Retail brands have met with an impressive degree of success in rising to the challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic. They have worked assiduously to address supply chain issues, rapidly re-engineer store operations, and stand up capabilities to support workers, from management to customer service, who have been driven from the office to their dens and living rooms - all while maintaining quality customer experiences both in-store and online. Now, with barely a pause to catch a breath, they are deep into the more familiar chaos of the holiday shopping season. Where do brands stand in customers’ eyes as shopping gets underway? And how have customers’ expectations shifted against the extraordinary backdrop of the pandemic?

Radial and CFI Group surveyed 500 online shoppers between September 29 and October 5, 2020 to continue our ongoing assessment of how they feel about their customer service interactions with brands they have used recently, and to gather insight on how they planned to tackle their holiday shopping. The results show that while 2020’s extraordinary circumstances have certainly altered consumers’ expectations and planned behaviors, some habits – like holding out to the last possible moment for a deal – are still well-entrenched among many shoppers.