In the fast-paced world of enterprise retail, customer loyalty is on life support. According to our recent survey, What’s Killing Conversions for Enterprise Brands?, where we interviewed over 1,500 US shoppers, 81% of consumers said they have turned their back on a brand in the past year. With economic tensions high and consumer patience running thin, the question every retailer needs to ask is: What’s driving this mass exodus?
Poor Experiences Are A Prime Conversion Killer
From frustrating digital experiences to clunky checkouts and missing the mark on ethics or tech – today’s shoppers have zero tolerance for friction. Whether they’re shopping on mobile,desktop, or in-store, consumers expect a seamless, connected journey. Over a quarter of US consumers drop brands over sluggish websites, confusing checkout flows, or delivery delays. The takeaway? Customers don’t abandon brands – they abandon bad experiences.
And the cost of friction is huge: 83.5% of shoppers will abandon a cart if their preferred payment method isn’t an option. Add in clunky mobile UX or missing product info, and you’re bleeding revenue at every touchpoint.
Improve the experience by:
- Optimizing site speed to reduce drop-offs
- Prioritizing mobile UX with thumb-friendly navigation and one-click checkouts
- Testing your search functionality
- Ensuring payment options are broad and intuitive
Imbalanced Price-to-Value Ratios
Product quality is the top reason shoppers stay loyal – or leave. But while 53% say quality drives loyalty, nearly half also chase discounts, with Boomers being the most price-conscious. 30% of these shoppers will walk away if there’s no discount.
And the shaky economy shifts shopping behavior. Nearly 1 in 3 shoppers are more engaged in loyalty programs as a way to get the most value from their shopping experiences. And to get the lowest prices, Gen Z and Gen X shoppers choose cheaper, secondhand alternatives.
The reality is that consumers want perfect products and perfect prices. How can you balance the two to ensure your customers stick around?
In short, by driving up value:
- Ditch blanket discounts in favor of dynamic, personalized promotions.
- Showcase quality clearly with reviews, videos, and detailed product info.
- Build trust with transparent pricing and simple, flexible return policies.
Get the whole picture of why US shoppers abandon enterprise retailers and find the fix for your brand.
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Disconnected Omnichannel Experiences
Think only Gen Z shops online? Think again. 57% of all shoppers prefer a mix of online and in-store, across every generation. But when omnichannel isn’t seamless – when carts don’t sync across channels or return policies are unclear – customers disengage.
Gen Z sets the bar high: they want to try before they buy and sync carts across devices to pick up wherever they left off in their shopping journey. If your tech stack can’t support that, you’re losing out.
Create more seamless shopping experiences:
- Enable BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) and BORIS (buy online, return in store) services with real-time inventory visibility
- Sync loyalty programs, carts, and user data across platforms
- Future-proof with AR try-ons and responsive mobile interfaces
Misuse of Personalized Retail Strategies
Generic shopping journeys are out. 43% of Gen Z and 39% of Millennials say personalized recommendations drive loyalty. But personalization must feel helpful, not invasive.
Across all generations, some shoppers are still wary of AI-driven features. Facial recognition and AI-generated product images and models are among the least trusted uses in retail, with around 30% of shoppers saying they feel uncomfortable using them.
You can leverage AI in retail effectively by:
- Using AI to offer personalized perks shoppers really want, like product recommendations, tailored promotions, and loyalty perks
- Offering chatbots that solve problems, not just say “hi”
- Being transparent about and giving customers control over how their data is being used
Do you know what’s killing conversions for your enterprise brand?
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A Price Sensitive Market
Economic uncertainty is making shoppers pickier than ever. 36% say price trumps brand loyalty during economic downturns. But price sensitivity isn’t a dead-end – it’s a roadmap.
When budgets get tight, shoppers look to spend their money more effectively. With 26% searching for more promo codes and 22% engaging more with loyalty programs, these are your opportunities to capture consumer attention.
Moreover, brands do well to emphasize their value propositions and highlight how their products are meeting their customer’s core needs.
Manage price sensitivity by:
- Giving shoppers control over their subscriptions by offering real perks like options to skip months, loyalty discounts, and mixed baskets.
- Introducing trade-in and secondhand programs to retain price-conscious customers.
- Using AI-powered pricing engines to stay competitive in real time.
Outdated Tech Stacks
Bloated tech stacks are hidden conversion killers. When your systems don’t talk to each other, friction builds and teams are forced to spend time on maintenance instead of innovation.
Composable commerce architectures eliminate this chaos by integrating inventory, CRM, checkout, and loyalty into a single, agile system.
Unify your eCom tech stack by:
- Auditing your current stack and eliminating tools that don’t integrate.
- Deciding which eCommerce features are relevant to your brand without overcomplicating your stack.
- Choosing platforms that allow you to manage your stores, features, and promotions from one place.
Fighting Brand Abandonment: Connected Commerce, Personalized Touch, and Transparent Value
Winning back today’s shopper isn’t about gimmicks – it’s about trust, experience, and relevance. The abandonment epidemic isn’t incurable, but it does demand enterprise retailers rethink their approach.
In retail’s new era, every click, cart, and connection counts. Treat loyalty as a byproduct of great experiences – not a standalone goal.
Ready to get to the root of the abandonment epidemic in your business?
Get your free copy of the US Shopper survey.