Ah, retail... A world in turmoil!
Between galloping digitalisation, the rise of e-commerce and consumers who are more demanding than ever, brands no longer really have a choice: they have to reinvent themselves.
The days when customer relations were limited to managing product returns or responding to complaints are well and truly over. Today, they are a strategic lever, a real one. A driver of differentiation, loyalty and even growth for those who know how to make it a pillar of their strategy.
But beware: improving your customer relations is not just about sticking a chatbot on your site or sending a little post-purchase email. It requires solid fundamentals, well-chosen tools, a long-term vision and, above all, a real desire to create a bond.
This article is here to help you with this process. The aim is to help you build a sustainable, effective and human retail customer relationship. Nothing less.
Before getting to the heart of the matter, let's start by laying the foundations.
To be clear about the terms we will be using throughout the article.
The term retail refers to the retail trade, i.e. the direct sale of products or services to end consumers.
This includes both physical shops and e-commerce sites.
A brand like Zara, a site like Asos or a DNVB like Respire are all retail players. In other words, if you sell directly to an end customer, you are in retail.
No more, no less.
A retail customer is your end customer.
The person who walks through the door of your shop or places an order from their sofa.
This customer no longer buys just a product, they want a fluid, personalised experience, without any break in the channels.
It starts on a mobile, continues on a tablet, and ends in a shop or with express delivery.
In short, they are ‘omni-demanding’ and expect responsiveness, meaning, and above all... to be understood.
There are three main reasons for this, and they will undoubtedly speak to you:
An effective customer relationship cannot be improvised. It is based on solid fundamentals which, together, build an engaging and lasting experience.
Here are the 5 levers that you absolutely must master to create a strong bond with your customers, both online and in-store.
It all starts here. Knowing your customers is not just about having their first name in an Excel file.
It's about collecting useful data, segmenting intelligently, analysing their purchasing behaviour, their journey and their preferences.
Thanks to these insights, you enter into a tailor-made, relevant and engaging relationship.
And the more you understand your customers, the more you are able to talk to them... at the right time, with the right message.
Today, customers don't want to receive the same email as 10,000 others.
They want a personalised experience, a shopping journey that adapts to their needs, product recommendations that are consistent with their desires.
Individualised marketing has become the norm.
And it's the brands that know how to personalise every step of the customer journey that come out on top.
Good news! With the right tools, it's within your reach.
A customer who waits is a customer who doubts.
And in a sector as competitive as retail, responsiveness is key.
Whether it's an online chat, a question on Instagram or a message via WhatsApp, your customer service must be available, trained and fast.
Accessibility is also about being able to speak the same language as your customers, wherever they are.
Multi-channel, yes.
But above all human.
👇 Take a look at our video on customer service, where we share 6 concrete tips with examples of inspiring brands.
Your customer switches from mobile to shop, from website to app, sometimes in the same hour.
Your mission is to offer them a fluid and coherent experience, whatever the point of contact.
That's what omnichannel means.
An ability to unify channels to offer a smooth journey.
More than a convenience, it has become a strong expectation among consumers.
👉 Continue to deepen the omnichannel approach for your business, and you will quickly see the difference in terms of satisfaction and loyalty.
Building customer loyalty costs less than acquiring a new one.
But it still has to be done intelligently.
A good loyalty program is not just about accumulating points.
It rewards commitment, values loyal customers, and creates a real emotional relationship with the brand.
And that's where tools like Loyoly come in.
Thanks to the referral and loyalty mechanisms integrated directly into your CMS, you can activate retention without complexity.
👉 Find out how to build this lasting relationship with our loyalty solutions
In a world where channels are multiplying, customers are increasingly demanding.
Digital tools are your best allies.
They do not replace the human touch, but they help you offer a more fluid, more personalised and more efficient customer relationship.
Here are the five essentials to know (and to test).
CRM is a bit like your augmented memory.
It allows you to centralise all customer information in one place: personal data, purchase history, interactions with customer service, preferences, etc.
Thanks to this ultra-precise database, you can segment your audiences, personalise your messages, prioritise your campaigns and adapt your offers.
You finally talk to the right person, at the right time, with the right content.
Some CRMs integrate directly with your e-commerce site, allowing you to track shopping baskets, purchasing behaviour or after-sales service requests in real time.
And for your loyalty or referral programs, it's a gold mine.
