In today’s competitive market, delivering a standout customer experience matters more than ever. With so many similar products out there, the experience surrounding the purchase can be the factor that transforms a simple transaction into a lasting relationship.
In fact, more than 80% of companies are competing primarily on customer experience. That means offering fast support, clear communication, and friendly service isn’t just nice to have—it’s the new baseline for staying ahead.
Learn what customer experience is, how to track it, and how to improve customer experience as your business grows.
What is customer experience?
Customer experience (CX) is the overall perception a customer forms based on every interaction with your brand, from initial discovery to ongoing support. It encompasses all points in the customer journey, including how easily they can find information, make a purchase, and receive help when needed. A strong experience meets customer expectations and builds brand loyalty.
Understanding where your customer experience stands begins with tracking key metrics associated with it to identify areas of success and areas for improvement. There are plenty of software options like Shopify Analytics that you can use to track and analyze customer experience information. These tools can help you make data-driven decisions that improve your customer interactions.
Key customer experience metrics
Want to know how well your business is really doing? Don’t just look at sales—look at your customers. Tracking key metrics can help you gauge everything from customer retention to overall satisfaction. Here’s a breakdown of five essential metrics that every business owner should keep an eye on.
Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
This is a score from one to 100 that measures how happy customers are with their experience, usually through a survey capturing feedback. For example, 70 and above is a good score. Platforms like Shopify can integrate customer feedback apps like Asklayer to help you easily create, implement, and analyze the results of surveys.
Customer effort score (CES)
Use this metric to measure how hard or easy it is for customers to move through specific interactions with your business, like making a purchase or using your product. Understanding your CES can help you reduce friction and improve business outcomes. Customers who experience low-effort interactions are more likely to repeat purchases. Survey apps help you develop and launch your CES research.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
CSAT and CES give you insight into customer satisfaction and effort, while NPS scores overall customer loyalty. You measure it by asking one key question: How likely are you to recommend our business on a zero to 10 scale? There are plenty of app integrations with platforms like Shopify, HubSpot, and Zendesk to help you launch and analyze NPS surveys.
Customer lifetime value (CLV)
This helps you estimate the net profit you receive from one customer over their entire relationship with your brand. Metrics like average purchase value, purchase frequency, and average customer lifespan help calculate CLV. Platforms like Shopify can help you identify all these data points through their analytics and customer reports.
Time to resolution (TTR)
This metric is all about how quickly you can resolve customer issues. Platforms with ticketing capabilities can provide analytics on how quickly you answer customer inquiries.
Ways to improve customer experience
- Understand your customers
- Collect feedback
- Personalize interactions
- Reduce friction
- Test, learn, and evolve
You need a customer experience strategy that looks at every stage of the customer journey. By combining the right tools and key performance indicators (KPIs), you can uncover what drives satisfaction, where there’s friction, and how to continuously improve the customer experience. Here are some of the most effective ways to do just that:
Understand your customers
A successful customer experience begins with a deeper understanding of your audience. When you have data to better understand customer behavior, like purchase history, preferences, and demographics, you can deliver more relevant experiences. Market research can help you identify preferences and cater to different segments of your customer base.
For example, Adam Davis, Magnolia Bakery’s senior marketing manager, used data to better serve customers as the business expanded through ecommerce to sell products beyond the original New York market. “When launching an ecommerce platform, you don’t want to discount the local ordering behavior,” Adam says.
To better serve their existing customers in New York as well as those in new markets, Adam made sure the Magnolia website had three sections: one that showed bakery options near customers, one that showed available products in grocery stores, and one to order online.
By catering to the needs of various customers, Magnolia Bakery was able to increase traffic to its website.
Collect feedback
Customer feedback reveals what’s working, what isn’t, and what customers want in the future. It’s one of the most powerful tools for understanding customer needs, improving internal operations, and delivering a more positive experience.
Listening to customers helped Francis Henri, a modern baby goods brand, take its ecommerce experience into its first retail space. Founder Katherine Oyer relied on capturing feedback to inform her in-store experience. By listening to both happy and unhappy customers, you can figure out what’s working and tweak what’s not.
Personalize interactions
Most brands recognize that personalized customer interactions are no longer optional—they’re essential. Salesforce found that 65% of customers say they’re more likely to become a loyal customer when brands deliver tailored experiences. Personalization builds emotional connections, helps retain customers, and turns everyday interactions into memorable customer experiences.
Fresh Sends cofounders Ty and Jesse Hiss used personalization to evolve their wedding floral business into a nationwide gifting brand. Their personal touches started very hands-on. “We hand-wrote every single one of our cards that went out the door with our flowers,” Ty says. But, as the business grew, it was unsustainable to continue with hand-written notes. To scale sustainably, Fresh Sends created self-service tools for customers to personalize their gifts by recording their own voice or video message.
Reduce friction
One of the most effective ways to deliver a superior customer experience is by identifying and removing customer pain points, like complex checkout experiences or long delivery times. This helps create a positive customer experience, from first discovering your brand to customer service interactions.
Even focusing on one pain point can help improve business outcomes. Hemlock & Oak, a company that makes paper products and stationery, dialed in its checkout experience to increase online conversions by 7%. Founder Tia Masic saw that other brands had a simpler checkout experience and found her solution through Shopify’s one-page checkout. The experience was now faster and immediately reduced abandoned carts.
George Sarnetsky, Hemlock & Oak’s chief operating officer, says the company is always trying to improve the customer experience. According to George, “Shopify’s one-page checkout makes buying from us really straightforward for customers by showing them all the information they need to transact with confidence, faster.”
Test, learn, and evolve
Maintaining an excellent customer experience means continually improving it. It’s key to test new ideas, empower employees to experiment, and use market research to create a customer journey based on data rather than intuition.
At Magnolia Bakery, an experimentation mindset is key to its customer-centric culture. “We had so many things that we wanted to test: the checkout experience, recommending certain products to certain purchasers who had specific things in their cart,” says Adam. "We A/B tested images, colors, and category-specific landing pages too.”
“Making the smallest adjustment could make a huge difference in your online sales,” Adam says.
Improve customer experience FAQ
What are the 5 Cs of customer experience?
The five Cs of customer experience are the key pillars for creating customer centricity and delivering a positive experience:
1. Culture. Adopting a customer-first mindset throughout your organization, whether in the marketing, sales, or IT department, to support long-term customer loyalty and retention.
2. Communication. Actively listening to customer feedback, marketing research, and insights from sources like customer service teams.
3. Compassion. Empathizing with your customers’ perspective and understanding their pain points.
4. Care. Understand what your customers expect and go beyond it on every touchpoint.
5. Consistency. Creating a seamless experience across multiple channels throughout the customer journey.
What’s the best way to improve the customer experience?
Platforms that help you collect data about customers and the customer experience, like Shopify, can help you identify where your CX falls short. Focus on strategies like personalization, reducing friction, and implementing customer feedback. The right improvements depend on your goals and what your customers need most.
How do you track if your customer experience improvements are working?
Keep track of key customer experience metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer satisfaction score (CSAT), and retention rates. Platforms with data analytics capabilities help you visualize performance and spot trends. If metrics like customer satisfaction or conversions are increasing, your improvements are on the right track.
