Last spring, Gøril Wold Waegger hosted a webinar, which brought a lot of value to several retailers in different segments. She talked about the value of soft KPIs when it comes to growing your physical stores.
The question
In retail, it’s easy to measure what’s visible. Sales, conversion rates, revenue. These hard KPIs are familiar and quantifiable, but they don’t always tell the full story. According to Gøril, there’s a powerful opportunity in what’s often overlooked: soft KPIs. The behaviours that actually drive those results.
“Too often, businesses focus on KPIs their employees can’t fully control. What if you measured behaviour instead?”
The Problem with Hard KPIs
Hard KPIs are influenced by countless external factors: weather, market trends, renovations, or even the mood of the day. They’re valuable, but they rarely show what’s really happening in your stores.
“Variation in your results is the result of variation in your employees’ behaviour.”
That simple truth is one many retailers forget. Measuring only outcomes, and not the behaviours that lead to them, leaves a huge blind spot in performance management.
The power of measuring behaviour
Soft KPIs, or Key Behavior Indicators (KBIs), focus on the everyday actions that employees take that directly shape customer experience. Greeting customers, asking questions, recommending products, these are behaviours 100% within employees’ control.
Maze Feedback’s data supports this approach:
- 75% of customers say they spend more after receiving high-quality service.
- Conversion rates rise significantly when staff offer help.
- And in a 2024 Maze study, 21% of customers who left without buying said it was because they didn’t receive assistance.
“This isn’t rocket science,” says Gøril. “And yet, most retailers still don’t measure frontline behaviour daily. Imagine the impact if they did.”
Real results from real retailers
One European retailer doubled its store revenue within months after shifting focus from conversion rate to staff behaviour. And Norwegian retailer Barnas Hus saw a 10% revenue increase in just 10 months after implementing behaviour-based tracking.
These examples expose the truth: when employees understand what behaviours matter, and receive feedback in real time, performance improves naturally.
Behaviour creates connection
Even in a digital age, 70% of purchases are still influenced by in-store experiences.
Customers don’t just come for products, they come for people and service.
“The share of older adults is growing rapidly, and in many areas, there are already more people over 60 than under 30” Gøril explains. “This generation loves to talk, share stories, and connect. Are your stores ready to make space for that kind of experience?”
Soft KPIs help ensure that training investments and customer service goals actually translate into consistent, human experiences across all locations.
A smarter way forward
A behaviour-based strategy doesn’t replace your regular KPIs. It complements them to create a more balanced overall approach. Remember to measure what drives results, not just what results look like.
The Maze app helps retailers do exactly that, by providing daily customer feedback directly to frontline staff, which empowers them to see what works and where to improve.
“When employees see how their actions affect results, they stay motivated, engaged, and proud of their work,” says Gøril.
So, ask yourself the same question Gøril left her audience with:
“Do you dare shift your focus — just a little — from the hard KPIs to the soft ones?”
