* Customer service was a prevailing theme in the survey, particularly with women shoppers
* Among the top problems that female shoppers experience, "lack of help, when needed" is the number one problem (29%) and is more likely to lead to lost business
* About 6% of all female shoppers are likely lost as a result of this problem
* Men's priorities are different: "difficulty in finding parking close to the store's entrance" was the number one problem for men (also at 29%)
* The problem that is most likely to lead to lost business for men is when a product is out of stock (5% of all male shoppers are likely lost as a result of this problem
* The problem that is most likely to lead to lost business for men is when a product is out of stock (5% of all male shoppers are likely lost as a result of this problem)
* Men and women are most satisfied with the sales associate's willingness to let them shop or browse at their own pace: at least 77% report being very satisfied with this attribute
* For men, a key loyalty builder is the sales associate's interest in helping them find the item they were looking for, followed by the sales associate's effort in getting them through check-out quickly
* For women, loyalty builders are more closely related to the sales associate's familiarity with the products and determining what products best suit them
* Women shoppers also value sales associates who make them feel important
* Almost half (47%) of women shoppers say they will not return to a store because, "store employees acted like shoppers were intruding on their time or their own conversations
* Only 22% of men agreed, and the difference is even more pronounced when comparing women over the age of 40 with men over the age of 40
* At least 50% of shoppers report having had a "wow" shopping experience at some point in their life that is one that is considered great
* More women than men report having had a "wow" shopping experience, but men and women alike are just over four times more likely to tell people about their positive "wow" experience than their negative shopping experience
* "Wow" experiences occur far less often than problem experiences, regardless of gender