Fourteen distinct safety/security elements for safe customer experience in omnichannel retailing

Description of impact *

The experience of safety as perceived by customers is a central issue in retailing, and its importance has increased because of the pandemic. Despite, prior to the publication of the SafeCX framework in 2022 with fourteen safety/security elements, a unified framework to guide safe customer experience (CX) initiatives across all channels was missing in the literature. Dr Syed Rahman from Macquarie University (Australia) conceived the idea of the SafeCX framework in 2020 and formed a research team with Dr Jamie Carlson from the University of Newcastle (Australia) and Dr Noman H. Chowdhury from Brac University (Bangladesh) to conduct the necessary studies. Fundings from the 2021 MQ ECR Enabling Scheme supported the data collection. The publication provides a detailed discussion of the proposed framework's substantial commercial, social, and public policy implications. For instance, the publication presents a list of cues for each safety element, which retail practitioners should consider while reviewing and implementing strategies to offer safe CXs in the post-pandemic context. The framework also emphasises the need for innovative retail service design to be inclusive and accessible and build around the needs of all groups of customers in society (e.g., vulnerable groups – aging population, customers with disability). Furthermore, the framework provides policy guidance for employment and safety enforcement to enhance CX in omnichannel retail environments. Notably, the publication offers a detailed methodological discussion that researchers in other areas, such as government services, public health and tourism, can adopt to develop context-specific safety frameworks for improving the experiences of their customers/clients.

Impact date	2022
Category of impact	Commercial impacts, Society impacts, Policy impacts
Impact level	Emerging (pre)