What Retailers in Canada can Learn about Customer Experience from the Online Casino Industry

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Canada's retail market is going through a rough patch in 2019. A video about retail closures by The Huffington Post revealed that several major retail brands have shut up shop, such as shoe store Payless ShoeSource, and homeware company Home Outfitters, which had all 37 of its Canadian locations closed by Hudson's Bay Co. Since that video was published, Forever 21 has also announced that it will be closing all 44 of its Canadian stores.

The closure of these stores is happening mostly because of the accessibility of online shopping and the amount of revenue the industry continues to make. However, it is possible these retailers can stop losing so much money and find a way to get their accounts back into the black by looking at the customer journey and experience. Inspiration can be found in the least likely of places, with Canada's online casino industry perhaps ready to give them some ideas. The industry has seen a growing number of players who enjoy playing poker, slots, and roulette both online at clovr.com.

Customer experience is hugely important

Just like the retail sector, there is a huge amount of competition in Canada's online casino market. While media giants like Amazon hasn't got into the casino business (yet), there are still many online casinos all trying to get players to sign up and play their games. Players may all enjoy games of high calibre on all of these sites, but it's the customer experience and benefits where these casinos can differentiate themselves.

We see this by looking at online casino reviews. When people go to find a new online casino at bestcanadacasino.ca, one of the first things they'll see is the "offer" list which says whether a casino provides useful customer benefits, welcome packages, and VIP bonuses. As well as having fast payouts and a large selection of games, the beginning of the customer journey is seen as one of the most important things to look for before we spend any money.

Be where the customers are

The Canadian gambling industry is worth around $15 billion, reveals IBISWorld, and it employs more than 40,000 people. The revenue is sourced from both land-based casinos as well as online casinos that people can access from any handheld device or computer. With the two sides of the industry working effectively together, the industry has seen a growing number of players who enjoy playing poker, slots, and roulette both online and otherwise.

The digitalisation of the casino industry has hence proved extremely lucrative, with the expansion into the online world bringing the games and products right to the customer. This same expansion can be seen in retail -in which companies have been majorly affected by customers who have stopped coming into retail stores and are now shopping online. However, instead of their being a compatible relationship between land-based stores and online sites, there exists some competition. Hoping that shoppers will say that they enjoy face to face interaction more and will walk into stores simply won't do anymore and, instead, perhaps it is time retailers could use their revenue more wisely and invest in developing their eCommerce sites.

Try before you buy

In clothes retail, returning clothes after you've worn them out is typically frowned upon. This is something that has been called serial returning by many retail researchers. However, allowing and supporting it could be a good way for retailers to get more customers.

Online casinos practice incentives that work to the same effect, by offering bonuses such as free spins, deposit bonuses and welcome gifts with free money to play with. It's not a new idea but it does allow a player to see if they really enjoy a game before spending money. Retailers could do the same by offering payment plans and newly-structured return policies which, as part of the new structure, could involve stricter guidelines as to what classifies as an acceptable return.

Getting the customer experience right is already evidently hugely important for growing retail businesses and keeping stores from shutting down and to prevent bankruptcy claims. While not every retailer will suffer from the digitalisation of consumerism, it is important for business to always be prepared to adapt to this new age.