Top 5 Retail CX Mistakes Costing You Customers in 2025
Based on 1.2 million Google reviews across 27 European countries.
Audience: Who Should Read This CX Benchmark Report?
This analysis is useful for anyone responsible for shaping the retail experience, including: CX leaders, regional and store managers, COOs, operation directors and operational strategists. If you want to understand what customers actually say, feel, and expect, this data is for you.
Mistake 1: Ignoring Checkout Speed and Efficiency
Why are long queues and slow checkouts one of the biggest frustrations for European shoppers?
Customers consistently mention waiting too long to pay, not enough open tills and poor staff coordination. This stress turns what should be a quick visit into a negative experience.
The data confirms this remains a major pain point:
- The Net Sentiment Score (NSS) for “Queue & Waiting Time” is -0.81.
- The NSS for “Checkout Staffing” is -0.84.
How is Net Sentiment Score (NSS) calculated?
NSS measures how people feel (positive or negative) about a specific topic, product, or experience.
The calculation is:
Example of compounded frustration:
"Slow, arrogant service at the checkout.” - Sinsay, Poland.
This shows how poor checkout experiences often overlap with rude staff, compounding the negative sentiment.
See data from 1.2 million customer reviews in benchmark
How to improve checkout CX using CustomerHero solutions:
- View all feedback in one place: Use the Feedback Hub to consolidate reviews from Google, surveys, CRM, and social media, giving you a full, single-dashboard picture of queues.
- Catch problems early with alerts: Set automatic alerts for any sudden rise in negative comments about “waiting time” or “checkout” so managers can react instantly.
- Monitor trends in real time: CustomerHero VoC for Retail allows teams to track feedback by region or store and view live dashboards revealing exactly when and where problems arise.
- Identify specific drivers: Use multi-channel analytics to determine which topics most impact satisfaction related to checkout speed.
- Understand tone with Sentiment Monitoring: Detect early, subtle shifts in how people feel (e.g. rising frustration in reviews) to act before poor experiences become widespread.
Key Takeaway:
Every slow checkout risks an abandoned basket. According to Waitwhile, 82% of shoppers avoid stores with long lines, leading directly to lost revenue.
Mistake 2: Competing on Price Alone
Why are low prices not enough to secure customer loyalty?
While low prices attract customers, positive experiences are what drive loyalty and repeat visits.
The data shows that price is important, but not the only factor:
- The topic “Price & Value” actually scored one of the strongest positive sentiments: +0.74 NSS.
- However, customers who praised low prices also frequently mentioned “good assortment,” “organized,” and "helpful/friendly staff" in the same reviews.
This means that if a store is poorly stocked, confusing to navigate, or staffed by rude employees, the perception of "good value" quickly disappears, regardless of the price tag.
How to improve the perception of value using CustomerHero solutions:
- Keep stores easy to navigate: Use Store-Level Feedback to analyze local comments (including offline inputs via QR codes). Quickly identify which stores customers describe as “confusing” or “well organized” and fix signage or layouts.
- Ensure reliability and consistency: Detect early spikes in negative feedback by monitoring sentiment scores and enabling automatic alerts. This allows regional managers to react in real time before issues snowball.
- Define "value" through data: Use the Feedback Hub and multi-channel analytics to uncover which factors (pricing, assortment, or staff behavior) most influence overall satisfaction.
- Maintain an organised process: Track which customer issues were resolved with Closed-Loop Feedback to ensure every piece of feedback leads to real operational change.
- Empower and reward great service: Use the Employee Feedback Loop to highlight and share positive mentions of store teams, reinforcing helpful service.
Key Takeaway:
Value is more than a number. It is a combination of price, convenience and trust built through a consistent, organized shopping experience.
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Mistake 3: Applying the Same CX Strategy Everywhere
Do CX expectations differ by country in Europe?
Yes, what 'good' customer service means to consumers varies significantly across Europe, demonstrating big cultural and regional differences in what shoppers value. That’s why rolling out a single, "copy-paste" CX strategy leads to losing touch with local customer needs.
