Retail Customer Service: 7 Tips and Best Practices

Good retail customer service is the key to winning shoppers’ hearts. It’s so important, 47% of shoppers said they were willing to pay extra for better customer service.

Whether it’s helping them compare products, finding an item in-store, or sorting out an ecommerce return over the phone, customer service is as important to building your company’s brand as marketing. To put it into perspective, the quality of a brand’s customer service influences 71% of customers’ purchase decisions.

In this guide, we’ll look at how customer service is essential to the shopping experience for both brick-and-mortar retail stores and online stores. You’ll learn ways to improve customer satisfaction by providing exceptional customer care and support, including implementing retail customer service software. We also cover customer service tips and best practices, including improving customer service training, that will boost customer satisfaction and build customer loyalty.

What you’ll learn:

• What is retail customer service?
• Why is retail customer service so important?
• What are the biggest challenges in retail customer service?
• How can you evolve retail customer service?
• What does a great retail customer service experience look like?
• 7 customer service tips to improve retail shopping experience

Retail customer service now involves any activity that helps shoppers get what they need. Consumers consider services like free shipping, loyalty rewards, simple returns, extensive product variety, and exclusive shopping events all part of how a retailer serves their needs.

That’s why retailers are transforming customer service representatives into trusted advisors both online and in person. And good retail customer service is critical for maintaining customer loyalty. Research shows that 88% of customers say good service makes them more likely to purchase again.

Good customer service is vital for retailers because it directly impacts shopper satisfaction and customer loyalty, leading to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth referrals. It’s equally important in brick-and-mortar and online stores.

When customers feel valued and their issues are resolved efficiently, they are more likely to return and recommend the retailer to others, ultimately driving long-term growth and profitability. Bad service experiences could mean they never buy from you again.

As the number of shopper touchpoints continues to grow, so does the level of complexity when it comes to offering customer care. With 71% of shoppers preferring to use multiple channels when they buy, traditional customer service has expanded to include both retail stores and online stores, with transactions often starting at one and ending with the other.

To reduce friction for shoppers and increase customer satisfaction, provide a seamless and connected customer service experience across every point of engagement. This can mean:

• Helping shoppers order a product currently out of stock for pickup at a different retail store or delivery to their home
• Assisting a customer via live chat to find a store where they can make an exchange
• Curbside delivery or other easy ways to fulfill buy online, pickup in store orders

When surveyed, 74% of customers said they expect to be able to do anything online they can do in person or by phone. In today’s retail environment, you need to meet shoppers wherever they are and offer them personalized customer service tailored to their needs and expectations.

As technology evolves, so do the ways shoppers interact with retail customer service workers. Tools such as AI chatbots can help service representatives quickly sort assistance requests and automate customer care tasks that don’t require human decision-making. AI customer service agents can handle simple or complex issues, such as answering a frequently asked question or managing a product return, in a personalized and conversational way. This helps your team scale customer service so they can quickly resolve customer issues without requiring additional personnel during peak shopping moments.

Automating online returns with AI can streamline the process, making it more efficient and personalized. For example, AI can automatically process refunds once the returned item is received and verified, speeding up the refund process. AI can also offer personalized return options based on the customer’s preferences and history, such as in-store returns or pre-paid shipping labels for online stores.

The best brands make customers feel their questions have been answered and their needs understood. No matter if it’s returning a product, tracking an order, or asking for recommendations, consumers will walk away from a customer support interaction with peace of mind. And when the occasional mistake occurs, 75% of shoppers say you can redeem yourself and reinforce their trust by responding with excellent customer service.

This means being proactive and transparent by providing answers to questions before the shopper even asks them.

Help deliver frictionless shopping experiences that create loyal shoppers with these customer service tips:

With so many digital channels for communication, service agents need access to the right data at every point of the customer journey. Although 70% of customers expect all company representatives to have access to the same information about them, 55% say it feels like they’re speaking with separate departments rather than one company. This can leave shoppers feeling frustrated while increasing the time it takes to resolve customer care issues.

By having the right data available to all customer service reps and agents, using a centralized cloud platform that updates in real time, they avoid asking customers for the same information over and over. Instead, they can pick up wherever the customer left off without asking them to explain themselves, so issues are quickly resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

From generating custom email messages quickly to interacting with customers directly via chatbot or AI customer service agent, AI is set to revolutionize customer care. In fact, customer experience has been the main focus for 50% of retailers’ early generative AI strategies.

