Customer Loyalty: Top 6 Pain Points Retailers Face in 2023

Customer loyalty is king–but it’s also increasingly difficult. 

In highly saturated and competitive markets, retaining loyal customers can seem like a daunting task.

That doesn’t change its importance, though. For retailers today, about 65% of their business comes from repeat customers, where retention is significantly cheaper than acquisition. 

So what stands between retailers and loyal customers? Here are 6 of the most common pain points. 

1. Increased competition

The retail industry is highly competitive, with numerous players vying for customers' attention. This makes it challenging for retailers to differentiate themselves and build customer loyalty.

2. Changing customer expectations

Customers today have higher expectations in terms of personalized experiences, convenience, and seamless interactions across various channels. Meeting these evolving expectations requires retailers to invest in technology, data analytics, and customer relationship management.

3. Lack of customer data

Retailers often struggle to gather and leverage comprehensive customer data. Without a deep understanding of their customers' preferences, behaviors, and purchase history, it becomes difficult to personalize marketing efforts and tailor loyalty programs effectively.

4. Ineffective loyalty programs

Many retailers face challenges in designing and implementing loyalty programs that truly resonate with customers. Issues such as complicated reward structures, irrelevant incentives, and limited redemption options can lead to low participation rates and diminishing customer interest.

5. Lack of omnichannel integration

Customers now expect a seamless experience across various touchpoints, including physical stores, websites, mobile apps, and social media. Retailers often struggle with integrating these channels, leading to inconsistencies in messaging, offers, and customer experiences.

6. Shifting consumer trends

Retailers need to stay updated on evolving consumer trends and preferences. Failure to adapt to changing market dynamics, such as shifts towards sustainable products or digital shopping experiences, can lead to decreased customer loyalty.

To overcome these pain points, retailers should focus on a few key areas.

Customer-centric strategies, advanced technology and data analytics, personalized experiences, omnichannel operations, and continuously adapting to changing customer preferences and market trends—to name a few.

But accomplishing those goals is typically not a one-size-fits all. Nor is it easy to find a “one-quick-solution” or “silver bullet” marketing channel that can accomplish all of these goals. 

This is precisely what makes the mobile wallet channel so powerful.

Mobile wallets bridge the gap between real world engagement and in-store commerce. More than just a payments platform, mobile wallets like Apple Wallet and Google Wallet come pre-installed on almost every smartphone. Dynamic pass updates and location- and time-based notifications facilitate an omnichannel customer journey from consideration to conversion.

ZenAgain is your one-stop shop for designing, distributing, updating, measuring, and optimizing your mobile promotions and loyalty rewards.

Work with us to develop the most effective methods of reaching and engaging your best customers on mobile in order to drive in-store commerce.