Why do customers come back (and why don't they come back)?

A loyal customer is a foundation. A lost customer is a warning sign.

For a long time, multi-brand stores were able to rely on a stable base of regular customers. Those who came to "see what's new," try on two or three pieces, leave with one or none at all—but who always came back . Those you called by their first name, who came to mind when you received a blouse or a pair of pants.

This connection, long considered natural, is now under strain . Today's customer is mobile, connected, and constantly in demand. She wants the right product, at the right time, at the right price... and with the right experience.

The central role of the sales advisor

"I know her tastes better than her husband," says Sophie, 48, who spent 12 years working in a boutique in downtown Clermont-Ferrand. She speaks of a loyal customer who returns every month, shares her hesitations, and asks for honest feedback. "We don't just sell her a sweater. We reassure her, we advise her, we encourage her to try something else. She needs that, not just a box delivered to her home."

This relationship of trust, built over time, remains one of the last levers that differentiates physical points of sale. But it's fragile. All it takes is one missed appointment, a less than warm welcome, or a product selection deemed less inspiring... for loyalty to erode.

"A customer won't tell you she's not coming back. She disappears. And you wonder why."
— Claire, manager in Vaucluse

The double dropout: supply and perception

What retailers report is consistent: customers don't always find what they're looking for . Too many sizes missing, too many colors missing, and new products arriving too slowly.

At the same time, real-time comparison has become the norm. A customer tries on a model in a store, then checks on their phone if it's cheaper elsewhere—on Vinted, the brand's website, or a marketplace.

The store has become a fitting room... sometimes without conversion. And this reality weighs on the profitability of independents, who bear fixed costs without guaranteeing sales.

A structural constraint: the stock limit

Stores must choose. Every season, every order is a gamble. Overstocking means risking unsold items. Overrestricting your inventory means losing sales.

"I lost a customer because I didn't order a model she wanted. She found it online. She didn't hold it against me. She just never asked me for anything again."
— Lætitia, multi-brand boutique in Brittany

This impasse is well known to retailers. What's new is the speed at which it's closing. Customers no longer forgive unavailability. And the store can't afford to offer everything.

Useful phygitalization: the E-POP Mode example

Faced with this impossible equation, certain hybrid models offer an alternative.

This is the case of E-POP Mode , a phygital solution which allows stores to offer, via a QR code in store, expanded collections of French brands , without physically storing them.

In-store customers discover a real selection, try it on, and visualize it. If the item isn't available in their size or if they want other colors, they order from their phone, via a personalized interface. The order is delivered to their home. And the store receives a commission on the sale.

"It's like I have a second virtual reserve. I can say 'yes' more often, without taking risks."
— Magali, boutique in Aix-en-Provence

Here, the store remains the primary point of contact. The human experience is preserved. Digital technology doesn't eliminate the relationship; it amplifies it.

Loyalty is not dead. It changes form.

No, customers aren't inherently fickle. They've become demanding, time-pressed, and multi-channel—but they remain deeply attached to listening, attention, and personalized relationships.

"My best weapon is memory," says Élodie, a counselor in Grenoble. "I remember what they like, what they already have, what makes them feel good. They come back for that. And if I can offer them more without imposing it, it's all good."

Tools like E-POP Mode make it possible to reconcile the depth of digital offerings with the quality of physical relationships. This isn't a technological revolution. It's a logical evolution, at the same level as a boutique.

What customers want hasn't changed: to be recognized.

They want to be seen. Listened to. Well advised.
But they also want fluidity, choice, and sometimes not to wait three weeks for a model.

What independent retailers can still offer—better than anyone else—is the alliance between memory and modernity. Between sincere advice and broad availability. Between human interaction and useful technology.

On one condition: no longer opposing digital and loyalty.
But to make them work together , in the service of a store that becomes what it has always been: a place where we sell well... because we know better.