AI can help speed up time-consuming tasks for customer service representatives, like finding the right solution in a knowledge management base and generating personalized messaging, which 31% of retailers feel is the most practical use of AI right now. In 2024, 24% of retailers are already using AI to create summaries of customer service cases to help other agents faced with similar requests quickly search for and find the right solution to known issues.

Tools like service-focused AI agents exemplify this by offering round-the-clock customer support across various channels using conversational language, providing reliable answers backed by your organization's data, and smoothly transitioning cases to service reps when needed.

This allows your customer service reps to provide speedier outcomes and more personalized service while responding to multiple customers. As AI technology continues to evolve, you’ll want to strategically use it to humanize interactions and make customers feel both understood and connected to your brand.

We all need a helping hand from time to time. But if an issue is simple, it’s often easier and faster to handle it yourself. In fact, 75% of customers prefer self-service for simple matters. Provide your customers with the self-service tools to take care of simple issues on their own. For example, 29% of retailers are harnessing AI to create conversational, digital shopping assistants to help shoppers find the right product or service or for simple tasks. These include printing a return shipping label, renewing a subscription, or changing a payment method. Self-service options free up customer service representatives to work on more complex problems that require empathy.

And guess what? A 61% majority of retail customers prefer using a self-service solution to resolve minor issues. Your customer service team will be in a better position to handle the most challenging requests, which is especially important during busier shopping periods like Black Friday and Cyber Week.

Because customers vary in how they ask for help, it’s important you offer seamless customer service wherever they engage. For example, 93% of them prefer email, 72% opt to chat online, and 64% choose social media to engage with brands. Having an omni-channel contact center that uses cloud-based software is important because it lets your customers connect with your business using multiple customer service channels. It also improves efficiency – omni-channel routing, for example, automatically routes work items to the right available service representatives to help customers faster.

And don’t forget about the phone. Although customers prefer self-service tools for simple issues, 91% of service professionals say the phone is a preferred channel for complex issues. Urgent customer care issues and complicated situations often require a conversation with a rep so they can explain the situation clearly. And when customers do contact you with an issue they can’t resolve themselves, don’t leave them hanging: 77% expect to interact with a human immediately.

A real conversation allows customers to explain nuances of their situation, so your service team can walk them through possible solutions and provide reassurance if they feel confused or overwhelmed.

Transparent return policies build trust with shoppers, as they know exactly what to expect if they need to return an item. Clear and easily accessible return information reduces customer frustration and the need for lengthy support interactions, leading to a smoother overall experience. Additionally, generous and well-communicated return policies can encourage purchases, as customers feel more confident in their buying decisions. This transparency also enhances your reputation, fostering customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

To ensure excellent customer service, train your customer service representatives to actively listen and empathize with customers, both online and in-store, to understand and address their needs effectively. Teach them to communicate clearly and professionally, using positive language and maintaining a friendly demeanor throughout customer support interactions.

Additionally, equip reps with comprehensive product knowledge and problem-solving skills, so they can provide accurate information and resolve issues efficiently. Train them to manage difficult situations calmly and patiently, focusing on solutions rather than blame. Encourage proactive assistance, such as offering additional help or suggestions tailored to the customer's interests. Lastly, provide regular feedback and coaching sessions to continuously improve their skills and maintain high service standards.

You should implement feedback mechanisms by placing prominent and easily accessible feedback forms or surveys on their websites and in post-purchase emails for online shoppers.

In-store, they can set up suggestion boxes, provide comment cards at checkout counters, or use QR codes that direct customers to online surveys. To encourage participation, you can offer incentives such as discounts or entry into prize draws for shoppers who provide feedback on their customer support experience. It's crucial to keep surveys short and focused on key aspects of the shopping experience to minimize customer effort.

Additionally, you should acknowledge receipt of feedback and communicate any resulting improvements to show customers their input is valued. Regularly reviewing and analyzing this feedback is essential for identifying trends and areas for enhancement in customer service.

A finely-tuned customer service department can be a powerful branding tool. In fact, 75% of customers will recommend a company based on excellent customer service. It connects shopping with a level of brand trust that drives customer loyalty for repeat purchases. With these tactics, you’ll create a level of service that boosts customer satisfaction so shoppers keep coming back throughout the year.