In each sector, this year’s results are very similar to last year’s, with no significant improvements to speak of. In fact, performance has dropped slightly in two key metrics: the CEE score (total customer experience score that evaluates brands and the entire market using the six pillars) has dropped by 1% and NPS (that shows how likely customers are to recommend a brand to those around them) took a 16% plunge. A combination of factors is to blame, with Czech customers’ heightened sensitivity to price increases likely playing a significant part.
Effectively, the CEE score has dropped to 2021 levels – an interesting phenomenon, since 2021 was strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a very successful 2022. This year’s numbers suggest that 2022 served as a bridging period between two crises. Customers were still elated thanks to the pandemic being over and the effects of the war in Ukraine not showing in full force yet, with inflation peaking only in 2023.
There’s more to support this theory. When data for the study was being collected in 2022, inflation was already approaching double digits, but it was this year’s survey that collected data from customers who had been experiencing the full impact of double-digit inflation for almost a year. In fact, inflation only started coming down below 10% towards the very end of this year’s data collection period, meaning that the promise of a better future had not yet had the chance to take root and show in the results of the 2023 study. Still, the effects of the crisis are not strong enough to prevent the market from stabilizing in the next year, or even reaching the pre-war norm.
The world is going through a period of turbulence, with changes happening left and right. Digitalization is the name of the game for both services and products. When you go shopping these days, it’s not just to get some bread anymore – grocery stores now have apps that provide us with recipes and tips for a healthier lifestyle. Digitalization will remain relevant in the nearest future, further blurring the line between products and services. Brands who want to stay in the game and succeed need to make sure their customers can switch between physical and digital channels as seamlessly as possible.
| 2022 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Fast Food | 7,7 | 7,4 | –3 % |
| Grocery Retail | 7,6 | 7,4 | –3 % |
| Non-Grocery Retail | 7,7 | 7,5 | –2 % |
| Travel and Hotels | 7,3 | 7,4 | 2 % |
| Financial Services | 7,6 | 7,5 | –1 % |
| Logistics | 7,5 | 7,6 | 0 % |
| Entertainment and Leisure | 7,6 | 7,4 | –2 % |
| Telecommunications | 7,4 | 7,4 | 0 % |
| Utilities | 7,1 | 7,2 | 2 % |
Despite the current trends, three sectors have actually improved their scores compared to 2022. The Utilities sector is the most surprising one – a drop would be a more reasonable expectation due to the turbulences in the electricity and gas markets. However, many utility providers and distributors faced the challenge head-on and managed to retain customers (or even win new ones) with open, transparent communication and clear information about prices. And while the Utilities sector remains last, it has gained on the “competition” significantly. The Logistics sector has also improved, building on the momentum it gained during the pandemic, and the sector of Travel and Hotels was finally able to take a full, deep breath post covid travel restrictions.
Compared to 2021, this year’s total shows an improvement in all sectors except for Grocery Retail, Non-grocery Retail and Restaurants and Fast Food. Their lack of improvement could be related to growing prices and the fact that hospitality is a non-essential sector, so customers can choose to use these services much less or stop using them completely when prices skyrocket. This will likely have an impact on the total customer experience in restaurants, with customers likely choosing to skip them because of a poor perceived value for money.
The same can be observed in Grocery Retail, the only difference being that it’s impossible to stop buying groceries – which is why promotions, loyalty schemes, and extra services are crucial to at least partially balance out the high prices. Whether Czech customers accept the new pricing norm, or whether the market will be powerful enough to drag the prices back down, that’s a question next year’s study will answer.
Personalization is the name of the game, likely due to increased prices – because when customers are willing to spend more money, they expect an impeccable product or service in return, one that fits their needs perfectly. In that context, the growing importance of personalization and the fact that it replaced integrity as the number one pillar and completely jumped over last year’s growing trend towards empathy is really not surprising. Right now, personalized products or services seem to be the key to happy customers and something that can make up for the higher prices, at least a little.
To succeed in personalization, brands must know their customers extremely well. AI, which has spread like wildfire this year, penetrating all fields and specializations and becoming the focus of this year’s study, can help them achieve that level of knowledge. Moreover, it could affect the importance of other pillars as well – and it may be to blame for the decreased importance of the resolution pillar, since current technology is capable of predicting and preventing more and more problems, or at least dealing with them quickly, before they completely overtake the customer’s attention.