Shoppers Share Holiday Horror Stories With #GhostEconomy Campaign

By Alicia Fiorletta, Senior Editor 

In the grand scheme of things, retailers did a pretty stellar job this holiday season.

Looking at all aspects of the customer experience,  marketing campaigns were a little more personalized, assortments were more relevant and interesting and many retailers experimented with more store events, which undoubtedly helped boost traffic. Heck, retailers even did better at ensuring online orders were delivered to customers’ doors in time. 

But that doesn’t mean some lumps of coal didn’t slip through Santa’s sack. 

OrderDynamics asked shoppers to share how they were haunted by the ghost of retail’s past by tweeting stories about their poor shopping experiences using the hash tag #GhostEconomy. Results from the campaign revealed that many customers were left without the gifts they were seeking and were waiting patiently for refunds that just wouldn’t come. 

Some consumers even tried to complete transactions online only to receive email notifications that the products they wanted were out of stock. (I myself experienced this and I think my fiancé is still traumatized by my violent reaction.) 

“Many shoppers were rightly disappointed that their gifts failed to arrive on time or were out of stock once they’d placed the order and the retailer had taken their money,“ said Kevin Sterneckert, CMO at OrderDynamics. "They are victims of the data and inventory disconnects that are inherent in most retail organizations today. This, combined with a number of other ‘retail fails,’ has left shoppers wanting when it comes to retailers’ abilities to consistently meet consumer demand.” 

Poor customer service, late order deliveries and damaged goods were among the other issues customers faced during the holidays, Oh, the horror! 

Here’s a snapshot of some of the tweets customers submitted: