RBizz Corporate Accountants - Resources #Retail workers

How to improve your customer experience as a retail business

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:30:45 +1100

How to improve your customer experience as a retail business

“Q: My online retail customers are disappearing thick and fast. What could be causing this drop in sales conversions?”

As a small retail business, you spend a significant amount on customer acquisition. But recent research from Inside Retail reveals that we have a major commitment problem.

Last year, 76% of shoppers walked away after one bad experience. This year, that number has climbed to 84%. Customers are no longer taking the traditional routes of complaining or filing tickets; they are simply disappearing and abandoning their carts.

“A: The real ‘breaking points’ are no longer happening at the checkout – they are happening after the buy button is hit.”

With online shopping such a central part of any retail strategy, customers abandoning baskets, or cancelling their purchases is a major headache.

But there are plenty of ways to improve your retail customer experience (CX) to mitigate these abandoned carts and the associated loss of sales:

Remove the barrier of shoppers needing a mandatory account:

Make it easy for shoppers to check out using a ‘guest account’. 34% of respondents say they abandoned a cart because of forced registration. Allow customers to create an account after the payment is complete, transforming a hurdle into post-purchase convenience.

Be totally transparent about the final price:

Show all shipping costs, taxes and fees up front when the customer first views the cart, rather than at the final payment step. Hidden costs are a major reason for abandonment, so providing a real-time shipping calculator prevents the potential price shock that can kill conversions.

Offer multiple payment options:

69% of shoppers may abandon carts that don’t offer their preferred payment methods. It’s sensible to include payment gateways such as PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay alongside the more traditional credit/debit card option. This increases the chance of your customer clicking through and paying.

Give the customer a good reason to trust you:

Place security badges, clear return policy links and live-chat icons directly within the checkout footer. Anxiety about data security or ‘what if it doesn't fit?’ worries peak at the moment of payment; these signals provide the final reassurance needed to click 'Confirm'.

Removing the barriers to cart abandonment and lost sales

With 14.3% of all Australian retail sales now being made online, removing these e-commerce customer experience barriers is a must for any small retail businesses.

Talk to our team about your e-commerce strategy and the key ways you can enhance your customer experience to reduce cart abandonment and unsatisfied customers.

Could Junior Pay Rates Be Abolished?

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:42:20 +1100

Could Junior Pay Rates Be Abolished?

“It's about ensuring that anyone who's 18 years or older gets paid the adult rate of pay. They can drink, they can drive, they can vote — we as a community treat them as adults on every level, except when they walk in the door to work.”

Gerard Dwyer, National secretary for the SDA

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA or ‘Shoppies’) most recent campaign focuses on the right for young Australian workers to be paid the same as their older colleagues.

Under the current wage rules for junior rates, workers under 21 years of age only get paid a percentage of the rate earned by older workers.

Workers under 20 are paid 90% of the adult award rate.
Workers who are 19 are paid 80% of the award rate.
Workers who are 18 get just 70% of the full award rates in retail, fast food and pharmacies.

There’s a growing weight of opinion from younger workers and their unions that people should earn the same wage, regardless of their age.

The Fair Work Commission held a hearing on the future of junior rates, but, at present, no decision has been handed down.

How could a change to junior rates affect your business?

If you employ a large number of younger workers under the age of 21, the abolishment of junior rates could have a significant impact on your payroll.

With the junior rates removed, all workers, regardless of their age, would be paid at the same standard rate. This would increase your payroll costs and impact your cashflow.

Talk to us about the impact of a change to junior wage rates

If you’re worried about the potential impact of the removal of junior rates, and the subsequent increase in wage costs, book some time for a chat with our team.

We can run scenarios to outline the potential costs and the overall impact on your cashflow.