5 Questions Retailers Are asking Their Customers in 2021

You’re not dumb. You understand that to make more sales, you need to understand your customers. Getting to know your customers starts and ends with asking the right questions.

But what are the right questions?

There’s plenty of information already out there on Google about what you SHOULD ask, but what are successful retailers like you actually asking?

We’ve dug through our database once again, and present you with five retail question examples you can ask your customers right now.



How satisfied were you with our sanitation measures?

  • Why it's useful

    • With the onset of COVID19, consumers are wary of returning to physical locations. And if they do, they expect businesses to do their utmost to guarantee their physical health. Gauging how well you’re doing with your own measures can reassure you that you’re on the right track, or give you a much-needed nudge in the right direction.
  • How to do it

    • You could either ask the question with an ExpressPod smiley terminal, or you can ask for open-ended answers with the Anywhere module. The decision depends on whether you want a quick temperature reading or deeper data. You could also ask this question in a multiple choice format if you wanted to narrow down answers to specific points (see an example here).

How safe did you feel today?

  • Why it's useful

    • Everyone wants to feel safe, especially when they’re in your business. Asking this question is another way for retailers to understand if their COVID measures are enough, but can also shed light on other factors that may make customers feel uncomfortable. Instead of restricting possible answers to just one topic like in the first question, you’re opening the floor to your customers.
  • How to do it

    • Similar to the above, you can use an ExpressPod smiley terminal to get a quick overview, or you can dig deeper with open-ended questions. If you have particular suspicions, you can also restrict the answer choices with a multiple choice question.

What products were you unable to obtain today?

  • Why it's useful

    • This question is a retail classic. Unless you have a monopoly over your local market, it’s also crucial to understand. If customers can’t find the products they’re looking for, they’re probably not coming back -- and you’ll catch them shopping over at the competition across the street. It’s also a way to keep abreast of what products need to be stocked and when, keeping up with shifting customer demands.
  • How to do it

    • This one’s perfect for either the Online or Anywhere module. If your customers are online, use a non-intrusive widget to quickly ask them what they’re missing. If it’s at a store or anywhere else, you can send your customers targeted surveys by SMS, or prompt them to scan a QR code.

Through what channels would you rather contact us

  • Why it’s important

    • 82% of customers expect an immediate response when interacting with your business. Not only that, the post-covid consumer expects you to be reachable through a number of channels -- email, chat, phone, and more. Instead of guessing what channels matter to your customers, ask them -- and save yourself time and money.
  • How to do it

    • It pays to be creative. While customers are lining up at the cashier, you can place QR codes on the floor or other visible areas and use the Anywhere module. They’re stuck waiting in line anyway, so why not kill some time helping you get to know them better? You could also use an ExpressPod with a multiple choice format, limiting the answers to something like “A. Phone, B. Chat, C. Email”. Ideally, you’d palace the ExpressPod at a touchpoint where customers are “stuck”, for example the checkout line.

How could we have avoided a terrible visit OR How could we have made your visit even better?

  • Why it's useful

    • Smiley feedback is great for when you want a quick read on a specific question, but what happens if you want to go deeper? What if you want to understand why a particular person pressed a sad face or a happy face? Understanding the motivations behind people’s answers will help you recreate the positives and avoid the negatives.
  • How to do it

    • You can use Ombea’s question logic feature either using the On-site module’s ExpressTab, the Online or Anywhere module. Depending on what a person tapped/clicked on, you can have them follow a specific set of questions. In this case, you could have your first question be “How was your visit?”, and then depending on whether the customer chooses a positive or negative response, you follow up with “How could we have avoided this?” or “What could we do even better?”

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