Egyptian consumers ready to drop brands that provide poor customer experiences, SAS research finds

Nearly half (46%) of Egyptian consumers would ditch brands after just one or two poor customers experiences, according to new research by SAS, the leader in analytics. 

This rising intolerance for poor customer service coincides with a growing preference for digital commerce among Egyptians. The research discovered that 46 per cent of Egyptian respondents will continue to shop, bank, and order online more than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only 19 per cent of Egyptians expect to revert to the same balance of online and offline retail activity as before. Almost eight in ten (76%) say their shopping habits have changed permanently as a result of the outbreak.

“With the number of digital apps and services continuing to rise, it’s easier than ever for customers to switch providers, whether that’s for a better price or a superior customer experience. As a result, customer loyalty is diminishing, while expectations soar. Organisations must continually ensure they are providing a better customer experience than their competitors, or they risk losing business. To achieve this, organisations of all sizes can use cloud-based technologies such as analytics and AI to analyse the customer data they have and create actionable insights for each individual customer,” said Youssef Aqallal, General Manager North Africa, Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa at SAS.

Read the full report here.

The findings of the survey show the extent to which consumer commerce has moved online in the last year and a half. The percentage of new digital users since the pandemic started stood at 27 per cent in the Middle East & Africa (MEA), the highest of any region surveyed. More than half (56%) are now considered digital users, also the highest of any region.

While Egyptians’ intolerance for poor service is high, those brands and service providers that succeed in delighting customers stand to benefit. Across the MEA region, 39 per cent of respondents say they expect to spend more once vaccines are rolled out. Only 10 per cent say they will spend less.

The good news is that brands appear to be on the right track. Exactly nine tenths of respondents in the MEA region noted an improvement in the customer experience during the pandemic.

To help businesses provide a more tailored customer experience, customers are now more willing to provide personal data to companies. A third (33%) of all those surveyed said they are more likely to share personal data with businesses now than they were before the pandemic, compared to 20% who are less likely to. A third of those people more likely to share their data specified that they would do this in return for an improved customer experience.

To find out more read the full report here.