After all of the recent data breach and deliveries problems that have been in the news, it’s time to get back to focusing on how to optimize the retail customer experience — and to recapturing customer trust.

As Jeannie Walters, CEO at 360Connext, observes for Multichannel Merchant: 

“There are few industries that have undergone such transformation lately as retail. What used to be a simple idea of selling goods to consumers in stores is now a multichannel experience including store, mobile devices, online marketplaces, and more. The customer experience is one of constant change. And customers are expecting retailers to keep up, regardless of the channel.”

So, what can retailers (and other firms, as well) do to provide a better shopping experience for there customers? Walters offers 5 tips:

1. Frustration-free shopping is a must. — “Creating frictionless ease for customers is the true target. Customers are willing to seek out and pay more for these types of experiences.”

2. Personalization must be used as much as possible. — “Understanding the ways shoppers use their mobile devices and helping them in those key moments is a big step forward.”

3. The in-store experience must not be viewed as standalone. — “Retailers of all sizes should start getting creative about ways to help shoppers feel connected in more than one space.”

4. Retailers must react to complaints made on social media. — “That means the internal workings of the retailer need to be dynamic, flexible, and pretty darn flat.”

5. Retailers should limit their big launches. — “People don’t care about big, splashy advertising campaigns that announce a new logo. They care about how they are treated.”

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