Shoppers increasingly abandon purchases due to poor in-store experience
A study shows that 74% of consumers have abandoned a purchase due to information overload or complex choices. Long queues and unclear store layouts are major pain points.
Despite stores and shopping centers offering an ever-wider range of products, customer satisfaction is not always increasing. Many consumers admit that the shopping process is becoming more complicated and tiring. According to an Accenture study, 74% of consumers have at least once abandoned a purchase because they felt overwhelmed by excessive information or a complex choice process, said Lelde Bukovska, communications consultant at StrongPoint.
In physical stores, customer experience is most affected by waiting in lines, unclear store layout, difficulty finding the desired product, or a time-consuming checkout process. Research indicates that 70% of shoppers are less likely to return to a store after a negative experience with long lines.
Uģis Začs, regional manager for Latvia and Estonia at technology company StrongPoint, notes that competition in retail is increasingly less about products or prices alone. In many segments, consumers can buy similar products in multiple places, so the shopping experience itself becomes decisive. If a customer cannot quickly find the needed item, encounters long queues, or receives unclear information about product availability, they often not only choose another product but abandon the purchase altogether, resulting in lost revenue that stores may not even notice.
Retailers are increasingly focusing on customer experience (UX) principles that were previously more associated with digital platforms. According to Začs, the store environment should be designed to minimize the customer's need to think about the process and allow them to focus more on the purchase itself. This is why stores of the same brand have a consistent layout, and self-checkout counters, digital price solutions, accurate product availability information, and efficient customer flow management are becoming increasingly important.
Experts emphasize that a good customer experience starts even before the purchase. Clearly placed product categories, understandable signs, and the ability to pay without unnecessary waiting significantly affect how people evaluate a store overall. Technology is also playing an increasingly important role in physical stores. Self-checkout kiosks, digital price tags, smart inventory management solutions, and data analysis help reduce inconveniences and ensure a smoother shopping process.
"Today, customer expectations are largely shaped by the digital environment. People are used to finding a product online in seconds and completing a purchase with a few clicks. Therefore, they expect similar clarity, speed, and convenience in physical stores. Stores that can approach this experience gain a significant competitive advantage," emphasizes Začs.
