As Labor Day approaches, it’s the perfect time to reflect on last year’s performance to anticipate what we might expect this year.
In this newsletter, we’ll dive into key insights on conversion rates, revenue trends, and traffic patterns in the furniture and mattress industries during the holiday weekend. Additionally, we’ll explore the latest challenges in customer experience, highlighting why brands are struggling to keep up with growing expectations despite significant investments in CX improvements.
Today’s Rundown
- Payment Required: After a decade of free Alexa, Amazon now wants you to pay.
- Shipping Trouble: The two-day or less shipping Americans have come to expect faces a climate change threat.
- OUT NOW: Sign up to receive the Q2 2024 Home Furnishing Benchmark Report.
Market Watch
Furniture Industry
Mattress Industry
Rewind: Labor Day 2023
With Labor Day just around the corner, its time we look at last years performance to see what we can expect for this year. Here are our key takeaways:
- Conversion Rates: Both the furniture and mattress industries experienced higher conversion rates on Labor Day itself compared to the rest of the week. Salespeople in the mattress industry successfully converted 72% of opportunities into paying customers, with Monday being the standout day, while the furniture industry achieved a 50% conversion rate, with Labor Day yielding the highest success rate at 56%.
- Revenue Insights:The mattress industry saw a decline in performance this year, with an average daily revenue of $9,752 over the weekend, a 15% drop from 2022. In contrast, the furniture industry averaged $37,362 in daily revenue, with Labor Day nearly doubling the revenue compared to Friday. Both industries experienced consistent ticket sizes, with the mattress industry’s average ticket at $3,752 and the furniture industry’s at $2,394, the latter marking a 3% decrease from the previous year.
- Traffic Patterns:Traffic trends diverged between the two industries. The mattress industry saw a steady increase in traffic throughout the week, peaking on Labor Day with 7 visitors per day. Meanwhile, the furniture industry experienced a slower start with 24 visitors on Friday, eventually increasing to an average of 31 visitors per day over the weekend—a 36% decrease in daily traffic compared to 2022.
CLICK HERE to read the full breakdown and predictions for this year.
The Gap Between Customer Expectations And Satisfaction
Recent reports reveal a decline in customer satisfaction with brand experiences. Forrester’s US 2024 Customer Experience Index highlights a three-year downturn, reaching levels not seen since 2017. Similarly, the UK’s Institute of Customer Service reports a drop in its Customer Service Index to 75.8, the lowest since 2015.
- Over-reliance on Virtual Agents: While 90% of customers want self-service tools, less than half find current options effective.
- Lack of Personalized Experiences: Many brands misunderstand personalization, which should focus on listening and responding effectively to individual needs.
- Knee-jerk AI Implementations: Brands often rush to adopt AI without clear objectives, risking ineffective use of significant portions of their budgets.
Retail Snippets
Slow-Down: Mattress maker Purple to close 2 factories.
Shipping Trouble: The two-day or less shipping Americans have come to expect faces a climate change threat.
New Competition: Best Buy introduces AI-Powered delivery tracking, signaling shift in retail logistics.
Random Irrelevance
Sustainable Lego: Lego to replace oil in its bricks with pricier renewable plastic.
Payment Required: After a decade of free Alexa, Amazon now wants you to pay.
Aurora Summer: Aurora Borealis may make another appearance in Northern states.
The post Conversion Rates, Revenue, and CX appeared first on Trakwell.ai.
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