The customer journey in physical retail rarely begins at the shop door. Customers discover products through search engines or social media, compare prices in online shops, check reviews and then visit a store. After the purchase, further touchpoints follow: questions, complaints, customer service, reviews or another purchase.
For retailers, this means that online and offline experiences are part of the same journey. Anyone looking only at what happens inside the store is missing a large part of it. Touchpoints in physical retail may be more difficult to track than in e-commerce, but typical journeys can still be mapped, weaknesses identified and experiences improved.
The key points at a glance
- The customer journey includes every touchpoint before, during and after a purchase.
- In physical retail, customers move constantly between digital and personal channels.
- Personal advice, trust and local proximity remain important strengths of brick-and-mortar stores.
- CRM, service and analytics data help retailers understand the cross-channel journey.
- The aim is a consistent experience in which customers receive the right information and have access to the right channel at each touchpoint.
What is the customer journey in retail?
The customer journey describes a customer’s path from their first contact with a brand, product or service to the purchase and beyond. It includes every touchpoint at which customers receive information, make decisions, need support or gain experience with a company.
In physical retail, this may include a Google search, an advert, the online shop, a store availability check, the journey to the shop, advice from staff, payment, a service request and a later review. The retail customer journey is not necessarily linear: customers switch between channels, repeat individual steps or abandon the purchase along the way.
An individual customer journey can include a huge number of touchpoints – and that is fine. Retailers do not need to document every conceivable route. It makes far more sense to focus on typical customer groups, common situations and the moments that matter most.
The five stages of the customer journey
Customer journey models divide the journey into several stages. The terminology varies between models, but the basic sequence is usually similar:
The well-known AIDA model uses Attention, Interest, Desire and Action to describe the path leading primarily to a purchase decision. For physical retail, an extended model is generally more useful because service, product use, repeat purchases and recommendations account for a significant part of the overall customer experience.
How e-commerce has changed customer behaviour in retail
Digital and in-store shopping experiences can no longer be separated neatly. Customers research online and then buy in a store, seek advice in person and order later from the online shop, or reserve a product online for in-store collection. Price comparisons, product reviews, social media content and online availability also influence customer behaviour in retail.
This connection between channels is known as omnichannel retailing. For retailers, the point is not necessarily to offer as many channels as possible, but to connect information and processes in a useful way. A product shown as available online should actually be in stock at the store. Customers should be able to return an online order in person without a struggle. Customer service needs access to previous interactions and purchases, both to prevent customers from having to repeat themselves and to work efficiently.
Connecting stores, online shops, customer service and customer data is often part of a wider digital transformation. It affects processes, systems and responsibilities just as much as the actual shopping experience.
Moments of Truth: the moments that matter
The “Moments of Truth” model focuses on particularly influential moments within the customer journey. The traditional approach distinguishes between the stimulus, the first direct contact with the product and the experience after purchase. Digital channels have added further moments:
- Zero Moment of Truth: research before direct contact with the product, for example through search engines, reviews or social media
- First Moment of Truth: the moment when the customer examines the product in a store or online
- Second Moment of Truth: the customer’s experience while using the purchased product
- Third Moment of Truth: sharing that experience through a review, recommendation or social media post
One customer’s final touchpoint can therefore become the next customer’s first. Reviews, recommendations and shared experiences connect individual customer journeys.
Example: a typical customer journey in retail
- A customer discovers a product in a social media post.
- She searches for more information online and compares prices and reviews.
- On the website, she checks whether the product is available at a nearby store.
- She visits the store, receives advice and buys the product.
- Later, she has a question and contacts customer service via chat.
- After her issue is resolved quickly, she leaves a positive review and buys again.
Each of these steps can strengthen or undermine the purchase decision and subsequent customer loyalty. Optimising the transaction alone is therefore not enough.
Customer experience in retail: what customers expect
The customer journey and customer experience are closely connected, but they do not mean the same thing. The customer journey maps the sequence of touchpoints. Customer experience describes how customers perceive those interactions and their overall relationship with a company. Anyone looking to improve customer experience in retail therefore needs to examine both the individual touchpoints and the way the channels work together.
Physical retail has major advantages over pure e-commerce. Customers can experience products directly – see, touch, smell and try them – receive personal advice and take their purchase home without waiting for delivery. Human contact in particular can build trust and remove uncertainty.
These advantages only count if the basic processes work. Long queues, missing product information, conflicting information on the website and in the store, or a complicated returns process all damage the retail customer experience. Customers judge the journey as a whole, even though different teams and systems may of course be responsible for each stage internally.
A good customer journey in physical retail therefore combines personal attention with reliable digital services. This can include:
- up-to-date information about products, prices and store inventory
- simple reservation, collection and returns processes
- knowledgeable and accessible contacts
- consistent information across all channels
- simple contactless payment options
- customer service with access to purchases and previous interactions
- transparent handling of customer data
Companies that make these decisions consistently from the customer’s perspective create an important foundation for genuine customer centricity. This means far more than a few friendly gestures: customer needs must be firmly embedded in processes, systems and priorities.
