Dive Brief:
- Overall store retail CX remained strong in the third quarter of 2026, with 92% of consumers reporting that they are happy or very happy with their experience, according to data collected from 15 million in-store global feedback responses by HappyOrNot. However, consumer sentiment is trending downward from the prior quarter.
- The share of satisfied consumers is down half of a percentage point from the second quarter of 2026, according to HappyOrNot. The number of customers reporting they were very happy fell, while the shares of unhappy and very unhappy responses grew.
- The weakest benchmark was price perception, where a relatively lower 83% of consumers reported that they were happy or very happy. This weighed on other aspects of the experience.
Dive Insight:
Rising prices are making customers more aware of when and where store experiences sour, whether with poor product selection or slow checkout, but greater consistency can help solve such issues.
Satisfaction with the retailer store experience remains very strong, but retailers should take heed of the downward trend, according to Scott Erickson, EVP of global sales and U.S. lead at HappyOrNot.
“It’s not necessarily a crisis or a major problem, but it’s definitely a signal of what’s happening out there,” Erickson told CX Dive.
Shoppers are pleased with associates, with 98% of consumers reporting that they were happy or very happy with customer service execution. The store environment was another high point at 95% satisfaction.
Where consumer sentiment falters is product selection and quality, for which about 88% of consumers were satisfied, and transaction friction, for which 87% of consumers were satisfied — both below the overall customer satisfaction benchmark.
In a tough economy, customers are very aware of the value they receive for their money, according to Erickson. In-store CX plays a big role in whether shoppers feel like the purchase was worth the money.
“You're walking into a retail location already a little stressed out by cost of living increases,” Erickson said. “Then you start feeling challenged to find the right product or like you couldn’t complete the purchase smoothly. All that adds up to wondering if you actually got good value for your money.”
The key to delivering on value is consistency, according to Erickson. Customers should feel like they can find what they need and check out with minimal effort every time; such facets of the experience are as important to customers’ satisfaction as clean stores and helpful staff.
Target has recently been putting an emphasis on consistency. The retailer has focused on improving inventory reliability to ensure customers can always find the products they came for, and it updated its associate-facing app to help them prioritize tasks with the biggest and most immediate impact on the shopping experience.
Retailers can track store performance over the course of the day to improve their consistency, according to Erickson. HappyOrNot’s research has found that CX drops later in the day due to a combination of factors like higher customer traffic, lack of leaders on duty and staffing that doesn’t align with store needs.
“The retailers that are doing best can predict those patterns before they actually start to deteriorate,” Erickson said. “They ensure staffing is aligned with traffic, and foot traffic specifically, while making sure the product selection is refreshed throughout the day.”
