Rude store staff are Australian shoppers' biggest bugbear according to new research from Synovate Retail Performance.

Better customer service and the unlikely prospect of banning children from shops at the weekend are the two changes that respondents to the survey say would improve the Australian shopping experience.

The Australian survey results showed 24 per cent of those polled said bad-mannered staff put them off shopping and a further 22 per cent of shoppers complained about staff who just "couldn't be bothered".
Another 20 per cent of consumers said that pushy staff were the most annoying and could make a trip to the shops "absolute hell" said a Synovate spokesperson.

One shopper said: "The service in Australian shops is awful. Often the shop assistants are talking to each other and completely ignore customers or there just aren't enough staff to assist."

When consumers were asked what they would change about the shopping experience, 13 per cent asked for lower prices and 11 per cent wanted more online choice. There were also calls for separate shopping times for children and teenagers and, in some cases, calls for all children and teenagers not to be allowed into the shops at weekends or in the afternoons. Comments also included a wish for more flexible and later opening hours.

Julie Cumberland, marketing manager at Synovate Retail Performance, said the feedback offers a real picture of what Australian consumers feel most strongly about with their shopping experience.

"We conducted the research so that we could advise retailers about some key drivers for improved shopping and give them some things to think about when creating future shopping experiences. Particularly with multi-channel shopping here to stay, retailers have to work harder to engage and keep shoppers' loyalty. We've found we have a lot of pointers to share with them."

The average shopping time in Australia was two to three hours and the most visited retail outlets were clothing shops, which was similar to findings from other countries where the global research was undertaken.

Synovate's full 'How Do We Shop' report is due out in January.

Article first found at Insideretail.com.au
Research compiled by Synovate