The telephone survey, commissioned by the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI), asked 1000 people about their expectations of retail staff and discovered that over two-thirds of those questioned (67%) said they had gone home without buying a product because they found that the sales staff were not helpful.

Times are tough in the retail industry. The pace of change and increasing customer expectations make it absolutely crucial that retailers of all sizes employ people with the right skills and commit themselves to high quality-training. The retail industry employs 3 million people. 

The results of this survey highlight the value that customers place upon well trained staff and product knowledge in particular. The best retailers already know that it is service that will remain the point of competitive difference for the foreseeable future – making sure that staff understand the products they sell is critical and could be the difference between a sale and a lost customer.

More information on the ALI's site at http://www.ali.gov.uk/htm/index.htm