Uncommitted customers are commonplace, not rare, according to an Upside report. In fact, they make up 79% of everyday retail customers in the U.S. today.
Retail technology company Upside, Washington, D.C., analyzed 75 million transactions across thousands of retail locations to define who uncommitted customers are, where they show up in the business and how they behave.
Uncommitted customers are marked by their willingness to shop across different brands and categories to get more from every transaction, said Upside. Uncommitted customers are cross-shopping in response.
“The data shows that a visit—or even a loyalty membership—doesn’t mean a customer is here to stay,” said Thomas Weinandy, senior research economist at Upside. “To retain customers and recoup acquisition costs, fuel retailers need to prioritize winning each and every successive transaction. Winning just one more trip a month could create a meaningful boost in revenue.”
When asked about the average month, consumers said they shop at two convenience-store brands per month.
The uncommitted customer is digitally price-comparing, Upside said, and they have everything they need to make purchasing decisions right on their phones.
Forty-six percent of all fuel customers often or always compare prices across businesses, Upside said. Most of them said they make use of online resources in order to make those price comparisons.
Forty-four percent of fuel customers use social media, search engines, online ads, or online reviews to discover new products/brands, according to the report.
“Fuel retailers know how hard it is to keep a customer, especially when price drives so many decisions,” said Sam Berkovitz, vice president of enterprise fuel at Upside. “This report gives operators a clearer picture of who’s walking away and how to bring them back. It’s not with blanket discounts, but with offers that show up at the right time.”
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