Customers Don’t Want More Work. Retailers Seek Loyalty Through Simplicity, Trust and New Habits

The Retail in Detail: Happy Shopper conference showed that customer satisfaction is rarely created by one big “wow moment”. More often, it is the result of dozens of small experiences: the purchase is simple, the service works as expected, the company removes an unnecessary obstacle, or a member of staff does something extra at exactly the right moment.

The discussion about what actually makes customers happy was opened by Zdeněk Skála, Client Business Partner, Skála a Šulc. In his presentation “Can You Be Happy in a Supermarket?”, he focused on the emotions associated with shopping and on what retailers can realistically influence. Alžbeta Ivanovičová, Service Design Lead, Lighting Beetle, added the perspective of younger customers, looking at the attitudes, preferences and needs of Generation Z.

Loyalty Starts When Customers Don’t Have to Think

Petr Bena, Vice Chairman of the Board, Alza, put simplicity at the heart of customer loyalty. His main argument was straightforward: one good experience does not create a loyal customer.

“Experiencing simplicity once does not build loyalty. It is something customers need to experience repeatedly,” Bena said.

According to Bena, repetition reduces uncertainty and builds trust. Customers stop comparing every alternative each time they shop, and the retailer can become their natural first choice.

“Customers go back to retailers that have earned their trust without having to think about it. That retailer becomes their first choice,” Bena explained.

For retailers, this represents an important shift in how they think about customer experience. Website speed, assortment breadth or delivery options are only part of the picture. Simplicity has to be a feature of the entire system. The conference programme framed this approach as a combination of speed, simplicity, convenience and trust.

Bena summed it up as “radical simplicity”: “So that customers do not have to waste time or mental attention (...) and know they can rely on the retailer. Then they will want to come back.”

The Biggest Innovations May Be the Ones That Change Routines

A similar idea appeared in the presentation by Zdeněk Linc, Vice President of Marketing, Rohlík Group. Grocery shopping is one of people’s most stable routines. Yet in just a few years, the behaviour of hundreds of thousands of customers has changed, and services that were new only recently are now taken for granted by some shoppers.

The first order is therefore not the only important measure. What matters is whether the new way of shopping becomes a habit. Linc highlighted the importance of conversion from the first to the second and subsequent purchases; only after several repetitions, he argued, can a retailer truly talk about having acquired a customer.

The broader lesson for retail is that convenience is more than a benefit. If it removes a meaningful obstacle from the customer’s life and works consistently, it can create a new standard of behaviour.

Technology Removes Friction. People Build Relationships.

At the same time, the conference highlighted another side of the issue. Efficiency, speed and automation alone do not guarantee a lasting customer relationship.

Petr Chmelař, Board Member, Globus ČR, centred his presentation on the human side of retail. At a time when retailers compete on price, speed and convenience, trust can also grow through everyday personal contact, ties to the local community and small details that keep customers from feeling like just another item in the system.

A similar principle emerged outside retail itself. Monika Jančová, CMO, OREA Hotels & Resorts, showed that the difference in customer experience does not necessarily come from another digital feature. It can come from a small human gesture at the right moment - for example, giving hotel guests the option to prepare a snack for a day trip free of charge.

The apparent tension between technology and the human touch therefore disappears. Technology can reduce employees’ workload and give them more time to focus on the customer.

Measuring Satisfaction Is Not Enough. You Need to Understand What Lies Behind the Number

Another recurring theme was the need to look beyond traditional customer-experience metrics. Klára Martincová, Head of CX, Air Bank, showed that NPS alone cannot explain why a customer is satisfied or what might prompt them to look for an alternative. What matters are the specific experiences and circumstances behind the final score.

Ján Gabauer, Lead Senior XM Auditor & Consultant, Staffino, approached the same question from another angle. In his presentation on what actually makes customers come back, he worked with customer feedback and specific experiences captured in ratings and reviews. These can reveal small situations that companies may easily overlook, even though they influence what delights or frustrates customers and whether they return.

Digital data adds another layer. Customers now move between advertising, websites, email and physical stores without seeing these channels as separate worlds. The challenge for retailers is therefore not only to reach customers, but also to understand which moment actually influenced their decision.

Eva Tringela, Country Manager Czech Republic, Shopfully, focused specifically on the journey from digital inspiration to a store visit. Research by Shopfully and Ipsos showed that 45% of Czech customers prepare a shopping list and more than 36% search for offers online before shopping. Among readers of digital flyers, 83% took a specific action after viewing one and 43% visited a physical store. The data shows that purchase decisions often begin before customers enter the store.

Tereza Vavroušková, Marketing & Data Solutions Lead for CZ & SK, Salesforce, and Martin Petera, Digital Project Manager, FLO, followed with the challenge of connecting individual customer touchpoints. They focused on situations where customers move across different channels and companies need to connect the data in order to better understand the path to purchase.

Customers Have a Choice. They Need a Reason to Come Here.

The Czech retail market gives customers an exceptionally wide range of choices. Filip Trojan, Shopper Marketing Manager, Penny Market, shared his experience of what determines which retailer earns a customer’s trust, attention and spending.

The closing presentation by Petr Voplatek, Researcher & Simplifier, Simply5, took the question further. According to their research, grocery retail is about more than price competition. The value and experience customers receive when shopping also matter, along with the retailer’s ability to deliver that experience consistently. Consistency was one of the themes connecting much of the day’s programme.

Simplicity without consistency does not build trust. Convenience without repetition does not create a habit. Data without context does not explain customer behaviour. And technology without a human dimension does not create a relationship on its own.

Retail in Detail: Happy Shopper took place on 16 September 2026, bringing together perspectives from retailers, researchers, technology companies and customer-experience experts.

Blue Events is preparing the next major gathering of the Czech retail market for 16-18 March 2027 at the Prague Congress Centre. Retail Summit 2027 will be held under the theme Be Relevant, Be Profitable.

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