New report reveals happiest shopping times, top customer pain points and strategies for peak season success
HappyOrNot (www.happy-or-not.com), the world leader in customer feedback solutions and creators of the iconic smiley-faced feedback buttons found in stores, airports and public spaces worldwide, has released a new report: Retail’s Biggest CX Trends in 2025. The report is based on over 57 million feedback points collected from across the globe throughout 2024, offering in-depth analysis on customer satisfaction, retail performance, emerging technologies and the industry trends that will define the retail landscape in 2025.
Key findings from the global report include:
Customer Satisfaction Patterns:
- Happiest Time for Customers: 7 - 8am
- Least Happy Time for Customers: 6 - 8pm
- Happiest Days of the Week for Customers: Tuesday and Wednesday
- Least Happy Day for Customers: Sunday
Top Customer Challenges:
- Prices
- Checkout processes
- Product availability
These insights provide retailers with a clear roadmap of areas where customer experience improvements should be prioritized to boost efficiency, ease the shopping journey and increase revenue. Beyond the findings listed above, the retail report delves deeper into differing regional trends and peak season strategies, helping retailers maximize customer engagement.
Regional Trends and Peak Season Highlights:
Traffic growth and CX fluctuations data, with strategies for retailers to adapt to local market dynamics:
- North America: CX scores dip to their lowest in Q3 (91.8%) but recover swiftly in Q4, reaching 92.5%, the highest quarterly score of the year. Shopper traffic remains steady, making Q4 a critical period for retailers to excel through improved staffing, planning, and in-store execution.
- Europe: CX satisfaction drops to its lowest point of the year in Q3 (90.8%) but recovers in Q4 to 92.1%, despite declining traffic levels. This demonstrates that even in challenging markets, aligning execution with demand can help retailers regain momentum and drive customer satisfaction.
This data underscores the importance of adapting to local market dynamics and leveraging peak season opportunities to enhance customer engagement and operational performance.
The report also explores the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for growth across key operational areas, and provides a concise but comprehensive snapshot of major sub-industries, such as grocery, convenience and apparel.
As a trusted source of real-time customer feedback, HappyOrNot's terminals equip businesses with actionable data that helps improve customer experiences (CX) and drive operational success. The report dives into crucial data insights, revealing key findings that will influence retail strategies and CX best practices to help retailers enhance satisfaction, build loyalty and maintain a competitive edge.
The data is further supported by expert contributions from retail professionals, such as Shep Hyken - a leading authority on customer service and customer experience - and Grant Gustafson, Head of Consulting and Analytics at Sensormatic Solutions - a global powerhouse and industry leader in retail solutions.
Tim Waterton, Chief Revenue Officer and feedback management expert at HappyOrNot, says: “Customer feedback is the cornerstone of improving the retail experience, and we’re excited to introduce the second edition of our deep-dive report: Retail’s Biggest CX Trends. Drawing on feedback insights collected from our terminals across global locations throughout 2024, this report delivers practical, data-driven recommendations for retailers, along with real-world success stories that demonstrate how real-time feedback can drive smarter decisions and transformative results.
This report not only uncovers key trends shaping customer satisfaction but also equips retailers with proven strategies to enhance loyalty, optimize operations and outperform competitors - especially during critical periods like the Golden Quarter.
With expert contributions from industry leaders, including our strategic partner Sensormatic Solutions, we’re proud to provide retailers with actionable tools that turn customer insights into a powerful competitive edge.”
The full report, with further insights into the state of CX in the retail sector, is available under embargo.
About HappyOrNot (www.happy-or-not.com)
HappyOrNot® offers a cutting-edge customer feedback system tailored to enhance customer experiences with real-time, operational insights. As a pioneer in high-volume data collection since 2009, HappyOrNot stands apart by enabling retail, healthcare, and service organizations to capture in-moment relevant feedback at any touchpoint and in all channels. Our seamless integrations, ease of use, and AI-driven insights empower businesses to drive immediate impact through informed decisions that promote long-term growth, customer loyalty, and revenue.
Headquartered in Finland, with an office in the US and a global reseller network, HappyOrNot has provided over 2 billion consumer responses for thousands of clients across the globe, including some of the world’s most successful brands such as Google, Aramark, Heathrow Airport, Amazon, Rocket Stores, Knox Community Hospital, and more. Visit happy-or-not.com