Kiwis less likely to be brand “fans” than Aussies

Customers in New Zealand are less likely to be “fans” of brands, and are more likely to be “disappointed” by their shopping experience than customers in Australia.

This is the finding of a recent comparison of New Zealand and Australian customer insights by TruRating, a customer feedback provider that launched in New Zealand this week.

The company found that 64 per cent of Australian customers were “fans” of a brand after shopping with them. This means they gave the brand a rating of 8 or 9, which is correlated with loyalty and higher spending.

But based on data from its nine-month soft launch in New Zealand with several local retailers, including Kathmandu and Bendon, only 54 per cent of Kiwis were “fans”.

When it came to bad experiences, 18 per cent of Australian customers said they were “disappointed” and gave a business a rating of 0-3. This could impact average transaction value, TruRating said.

In comparison, 24 per cent of customers in New Zealand gave a brand such a poor rating.

The feedback company also noted a key difference in what drives customers to spend in New Zealand compared to Australia. While “overall in-store experience” was the most important factor in both countries, “product range” was the second-most important factor in New Zealand, while “service” was second-most important in Australia.

“In Australia, customers are happiest on weekday mornings, and in New Zealand, Wednesday is the happiest day for shoppers,” TruRating said.

“In general, New Zealand customers are least happy with their experience on Sundays, which is unfortunate as they are likely to spend more on this day.”