Survey Reveals Surprising Reasons Customers Don’t Return To Local Retailers

By Bob Phibbs

Updated June 5, 2024.

Have you ever sent an email or text to a retail business and not received an answer within a day?

Have you ever walked into a local business restroom and found it filthy?

While many factors contribute to a customer's decision to return, a recent survey reveals six surprising reasons why they might choose not to. Let's explore the findings and what might be keeping customers away from local retailers.

Podium, a software company that helps businesses gain insights into their customers’ experiences, reported the results of a recent survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers between the ages of 18 and 64.

The survey sought to discover why consumers do not return to local businesses. They found that respondents would likely never go there again if a business were guilty of even one of the following.

Here are the top six deal-killers:

79% said if an employee lied to them about a product or service.
70% said if an employee used foul language or was rude.
46% said if the retail store had dirty restrooms.
37% said if they left a message, and the retailer didn’t respond within a day.
30% said if they emailed, and the business didn’t respond within a day.
22% said if they texted, and the store didn’t respond within a day.

One in five respondents expected a local business to respond within five minutes, or they would move on to another company.

Surprised so far?

And if you’re courting Millennial shoppers, know they have the highest communication expectations:

They were twice as likely to be more loyal to a business that offered social media communication for their customers.
They were nearly twice as likely to be more loyal to a business that offered SMS texting for their customers.

That means Millennials expect every store owner and manager to have their store’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram apps on their smartphones and set to immediate notifications. And they must pay attention and respond to them quickly…very quickly.

It also means the store phone should be able to text both ways.

What else do customers want from their local businesses?

Nearly half of respondents want their local businesses to know them by name. That’s a level of familiarity most retailers would find daunting. Knowing a customer’s name takes more than just asking for a name at the counter. You will have to do more to engage their heart.

You have to train your employees to bond with each shopper so they want to give you their name in the first place. This level of customer service will require you to train your employees to look for clues to remember their names, not just that they are" regulars."

This survey proves few things are more powerful than hearing our name. It says I appreciate you.

A real shocker is that about a third want to receive offers by mail. Yes, you got it…by snail mail.

The good news is those who shop locally want more engagement from local businesses.

Here are the top five factors that would positively influence respondents to be more loyal to a local business:

67% want the business to make it more convenient to be a repeat customer.
60% want to be able to connect directly with a customer representative.
47% want the local business to know their name.
33% want to be able to chat online with a customer representative.
28% still want to be reminded about special offers via mail.

And here is a reality check for local businesses…while respondents ranked phone calls high when creating loyalty… 84% admit they don’t answer calls from unknown numbers.

Then how do we combat this pet peeve of shoppers?

I suggest training your employees to snap a picture of an item they were looking at but didn’t buy that day after they've bonded and closed the sale. Then, get their number and text the picture to them while they’re at the counter. That way, the customer has your number in their smartphone’s database.

Here’s the thing: none of this works if you do not have a solid retail sales strategy for exactly how you will engage a stranger, build rapport, and close that customer. Until that happens, you’ll probably take shoppers for granted without dealing with the issues that keep them from returning to your local business.

In Sum

I was surprised by these reasons shoppers don’t return to local retailers, and I think you were, too.

But if you’re trying to compete with Amazon—and who isn’t—use this list of shoppers' pet peeves as another guide to upgrading your customer service.