As we approach the end of yet another unpredictable year and look ahead to 2023, one thing the pandemic, a war in Europe and a UK Prime Minister lasting just 45 days has taught us is that the future is stranger than fiction.

With high inflation, higher interest rates and sky rocketing energy costs, it will be hard for retailers to forecast revenue and costs for 2023.  At Maze, one thing we can be certain of is that our customers do not leave revenue to chance. 

All of our customers take positive steps every day to maximise revenue from every customer interaction.

Their store staff are listening to the customers every day, understanding their concerns, celebrating positive feedback with their colleauges and making changes to their operations to ensure every customer has a great experience. 

It’s not expensive or time consuming and for many employees, it becomes a game they want to play, to see their store perform better than others.

The results are that if a customer is satisfied with how they are greeted instore, with the knowledge and friendliness of the staff, then those cutomers spend more, tell their friends and increase the frequency of purchases. 

A million transactions don’t lie!

When we analysed over one million transactions, it showed that customers will choose to travel further and pay a little more to use a retailer who previously exceeded their expectations.

No one can predict what 2023 will be like.  What we know is for retailers to firstly survive and then grow, they must ensure they:

  1. Increase conversion rates by staff engaging with customers and help them with their purchase
  2. Create experiences in-store that encourage customers to return more often
  3. Grow the basket size, not through pushy sales tactics, but with soft skills and understanding the customers’ needs

Costs are also a big factor that retailers constantly strive to control and reduce.  Through Maze we see people form teams that support and celebrate each other’s successes.  People start to see the impact of their work in the feedback from customers and how their absence effects their colleagues, it increases morale, and everyone aligns on common goals.

The impact of the above on store costs can’t be overlooked:

  1. Reduced unplanned absenteeism
  2. Higher work rate
  3. Lower employee churn
  4. Lower recruitment and training costs