Adyen Index: Retail Report 2024

Balancing customer experience and business efficiency

Man opening the store

This report combines insights from consumer and business research and industry experts to uncover how retailers can find the perfect balance between customer experience and business efficiency. 

13000

retailers


38000

consumers


26

countries


Tipping point

“Retailers are, more than ever, looking to maintain differentiation while ensuring efficiency,” said Alex Rhodes, Global Head of Unified Commerce at Adyen. “They must juggle this in an increasingly complex environment of changing regulations, new payment methods, new technologies like AI, new global competitors, and new business models. On top of that, the surface area they need to manage is expanding, from stores to ecommerce, mobile, and social. Retailers are challenged with connecting and integrating these channels while ensuring a consistent customer experience across each one. All this is within an increasingly global context with quickly evolving consumer demands.”

Retailers have a lot on their plates. But, challenging times often provide the richest growth opportunities. New technology and rising customer expectations are helping to raise the bar across the industry. And the retailers that stay ahead of the curve, will reap the rewards. The key to success is staying on top of customer demands without adding unnecessary complexity to your business, which poses the question:

How can retailers balance amazing customer experience with operational efficiency?

To answer this question and help you achieve your goals, we surveyed 500 companies and 2,000 consumers in the UK.

Key findings

0%

of consumers will abandon a purchase if they can’t pay how they want


0%

of businesses that connect their backend systems reported increased sales


0%

higher revenue growth is predicted by businesses that know the majority of their shoppers


0%

of consumers feel more unsafe shopping today than they did 10 years ago because of payment fraud


Make buying easy

How do you offer a variety of great payment experiences without adding complexity?

The moment of payment, whether in-person or online, perfectly illustrates the line retailers must walk between efficiency and customer experience. 

“When it comes to speed vs customer experience, finding the right balance is crucial. On the one hand, you want to get your customers through the checkout as fast as possible with minimal friction, and on the other hand, you want to sign them up to a loyalty programme or have them engage with you in some way.” Holly Worst, Vice President of Retail, Adyen.

Payment technology can help, both in terms of ensuring a smooth experience and fostering further customer engagement. But, the payment landscape is evolving fast, with new methods and channels being added all the time. The challenge is to provide the best payment method and channel mix for your customers without weighing yourself down with too many complex integrations.

Unlock the full report

Customer experience and business efficiency are often seen as opposing forces. However, our research finds that combining the two can unlock exciting growth opportunities. 

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