multiple shipments.

“For 4 products in the same order I received 4 boxes from 4 different couriers. I don’t think we should want that.”

Coolblue lives up to the slogan “Everything for a smile”

Before purchase		After purchase
1. Coolblue	4,7		1. Coolblue	4,6
2. Farmaline	4,5		2. Farmaline	4,3
3. HEMA	4,4		3. HEMA	4,3
4. Zalando	4,3		4. H&M	4,1
5. Bol.com	4,2		5. Zalando	4,1

From the top 5 of best rated brands in the Customer Experience Barometer it’s clear how hard it is for traditional brands to really please their customers.

Before purchase only chain store HEMA can breach the monopoly of the big international webshops.

After purchase Bol.com only just falls short of the top 5 in favor of H&M.

Coolblue is the front runner when it comes to customer experience, both before and after purchase. The difference between them and the number is 0,5 point, quite a lot.

“You get a smile on your face when you order with them. Well wrapped, delivered quickly. Good, clear advice through the chat or over the phone. Amazing!”

Belgians players are missing from the top 5

Calling on people to buy locally, can temporarily bump up your earnings. But when you can’t make your customers feel good, that kind of move is a drop in the ocean. Customers mostly choose brands that give them a good experience. Belgian or not.

Big chains perform the worst

It’s not just Belgian chains like Torfs, A.S. Adventure and Dreamland who perform poorly. The online experience of IKEA and Decathlon receives even worse ratings.

It’s a shame to see that brands who’ve become successful because of their physical stores, perform the worst online. Apparently these brands cannot translate the offline experience that once made them big to a good online experience. Although of course there are exceptions, like HEMA and H&M.

The large chains score poorly before purchase mostly because of their unreachable customer service and the unclear communication on stock, delivery and returning. Their difficult websites with roundabout registration requirements are also a cause of frustration. High time to do some user tests!

Vague information about available stock, and even that info was only provided at the end of the process. Frustrating.”

“You need to register with a tedious system. Then products turn out not to be in stock.”

After purchase, it’s mostly the long delivery times that generate frustration: 42% of complaints are about this. Faulty and incomplete deliveries cannot count on too much sympathy either (30%).

Combined with their inadequate customer service and clumsy communication, large chain stores ensure that they’re the worst kid in the class. 24% of respondents complaints about unanswered mails and chats, standard email that promise things which don’t happen or a lack of proactive communication.

So, improving your custometr exeperience starts with putting some foundations in order.

“I didn’t get a track&trace code, which caused confusion about when I would receive the package. I almost thought something had gone wrong: unnecessary stress.”

Smaller stores with a webshop do surprisingly well

Rather a surprise: shops with 1 or 2 stores and a webshop score almost as well on customer experience as large international webshops. So the idea that small businesses cannot compete with the large chains when it comes to customer experience is debunked in this study.

They remember, apparently, what it means to spoil a customer. After purchase they mostly score points with their correct delivery and personal communication, like a handwritten note or an email with tips.

“They sent me an email to remind me to give the young plants plenty of water during the drought. Awesome.”

What’s remarkable is that consumers don’t really say much about the purchasing experience itself at these stores. They give them high ratings, but barely provide any remarks. Probably customers have more goodwill towards small, local stores compared to more famous brands. Certainly in this period of CoVid-19 and lockdowns.

Ratings per category

Category	Rating before purchase	Rating after purchase
Large international webshops	4,22	3,97
Shops with 1 or 2 stores and a webshop	4,19	3,97
Smaller webshops (without physical store)	3,95	3,86
Large chain stores	3,54	3,42

Ratings are always lower after purchase 

Companies spend a lot of money on attracting new customers, by expanding their webshops and content marketing among other things.

The good news is that convenient websites have a big impact on your sales and customer satisfaction. If people find what they’re looking for easily, ordering is easy and the product and delivery information is clear, customers are well satisfied.

The not so good news is that companies always perform worse after purchase when it comes to customer experience. They promise heaven on earth before purchase, but they don’t really walk the walk after purchase. With high performing companies like Coolblue or Hema that difference is very small. But with a lot of other brands there is definitely a rift.

So, it’s high time that companies put in the work to improve their entire customer experience. And not by focusing predominantly on the process before purchase. If you want customers to come back and talk about you positively, then you’ll have to invest in the real customer experience. Because that only starts the moment someone buys. The moment someone becomes your customer.

What makes and breaks the customer experience when online shopping? 

In the full report you’ll get an overview of which elements mostly make the difference on customer experience when online shopping. What makes customers happy? And what causes frustrations?

So that you can get to work on making your customers even happier.

Need a partner to take your customer experience to the next level? 

There’s no magical formula that works for every company.

It all depends on who your customers are and what you stand for as a brand.

What makes your customers happy? What are their frustration and annoyances?
We’ll find that out together to come to the best solutions for you. 

We’ll make your company grow by putting your customers first.

Customer centricity and customer experience are not fashion terms for us. It’s the core of what we do.

Contact els.aerts@agconsult.com to see how we can help you.