Francesca Roche sits down with Alicia Skubick, Chief Customer Officer at Trustpilot, to explore why US retail customers are reassessing what value means and why the post-purchase experience has become central to earning loyalty.
New research points to a more deliberate customer mindset. High-end retail review volume rose 48% between 2023 and 2025, as shoppers placed greater emphasis on quality, durability, and sustainability. Yet paying more does not mean customers are prepared to accept poor service.
“We’ll gladly pay for premium products up front, but there’s zero tolerance for high-friction experiences,” Skubick says. For retailers, that expectation stretches from product discovery through delivery, returns, refunds, and ongoing support.
The findings offer a timely warning for brands that treat the checkout page as the end of the customer journey. Skubick argues that post-purchase care can reveal far more about a company’s values than its promotional messaging.
She says:
“You can judge a company not by the purchase, but it’s really the after service and how they treat you.”
Returns emerge as a particularly sensitive moment. Friction in the returns process can cause a 1.69-star drop in ratings, the sharpest decline across the topics explored in the research. Straightforward exchanges, timely refunds, and clear return windows can all shape whether a customer decides to buy again.
The interview also examines the role of AI in retail CX. Customers welcome AI-powered tools when they help them find relevant products, but automated support can quickly erode confidence when an order has gone missing, an item is incorrect, or a refund is delayed.
“There’s a real frustration with automated loops,” Skubick says. “When people are put into an AI infinity loop, they feel abandoned with chatbots totally replacing humans.”
That does not mean retailers should abandon AI. Skubick highlights a more selective approach that uses automation to make discovery easier, while ensuring customers can reach a person during stressful moments that require empathy and judgment.
Reviews can also provide an early operational warning system. Rather than viewing them solely as a reputation metric, CX leaders can track recurring terms such as “promo code failed” or “chatbot loop” to identify problems before they affect more customers.
“Reviews [are] real-time operational intelligence,” Skubick says.
“You can really catch the smoke before the fire.”
Watch the full interview to learn how retailers can turn feedback, returns, transparency, and human support into stronger customer trust.