Challenges when analysing the customer journey
Online and offline data are kept separately
In e-commerce, many steps can be tracked through web analytics, shopping baskets and customer accounts. In-store interactions are more likely to remain anonymous. Information is also frequently distributed across different systems: the online shop, point-of-sale system, CRM, customer service software, loyalty programme or survey tool.
A well-chosen and properly integrated CRM system can bring together information from marketing, sales and customer service. CRM in physical retail is particularly useful when customer data from digital and personal interactions needs to be connected. Retailers should only collect and connect data that serves a clear purpose and can be used in compliance with data protection requirements.
The journey is not linear
Customer behaviour in retail is difficult to predict. Customers switch between websites, stores, apps, phones and other channels. A retail customer journey map should therefore aim to show typical patterns without treating one idealised route as universally valid.
Internal structures do not reflect the customer’s perspective
Customers do not care whether the online shop, physical store and support team are separate organisational units. To them, it is all the same brand. Handoffs between departments and systems are therefore among the most important areas to examine in a journey analysis.
Success is measured using the wrong metrics
Revenue and visitor numbers show only part of the picture. Drop-off points, repeated enquiries, returns, waiting times, customer satisfaction and repeat purchases can also indicate where the customer journey works and where it does not. Business Intelligence can bring together data from different sources and make it useful for decision-making.
How to improve the customer journey in physical retail
A customer journey map should make decisions easier and lead to concrete improvements. The following process provides a useful starting point:
- Define the objective and use case: Are you examining a purchase process, a specific store, a return or the entire journey?
- Select the relevant customer groups: Different target groups may have different expectations, channels and obstacles.
- Record the touchpoints: Collect all important interactions before, during and after the purchase.
- Include the customer’s perspective: Use data, interviews, feedback, complaints and observations instead of relying entirely on internal assumptions.
- Identify gaps and critical moments: Where is information missing? Where do customers have to wait, change channels or repeat their issue?
- Prioritise improvements: Assess measures according to customer impact, effort and strategic importance.
- Measure the results: Decide in advance which metrics will show whether a change is working.
Whenever questions, problems or complaints arise, customer service in retail has a major impact on the overall experience. Our article Improving customer service: six measures that make a difference explains which levers matter.
Individual improvements should also contribute to a shared goal. A customer service strategy provides the framework for bringing channels, processes, technology and metrics together.
Trust and personal relationships still matter
Digital services have strengths of their own. They cannot replace the strengths of physical retail, but they can support them. Personal advice, local proximity and the opportunity to experience products directly can build a level of trust that is much harder to establish online.
At the same time, trust generally develops only through a consistent overall experience. This includes reliable information before the visit, a positive in-store experience and accessible support after the purchase. Retailers who accompany customers only as far as the checkout have missed the enormous value of loyal customers and are taking too narrow a view of the journey.
The post-purchase phase deserves particular attention. Service quality, the handling of complaints and relevant follow-up offers have a major influence on whether customers return and recommend a company. Read more in our article on effective customer retention.
Practical example: Jelmoli connects retail and customer service
Our Jelmoli customer story shows how customer service can be modernised in a long-established retail company. Together, we transferred existing requirements into a new support setup and created the foundation for clear and reliable customer service.
We can help you put it into practice
Do you want to understand your touchpoints better, connect data and systems or develop your customer service across the entire customer journey? We analyse the status quo with you, prioritise the biggest levers and implement the right strategic and technical solutions.
Let’s talk about your customers – and youFAQ about the customer journey in physical retail
What is physical retail?
Physical retail refers to shops with a fixed location where customers can view, try and purchase goods in person. This includes supermarkets, specialist retailers, department stores and branches of retail chains.
What is a customer journey in retail?
The customer journey in retail includes every interaction a customer has with a retailer before, during and after a purchase. It covers digital touchpoints such as search engines, online shops and reviews as well as store visits, advice, purchases and later service contacts.
What is the difference between customer journey and customer experience?
The customer journey describes the individual stages and touchpoints along a customer’s path. Customer experience refers to the perceptions and feelings created by those interactions. The journey makes the process visible, while customer experience shows how customers evaluate it.
Which customer journey models are there?
Well-known models include AIDA, with the stages Attention, Interest, Desire and Action, and an extended five-stage model consisting of Awareness, Consideration, Purchase, Retention and Advocacy. The right model depends on whether you want to examine the purchase decision alone or include product use, customer retention and recommendations.
What makes a good customer journey?
A good customer journey is built around customers’ goals and needs. Information is consistent across channels, transitions work without unnecessary friction and customers receive the right support at each touchpoint. The journey is also reviewed regularly using data and customer feedback.
How can retailers measure the customer journey?
Possible metrics include visitor and purchase rates, drop-offs, waiting times, returns, repeated service requests, customer satisfaction, repeat purchase rates and customer retention. The right metrics depend on the stage being examined and the specific goal of the improvement.
Why is omnichannel important in physical retail?
Customers move between digital and personal channels throughout their journey. Omnichannel connects these interactions so that information and processes remain consistent. Customers can research online, buy in a store and later contact customer service through another channel without important context getting lost.
