UserTesting, a SaaS leader in experience research and insights, today released its 2024 Retail Benchmark Report, highlighting the pivotal role of digital experience in driving shopper retention and success in the retail space. Amid rising costs and increasing competition, the report underscores the importance of the QXscoreⓇ, a proprietary measure of the quality of experiences, in attracting and retaining customers.
As digital marketing costs rise by 12.4 percent year-over-year (per Contentsquare’s Retail Digital Experience Benchmark), driven by increasing spend on Google and Meta, and with AI-driven noise complicating organic search, retailers are renewing their focus on retention strategies. Traditional retention methods like loyalty programs and promotions are under more scrutiny, with an optimized digital experience emerging as the key to retaining customers.
The QXscore offers a holistic view of the shopper journey, taking into account obstacles encountered, shopper attitudes, and their likelihood of returning. This year’s Retail Benchmark, based on the actions and feedback of 2,750 shoppers across the top 25 U.S. retailers (excluding grocers), reveals that a seamless digital experience is crucial for repeat visits.
Top Insights from the 2024 Retail Benchmark Report
- Superstores Lead the Way: Amazon, Target, and Walmart take the top three spots in this year’s Retail Benchmark, showcasing their superior website experiences.
- Prevalent Obstacles: Despite most shoppers completing their journey, 41% faced obstacles, highlighting areas for improvement.
- Impact of Multiple Obstacles: Shoppers encountering two or more obstacles are 34% less likely to return, emphasizing the need for smooth, frictionless experiences.
- Retention Success: QXscore leaders bring back 90% of their shoppers, compared to 71% for underperforming retailers.
- Traffic Boost Opportunity: Improving QXscore can deliver a 4.4% increase in traffic to lower-performing retailers, presenting a significant growth opportunity.
- Revenue Increase Opportunity: Improving QXscore can deliver $226M in annual revenue across the 6 lower-performing retailers.
The report highlights that today’s shoppers are adept at navigating e-commerce sites, but challenges remain. Despite high journey completion rates, 41 percent of shoppers faced obstacles, with one in five encountering two or more issues. These obstacles significantly reduce the likelihood of repeat visits and can turn shoppers into detractors.
Top-performing retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart maintain their lead by ensuring minimal obstacles, averaging only 0.56 obstacles per journey. In contrast, lower-performing retailers present twice as many obstacles, resulting in a 20 percent drop in the percentage of shoppers likely to return compared to top performers. The report indicates that fewer obstacles and a smoother navigation process significantly enhance shopper satisfaction and retention.
The QXscore not only measures experience quality but also correlates with tangible business outcomes. A one-point increase in QXscore can boost traffic by 0.42 percent. For lower-performing retailers, elevating their QXscore to match top performers can lead to a 4.4 percent increase in traffic and substantial revenue gains, potentially adding up to hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
“Our 2024 Retail Benchmark Report highlights the critical importance of delivering exceptional digital experiences. As our findings show, retailers that prioritize reducing obstacles in the shopper journey and enhance the overall user experience see significant gains in shopper retention and revenue,” said Bobby Meixner, Senior Director, Retail Product Strategy at UserTesting. “By focusing on improving their QXscore and understanding why something is seen as an obstacle, retailers can not only attract more visitors but also encourage repeat visits, driving long-term success.”
UserTesting’s 2024 Retail Benchmark Report makes it clear: investing in the digital experience pays off. With retention of primary importance and the QXscore serving as a critical indicator, retailers have a significant opportunity to enhance traffic and revenue by improving their QXscore.
To read the detailed 2024 Retail Benchmark report, click here.
Methodology: The data for this report was collected between May 7-12, 2024 using UserTesting’s platform, and employing mixed methods to evaluate the shopping experience at the top 25 U.S. retailers. A total of 2,750 shoppers participated, each tasked with completing four navigation tasks and responding to survey questions. For each retailer, 55 participants used desktop devices while another 55 used mobile devices, totaling 110 participants per retailer. Screen recordings and think-aloud videos captured key moments and obstacles, allowing for the assessment of shopper attitudes and the likelihood of return. This comprehensive analysis, utilizing UserTesting’s QXscore, provides valuable insights into retail performance by highlighting both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the shopping journey.
Analysis Notes: The study analyzes the relationship between QXscore and shopper retention, with data sourced from SEMrush, Grips Intelligence, Contentsquare’s Retail Digital Experience Benchmark, and the Salesforce Shopping Index. Projections are annualized based on Q1 2024 data, with traffic and revenue implications carefully calculated.
About UserTesting
UserTesting is fundamentally changing the way digital products and experiences are built and delivered by helping organizations get insights from customers — from concept to execution. Built on top of a world-class, on-demand sourcing engine, customers can receive fast, high quality, opt-in feedback from both our proprietary and partner-sourced audience networks around the world. UserTesting offers the industry’s most comprehensive experience research and insights solution. Unlike approaches that track user behavior or collect customer listening data on live experiences, then try to infer what that data means, UserTesting enables companies to get input directly from customers–earlier in the process–helping to reduce guesswork, and bringing experience data to life with human insight. The company, formed through the combination of UserTesting & UserZoom, has more than 3,000 customers worldwide, including 75 of the Fortune 100 companies. To learn more, visit www.usertesting.com.
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