Perceived shopper satisfaction declines over time

The study compared ‘in-the-moment’ scores of shoppers who were targeted with surveys – using geolocation – within three hours of a shopping experience, and a control group. 

The biggest difference was in perceived satisfaction with customer service: scores given by geolocated customers (those who were targeted within three hours of leaving the shop) were 10.5% higher than those that had not been geolocated.

The difference between the two cohorts in their perceptions of ‘ease of finding items’ was 6.3%; checkout experience varied by 5.9%; store atmosphere by 4.7% and store cleanliness by 2.5%.

The satisfaction of those customers who had been geolocated was 4.6% higher overall. 

'Our comparative study suggests new insights into how consumers’ perceived satisfaction erodes over time,’ the blog presenting the results read. ‘Was it a case of not enjoying their purchases as much as they’d expected when they were in the checkout lane? Or does this indicate something broader about consumer perceptions changing over time?

'In any case, for accurate insights it’s important to probe for the truth as swiftly as possible after consumers have had the experience you’re studying.'

The same study also looked at purchase recall and found that this too decayed over time. More information can be found here.