Examples of cultural nuance:
- Germany (DE) - Shoppers prioritize efficiency and policy clarity:
“the range of goods is wide and well sorted” - Kik, Germany
“The action itself is cool, but unfortunately they don't take the legal warranty period for electrical devices very seriously..they didn't allow me to return an item, even though receipts and everything were there. This warranty period is even stated on Action's website, so why isn't it adhered to?" Action, DE
- Spain (ES) - Consumers emphasize the in-store experience, comfort, and staff interaction (e.g. air conditioning/temperature):
“Wonderful service…go for it, you won't regret it” - Kik, Spain
“You have practically EVERYTHING. My only drawback is that it is very hot which is very insufficient. Seeing the store takes a lot of time because it is big and there is a lot of everything, but because of the heat you limit yourself to buying the two things you need and stop seeing the rest.” - Pepco, Spain
The differences in retail performance across European countries highlights just how much local consumer expectations shape retail outcomes and how different cultures value the components of the overall shopping experience.
How to adapt your CX strategy using CustomerHero solutions:
- Stay on top of cultural and regional differences: Track sentiment from all your customer feedback sources by country, region and store via multi-channel analytics and Feedback Hub. This immediately highlights where expectations differ.
- Adapt with store-level insights: Use Store-Level Feedback and topic tagging to understand what each market values and adjust your service, tone, and atmosphere accordingly.
- Give local teams the power to act: With VoC for Retail including automatic alerts and Outer Loop dashboards, store and regional managers can react immediately to local issues.
- Keep everyone aligned: Use Insight Distribution to automatically send weekly, role-specific reports to HQ, regional, and store managers, ensuring every team knows the local customer priorities.
Key Takeaway:
Consistency builds brand trust, but local nuance built through regional data is what builds long-term loyalty.
Mistake 4: Underestimating the Power of Staff Interaction
What is the most influential driver of retail customer satisfaction?
“Staff & Customer Service” is the most influential driver of satisfaction, with an importance score of 0.91 and over 102,000 reviews analyzed. In 2025, humans still make or break the customer experience.
Consumers remember when staff are kind, patient, and professional, but they remember poor interactions more intensely.
The overall NSS for Staff & Service is around +0.09, demonstrating a large and costly inconsistency across non-food retailers in Europe.
See which brand are leading CX in the non-food retail space
How to improve staff interaction CX using CustomerHero solutions:
- Analyze comments with AI in real time: Use the platform to immediately find out what the lowest rated staff issues are about and in which specific stores they are happening.
- Address negative interactions fast: Handle complaints about poor service right away with Alerts and Close The Loop solutions, as negative experiences spread quickly online.
- Use the Employee Feedback Loop: Share positive customer feedback internally. This highlights team members who get great reviews, building a culture of kindness and keeping employees motivated.
Key Takeaway:
People don't remember prices - they remember how you made them feel. Focus staff training on empathy, not just speed.
Mistake 5: Treating Returns as a Policy, Not an Experience
Why are returns and exchanges a major source of negative customer sentiment?
"Returns & Exchanges" is one of the most negatively discussed topics in the benchmark, with an NSS of -0.69. Customers frequently feel like returns are a punishment, not a standard part of the service.
Customers call out confusing rules, slow processing or unfriendly staff, which leaves a lasting negative impression that damages overall trust and brand perception.
Example of damaged trust:
"The unfriendly staff I've ever experienced…The cashier just rolled her eyes and shook her head.” - Tedi, Austria.
This results in comments like:
"There’s no way I’m coming back" - Pepco, Spain.
See data from 1.2 million customer reviews in benchmark
How to improve the returns experience using CustomerHero solutions:
- Use feedback to change policy: Find out what policies should change and why. Consider creating a short, targeted survey for customers who return items.
- Automate updates: Use Close The Loop solutions to keep customers automatically informed about their refund progress, eliminating uncertainty and anxiety.
- Handle customers with empathy: Train staff to listen and help, ensuring the returns process does not feel like an interrogation.
- Learn from data: Track the reasons for returns to identify and fix patterns in recurring product or policy issues.
Key Takeaway:
A smooth return process builds confidence. Treat it as a crucial part of the customer experience loop, not an afterthought.
Conclusion: Data is Your CX Superpower
Your customers are already telling you exactly what’s working and what’s not. The real question is: are you listening?
Brands that track Voice of Customer (VoC) feedback grow faster, build stronger loyalty, and earn a better reputation than those relying on gut feeling or outdated reports.
At CustomerHero, we turn customer reviews into real-time insights - helping you understand what drives satisfaction, spot problems early, and act before it’s too late.
Contact us to find out more and start delivering better CX
About the Author
Justyna Waciega is a Content & Campaign Marketing Specialist
Empowering businesses to achieve greater growth