You identify your ambassadors, you follow their activity, and you adapt your rewards accordingly.
Let's face it, your customers want quick answers.
Very quick. And that's exactly where automation comes in.
With well-configured chatbots, callbots or voicebots, you can offer an immediate first response, 24/7.
Ideal for simple questions or FAQs.
Your teams save time, and your customers feel listened to at all times.
But automation goes much further. Think about post-purchase emails, shopping basket reminders, loyalty reward notifications.
Everything can be scripted to create a smooth and seamless experience.
And no, automation does not mean dehumanisation.
Used properly, automation allows you to reserve more time to deal with complex requests, those where human interaction is essential.
You can't improve what you don't measure.
And when it comes to customer relations, the KPIs are numerous, but valuable.
The customer satisfaction rate gives you an overall view of the experience.
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures the likelihood that a customer will recommend you.
The repeat purchase rate, purchase frequency and retention rate help you understand whether your customer relationship is engaging enough.
Also consider customer lifetime value (CLV), a key indicator for managing your relationship investments.
And let's not forget a basic one, the average response time of customer service.
Because a customer who waits... is a customer who doubts.
Customer reviews are not only useful for SEO or for reassuring prospects.
They are real levers for improving your customer relations.
Thanks to good collection software, you can identify sticking points, spot natural ambassadors for your brand, and adjust your strategy according to feedback from the field.
What's more, customers feel listened to, which strengthens their commitment.
A word of advice: don't let this data go to waste.
Analyse it, share it with your teams, and use it to create an experience that is ever closer to real expectations.
Too often, loyalty programs are perceived as old-fashioned or standardised tools.
And it's true that in 2025, not many people are excited by the idea of a simple stamp on a paper card.
But customer expectations have changed.
They want meaning, transparency and useful rewards.
They want to be recognised for their commitment, not just for their average order value.
That's why a modern loyalty program must integrate gamification mechanics, customer missions, or even community actions.
It's no longer just about rewarding, but about creating an emotional bond between the brand and its customers.
And when this loyalty is well orchestrated, it becomes a real retention driver, capable of transforming a one-off buyer into a committed ambassador.
👉 Need inspiration? Discover 5 examples of loyalty programs for retail brands.
Pssst... You might find this interesting!
Loyalty programs are strategic for your retail shop, and we can probably help. Check out our platform!
Even with the best intentions, certain mistakes can hinder your customer relationship efforts.
Here are three common pitfalls to avoid so as not to lose the trust (and loyalty) of your customers.
Collecting data is good.
Using it is better.
Too many brands today have valuable information about their customers... which they do not exploit.
The result: generic emails, product recommendations that miss the mark, and cold and impersonal experiences.
At a time when every customer wants to feel unique, a lack of personalisation can be costly.
The customer relationship does not end with payment validation.
Quite the contrary.
The moment following the purchase is essential for nurturing the relationship: delivery tracking, feedback requests, assistance, offers of additional services, etc.
A customer who is well looked after after the purchase is a customer who returns. And often recommends.
It's a classic: one shop uses a CRM, another an emailing tool, a third a loyalty program... but nothing communicates.
The result: duplicates, lost data, an inconsistent customer experience.
This is where solutions like Loyoly make the difference.
Our platform is connected to the main e-commerce tools on the market, to streamline the experience and centralise the management of loyalty, referrals and customer data.
A real backbone for your relationship strategy.
👉 Loyoly integrates easily with all the major e-commerce tools for unified management of your customer relations. Discover our compatible integrations.
Today, customer relations are no longer a small bonus that you activate once everything else is in place.
They are a strategic differentiator, a real lever for performance in an ultra-competitive retail world.
Acquiring a new customer is expensive. Building the loyalty of an existing customer, on the other hand, brings in more and in the long term.
Provided you do it intelligently, with the right tools.
At Loyoly, we support brands that want to transform their customer relationship into a sustainable competitive advantage.
Thanks to personalised loyalty programs, referrals that can be activated in just a few clicks, and seamless e-commerce integrations, you can strengthen your customers' commitment throughout their journey.
What if now was the right time to reinvent the customer relationship in your retail strategy?
Loyoly is a loyalty and referral platform combined with UGCs, which helps to engage customers in 40+ ways to increase LTV and social proof, while reducing CAC.
