A new survey has revealed what British shoppers hate most about the high street experience.
10,000 people in the UK were asked what really gets their goat about high street shopping – with queues, misleading deals and cramped stores taking the top spots.
42% of participants disproved a Great British stereotype, citing queues as their ultimate annoyance when it came to high street shopping – while deceptive offers came in second at 37%.
Cramped shops scooped a substantial 36% of the vote, with almost half of 18-24 year-olds claiming they were a nuisance.
While one resounding outcome of the survey by Sinso Retail Support @sinsoretail saw Brits lay blame on their fellow shoppers, with 34% of participants citing other customers as their biggest gripe.
Retail sins
Misleading offers (37%) and poor access (20%) also come under fire, with the former proving especially unpopular with 35-44 year-olds.
38% of over-65s revealed that poor access annoyed them most about the high-street shopping experience, with some retailers failing to accommodate the needs of older customers.
Across the counter, team training showed plenty of room for improvement – with aggressive salespeople (35%) and poorly informed staff (25%) scoring highly in the study.
Earlier this month, the BBC reported a government defeat, as an overhaul on Sunday trading laws was rejected by MPs.
Despite that, 17% of participants said limited opening hours were among their biggest high street headaches.
No refunds
When it comes to products, Brits aren’t willing to settle – citing low stock levels (25%), poor product quality (18%) and mislabelled products (16%) as a few of their high street deal-breakers.
A fifth of men surveyed said poor quality products drove them mad, while women considered a poor product selection one of the cardinal retail sins.
Ugly product displays scooped 11% of the overall vote, with a sizeable 17% of British men expressing their disdain for shoddy displays.
A number of respondents shed light on the disadvantages of high street shopping when compared with the online experience – highlighting the extra time and expense, and limited product choice as a few of the comparative shortcomings.
0.4% of voters declared “high-street chuggers” as the worst part of the shopping experience.
After The Guardian reported that UK high streets are losing customers to purpose-built retail parks, this latest retail study has revealed some potential catalysts for the high street’s demise – and a number of opportunities for retailers to take a step in the right direction.
Lee Singers, of Sinso Retail Support, said: “The study’s interesting in that it continues to highlight consumer dissatisfaction in the way retailers are failing to listen to their customers.
“Whilst we have come a long way over the last few years, continuous improvements need to be made to in-store layout to make for a more rewarding and enjoyable entry to exit journey – from fixtures and fittings and in-store lighting, to product availability and increased levels of customer service.”
Topline results:
What gets your goat about high street shopping? (Respondents were allowed to select multiple answers)
- Queues: 41.8%
- Misleading offers: 36.9%
- Cramped shops: 35.7%Aggressive salespeople: 35.3%
- Other customers: 33.5%
- Poorly informed staff: 25.1%
- Poor product selection/low stock levels: 25.1%
- Poor access: 19.5%
- Poor quality products: 17.5%
- Limited opening hours: 17.1%
- Mislabelled products: 15.5%
- Ugly displays: 10.6%
- Other: 6.4%
