Retail & E-Commerce
Multi-Location Retail Services
Transforming a 12-location retailer's customer experience from reactive to proactive
4 weeks (1 week on-site, 2 weeks analysis, 1 week delivery)
Overview
A multi-location retail services company with both physical stores and e-commerce was hemorrhaging customers due to inconsistent service across channels.
The Challenge
12 locations with different processes, no unified CX strategy, 48-hour average email response time, and a returns process that required 7 steps across 3 systems.
Our Approach
- •Visited 4 of 12 locations for in-person observation
- •Analyzed 12,750 customer service interactions across all channels
- •Mapped complete customer journey across 12 touchpoints
- •Benchmarked against retail industry standards
Key Findings
- •64% of call volume was automatable with existing tools
- •Returns process created 3x more support tickets than industry average
- •No proactive shipping notifications — driving 22% of inbound calls
- •Satisfaction drops below 2.0 at 3 critical touchpoints
Results
-60%
Call Volume
12,750/mo→5,100/mo
-71%
Returns Processing
7 steps→2 steps
-92%
Email Response
48 hrs→4 hrs
+46%
CSAT
2.8/5→4.1/5
Audit Artifacts
Call Taxonomy Analysis
12,750 interactions classified across 15 categories
69%automatable
Inquiry Type | Volume | % Share | Avg Handle | AI Ready |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order Status Inquiry | 2,847 | 22.3% | 4:12 | Yes |
| Return/Exchange Request | 1,923 | 15.1% | 7:34 | Yes |
| Product Information | 1,654 | 13% | 3:45 | Yes |
| Billing Dispute | 1,287 | 10.1% | 11:20 | Human |
| Account Updates | 1,098 | 8.6% | 5:15 | Yes |
| Shipping Issues | 987 | 7.7% | 6:48 | Human |
| Technical Support | 876 | 6.9% | 9:22 | Human |
| Loyalty Program | 654 | 5.1% | 3:30 | Yes |
| Store Location/Hours | 432 | 3.4% | 1:45 | Yes |
| Complaint/Escalation | 398 | 3.1% | 14:10 | Human |
| Price Match Request | 234 | 1.8% | 6:22 | Human |
| Gift Card Inquiry | 187 | 1.5% | 3:10 | Yes |
| Warranty Claim | 134 | 1.1% | 8:45 | Human |
| Accessibility Request | 56 | 0.4% | 5:00 | Human |
| Other | 23 | 0.2% | 4:30 | Human |
Customer Journey Heatmap
Satisfaction scores across 12 touchpoints — gaps highlighted
Website Browse
4.1Good
Product Search
3.2Fair
Checkout
3.8Fair
Order Confirmation
4.4Good
Shipping Updates
2.1Critical
Delivery
3.6Fair
Returns Initiation
1.8Critical
Phone Support
2.4Critical
Email Support
2.9Critical
In-Store Pickup
3.9Fair
Loyalty Program
3.5Fair
Post-Purchase Follow-up
1.5Critical
Gap Analysis — Critical Touchpoints
Product Search (3.2/5) — Search relevance needs AI improvement
Shipping Updates (2.1/5) — Proactive notifications missing
Returns Initiation (1.8/5) — Complex multi-step process
Phone Support (2.4/5) — Long wait times, inconsistent quality
Email Support (2.9/5) — 48hr average response time
Post-Purchase Follow-up (1.5/5) — No follow-up exists
“The customer journey heatmap was a wake-up call. We were blind to how badly we were failing at returns and post-purchase. The taxonomy analysis showed us exactly where to invest in automation.”
Director of Customer Experience
Multi-Location Retail Services