Exploring customer experience through eye tracking case studies

Abstract

As consumers have become more demanding and shop both off- and online a physical shopping trip needs to be worthwhile and is expected to be nothing less than an agreeable experience in a unique atmosphere (Sachdeva & Goel, 2015). Creating such an experience requires the retailer to connect on an emotional level with his customers. Therefore, perceived store personality and perceived atmosphere are key elements for retailers to consider when engaging customers. Customer engagement can be deployed through a consistent store concept answering the wants and needs of consumers in experiencing retail environments (Petermans, Janssens, & Van Cleempoel, 2013). Research in this domain has much to offer to retailers, designers and marketers: store design has been left to designers’ subjective view of aesthetic appeal or practical function. However, this approach lacks a vigorous underpinning of exactly what the consumer is attracted to, what communication and design efforts are being seen and how the consumer navigates through the store. In the current explorative study, we aimed to grasp which in-store elements facilitate an “optimal customer experience”. That is, enabling a positive experience that touches the consumer emotionally, connecting the retailer’s distinctive story to the needs of the consumer. Consequently, the purpose of the study was to better understand why these in-store elements can optimize customer experience. Inevitably, there is no “one size fits all” solution; every retailer has his own position in the market and has his own identity and story to tell (Gilliam & Zablah, 2013). There is no such thing as ‘the’ optimal experience, but retailers can translate their values in the most optimal experience for their store and their customers.