One in Three Consumers Consider Highly Trained Employees the Most Important Factor When Making a Luxury Purchase

The Empathica Consumer Insights Panel also found that the vast majority of
consumers say they will walk out of a store if they receive inadequate
assistance from employees.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada – January 17, 2012 – Empathica Inc., a leading
provider of Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions to some of the
world’s most respected brands, announced today that its Consumer Insights
Panel survey of 5,000 U.S. and Canadian consumers found that nearly a third
of consumers consider highly knowledgeable and well-trained employees as the
most important element of their luxury purchase experience.

Survey results also showed that consumers are very willing to walk out of a
luxury retail store if they are not receiving the one-on-one attention they
need. In fact, three out of four consumers said they buy either nothing – or
less than what they would normally purchase – if there are not enough
employees in the store to assist them.

Despite the importance of individual attention at luxury retailer stores,
many consumers think today’s brands aren’t delivering. Only 38% of consumers
said they receive better customer service in luxury retail than in
non-luxury retail. On the other hand, if employees are eager to serve
customers, a full 80% of survey respondents said it would have a positive
impact on their perception of the brand and affect their future business
with the store. 

“Retailers can no longer view the customer experience as a series of brief,
disconnected interactions, especially those in luxury retail,” said Emmanuel
Probst, VP of Retail at Empathica. “The customer experience is a journey,
where opinions are formed and decisions are made that ultimately lead to
whether or not the customer will buy a particular product from a particular
retailer. If employees are poorly trained and lack essential knowledge on
the products, customers have no problem walking out of the store
empty-handed.”

Top Luxury Service Elements that Consumers Value, From Most Important to
Least Important
1. Highly knowledgeable and well-trained employees
2. One-on-one customer service
3. Brand exclusivity
4. Welcoming store atmosphere
5. Many employees available to serve them

If luxury retailers don’t focus on employee training and delivering
one-on-one service, the penalty can potentially be very high to the brand,
according to Andi Needham, Retail Practice Lead at Axsium Group, a workforce
management consulting practice. 

“Up until now, managers have had a difficult time really articulating a
direct link between the brand experience and how staff need to serve
customers to meet their expectations,” said Needham. “A link exists,
however, and retailers are absolutely seeking guidance for how to positively
change employee behaviors and achieve more consistency in their service
execution. Empathica survey results showed that luxury retail employees are
generally doing a good job when they are fully engaged with customers, but
it’s not happening enough. And it’s not happening consistently. The lack of
available and empowered associates is still an issue.”

For more information on the results of this study, visit
www.empathica.com/insights.

About the Empathica Consumer Insights Panel:
The Empathica Consumer Insights serves as an authoritative voice on consumer
based economic indicators; the retail, financial services and restaurant
industries; consumer shopping intentions and customer satisfaction as
reported by thousands of consumers in the U.S. and Canada. Results from
Empathica’s Consumer Insights, led by Dr. Gary Edwards and Empathica’s
Consumer Insights’ team, are published several times a year. The results are
based on outbound Internet surveys with Empathica’s growing Insights Panel,
derived from more than 30 million consumer surveys per year. Results have
been weighted to reflect latest Census distributions in the U.S. and in
Canada, including Region, Gender, Age and Income.

Aforementioned data is reported by the Empathica Consumer Insights Panel –
Wave 2 2011, Issue 2.

About Empathica:
Empathica provides Customer Experience Management programs to more than 200
of the world's leading brands, ranging from multi-unit retailers, to banks
and restaurants. Its rich analysis of survey data using state-of-the-art
surveying and dashboard reporting software allows for
performance-improvement solutions, evidence-based marketing insights, and
customer experience management consulting. Annually, Empathica's 30 million
customer surveys in 25 languages reach more than 70,000 locations. A
privately-held organization, Empathica is headquartered in Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada, has an office in Birmingham, England, and U.S. executive
consultants in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Bozeman, Mont.
For more information about deriving actionable insights that enhance a
brand's operational excellence, visit Empathica at www.empathica.com.