4 Ways to Improve Customer Satisfaction

May 5, 2026 • 7 minute read
Author: Phyllis Jackson, Senior Manager, US Marketing, UPS

Key Points

• Today’s shoppers increasingly value optionality and affordability over speed when it comes to fulfillment and shipping.
• 57% of retailers are actively pursuing ways to leverage a customer’s return journey to drive more sales through methods such as next-product-to-buy suggestions and scripts that in-store associates can use to encourage post-return purchases.²
• Providing store employees access to real-time inventory data can help them answer customer stock questions quickly, giving a store an edge over the competition.

Finding the Formula for Better Retail Customer Satisfaction

In retail, customer sentiment has a strong correlation to business growth. If store reviews aren’t quite as stellar as they once were, if the enthusiasm shared on social media about shopping with your store seems to be waning or if business has slowed, it’s time to take a look at ways to improve customer satisfaction. Jarret Arnold, Retail Strategic Lead, UPS, explains that making changes often comes down to four basic categories:

1. Flexible return policies
2. Shipping options
3. Real-time inventory data
4. Pricing

“Keeping your customers happy is a critical part of retail success,” Arnold explains. “The goal is to provide customers with a frictionless experience that offers options at every step along the path to a purchase.” modernization.

Offer Flexible Return Policies

Customers demand frictionless returns. In fact, 92% of shoppers say that they’d buy from a retailer again if the returns process were easy.¹ Retailers can boost customer satisfaction and drive repeat purchases by simplifying the returns process. For example:

• 82% of shoppers say free returns are an important part of their purchasing decision, which is a 6% year-over-year increase.³
• 84% of shoppers say box-free, label-free returns coupled with instant refunds are their favorite way to return items.³
• 46% of retail customers say inconvenient returns made them abandon a purchase.³

However, creating a friction-free return process in an omnichannel retail environment is often much easier said than done. The first step is to conduct an in-depth analysis of your current reverse logistics operations. That’s where a trusted shipping partner can identify opportunities for improvement and provide services that help make returns a brand differentiator.

“Returns have become such a large influence on the path to a consumer’s purchase,” Arnold says. “Customers who have a good returns experience with a company are likely to go back to that retailer again for another transaction and may even become a lifetime loyal customer.”

Offering in-store returns for online purchases, for example, gives retailers the chance to build a face-to-face connection with customers, encourages in-store exchanges or additional purchases, and provides the opportunity to upsell or add additional sales.

Retailers are also recognizing the power of returns as a sales lever. In fact, 57% of retailers are actively pursuing ways to use a customer’s return journey to drive more sales through methods such as next-product-to-buy suggestions and scripts that in-store associates can use to encourage post-return purchases.²

Provide Multiple Shipping Options

Providing choice when it comes to shipping options empowers the customer to make the decision that best suits their needs. If the customer only has one delivery choice, you might be missing out on an opportunity to encourage a purchase.

In general, the pathway to shipping satisfaction starts with options. Consider these facts:

• Approximately 34% of customers are likely to complete a purchase if they can choose from multiple shipping options, while an additional 40% say they like having multiple choices even if it doesn’t impact their buying decision.⁴
• As for shipping speeds, 90% of consumers are willing to wait two to three days for a delivery if it helps them avoid shipping costs.⁵
• Additionally, 48% of shoppers will abandon their online shopping cart if extra costs (including shipping) are too high.⁶

A qualified shipping partner can help you identify the shipping speeds and rates that best suit your business and customers’ preferences.

“Offering a customer the ability to choose from multiple service levels and giving them an accurate delivery date when an order will be delivered is a big step in boosting shopper satisfaction,” Arnold says. “Successful retailers keep their customers in the loop, not in the dark.”

Empower Store Employees with Access to Real-Time Inventory Data

On any given day, there’s a good chance that you’ll have a customer ask you if an item is in stock. Providing employees with access to real-time inventory levels empowers them to give customers definitive answers quickly.

Your customers will appreciate your team’s ability to know details about product availability, while the real-time information can also improve supply chain efficiency and inventory optimization.

Businesses that implement real-time inventory solutions have found that stockouts fall by 40%.7 That improvement is critical, as 66% of customers will shop elsewhere if the item they want is out of stock.⁸

“Inventory stockouts can be a big issue for businesses, often leading to lost sales, dissatisfied customers and damaged reputations,” Arnold adds.

Richard Casner, Strategic Lead, Retail Strategy at UPS says that part of what makes stockouts difficult for store-based retailers is that in-stock items give shoppers a chance to experience products in a tangible way. In a recent Q&A discussion about the ways in which retailers can manage disruptions, Casner explained the connection between inventory management and customer satisfaction.

“When we talk about stockouts, think about the store — 80% of retail sales still happen in the store,” ⁹ Casner says. “So, the customer experience is really about the store experience. And without the merchandise, customers can’t see, touch, feel or try on those products.”

Improve Price Accuracy for a Consistent Brand Experience

Imagine a customer walks into a store and finds an item on sale for 30% off the regular price. When they get to the register, they find out that the sale price is incorrect and that the item has no discount. Disappointed, they walk out empty-handed.

Situations like these — on the shelf or online prices differing from an item’s actual price at checkout — cost retailers $90 billion in sales each year.¹⁰

There are several ways you can remedy these issues:

• Increase the frequency of pricing audits to find error patterns.
• Improve communication between key departments through shared pricing dashboards, regular meetings between stakeholders and detailed workflows for updating prices.
• Give employees a refresher on pricing systems and strategies.
• Automate pricing to avoid human input errors.

Pricing integrity is particularly important for store-based retailers with self-checkout lanes, where 30% of consumers say they’ve had issues with incorrect pricing.¹¹

Identify Ways You Can Boost Customer Satisfaction Through UPS Services

The work you do to offer better shipping options, more returns channels, smarter inventory management and consistent pricing can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction, no matter the season your business is in.

UPS can help you analyze what’s going on behind the scenes, identify areas for improvement and introduce third-party solutions to help you make necessary business adjustments.

“Even the best retailers need an occasional review of their customer satisfaction levels,” Arnold says. “Some of our customers are at the starting line, while others are nearing the finish line. No matter where you are in the journey, we can build a plan to help you keep your customers happy.”

^1. “E-commerce Product Return Rate – Statistics and Trends,” Invesp, accessed October 20, 2025.
^2. “Returning to order: Improving returns management for apparel companies,” McKinsey & Company, accessed October 20, 2025.
^3. “2024 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry,” Happy Returns, accessed October 20, 2025.
^4. “Survey: Consumer Home Delivery Preferences,” Parcel, August 28, 2025.
^5. “The need for speed?” McKinsey & Company, March 18, 2025.
^6. “Extra costs are the No. 1 reason consumers abandon online carts,” EMARKETER, accessed October 20, 2025.
^7. “Optimizing Warehouse Inventory with a Web-Based Management System,” American Chase, accessed September 12, 2025.
^8. “Out-of-Stocks Drive 66% of Consumers to Another Retailer, New AlixPartners Study Finds,” AlixPartners, accessed October 13, 2025.
^9. “Online vs. In-Store Shopping Statistics,” Capital One Shopping Research, accessed October 21, 2025.
^10. “True Cost of Out-of-Stocks & Overstocks: Can Retailers Handle the Truth?” IHL Group, accessed August 28, 2025.
^11. “Scanning the self-checkout situation in grocery and retail: The good, the bad, and the ugly,” Service Management Group, accessed October 13, 2025.

Individual results and options will vary. UPS makes no promises of any specific outcome in this document but instead provides only example outcomes based on certain UPS customer experiences.