Improving the Retail Customer Experience in Greece

Survey Findings Report
November 2024

Market Research on Greek Fashion Retail Firms

Survey Findings Report
November 2025

Survey Overview

Details

Agency	Kapa Research
Principal	CEGID / DATANOESIS
Survey Type	Quantitative B2B Survey in Greece
Sample	Fashion retail firms (apparel, footwear, accessories, luxury or beauty/cosmetics) with at least 3 physical stores / Respondent position: Retail manager / Other top management position with include responsibility for management, operations, and digitalization of the retail solution
Sample Size	189 firms nationwide
Data collection period	4 – 25 November 2025
Data collection method	Data collection implemented via Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI)and Video-Conference Interviewing (VCI)
About Kapa Research	A member of the Greek Association of Opinion and Market Research Companies (SEDEA). Complies with the ESOMAR codes of conduct and publication of opinion surveys

1. Screening

How many stores does your company operate in Greece?

2–3 stores	34%
4–10 stores	25%
11–30 stores	21%
31–100 stores	14%
101+ stores	6%

Which sales channels do you operate today? Please select all that apply

Physical stores	97%
E-shop	86%
Franchise	29%
Marketplaces	28%
Wholesale	11%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
Physical stores	92	100	100	100
E-shop	81	88	92	87
Franchise	20	21	49	32
Marketplaces	19	29	33	37
Wholesale	9	6	15	13

Are you a national or international brand?

International (54%)

National (46%)

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
Physical stores	61	58	33	18
E-shop	39	42	67	82

2. Main questionnaire

Thinking about your business today, from the list I will read, which items are the most important challenges for you? Please choose up to 3

Staff scarcity / lack of skills	63%
Operating costs	53%
E-commerce competition	39%
Price competition	29%
Customer experience	28%
Supply chain disruptions	14%
Digital transformation	9%
Demand unpredictability	6%
Security & cybersecurity	6%
Financing (Capex & IT)	5%
Regulatory compliance	4%
DK/NA	1%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
Staff scarcity / lack of skills	55	65	77	63
Operating costs	55	67	38	47
E-commerce competition	53	44	23	26
Price competition	27	25	28	37
Customer experience	23	25	31	34
Supply chain disruptions	11	10	18	18
Digital transformation	11	10	8	5
Demand unpredictability	6	8	10	0
Security & cybersecurity	3	8	5	11
Financing (Capex & IT)	8	2	8	3
Regulatory compliance	2	0	10	8
DK/NA	0	0	0	3

How do you expect the fashion retail sector in Greece to perform over the next 2 years? Please use a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is “very bad” and 5 is “very good”.

1 – Very bad	6%
2	19%
3	51%
4	22%
5 – Very good	3%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
1 – Very bad	5	10	5	3
2	23	15	26	8
3	50	56	38	58
4	17	17	31	29
5 – Very good	5	2	0	3

What are the biggest blockers to delivering a seamless customer experience across channels? Please choose up to 3

Integration of ERP, POS, e-shop and app via APIs	47%
Channel performance measurement and attribution	30%
Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (Click & Collect), returns and exchanges	29%
Real-time stock accuracy and OMS	25%
Single customer view through CRM or CDP	17%
Unified pricing and promotion rules	11%
Cloud scalability and 24×7 availability	10%
IT resourcing and timelines	6%
DK/NA	8%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
Integration of ERP, POS, e-shop and app via APIs	48	46	38	55
Channel performance measurement and attribution	28	29	28	34
Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (Click & Collect), returns and exchanges	34	38	15	24
Real-time stock accuracy and OMS	25	17	41	21
Single customer view through CRM or CDP	14	19	23	16
Unified pricing and promotion rules	6	4	23	16
Cloud scalability and 24×7 availability	6	8	18	8
IT resourcing and timelines	8	0	8	11
DK/NA	3	8	13	11

Looking at the next twelve months, which solutions or tools would you like to have in place? Please choose up to 3

AI-driven personalization and recommendations	39%
In-store “Clienteling” application	33%
Workforce and task management	25%
RFID and real-time stock visibility	25%
Cloud POS delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS)	21%
Order Management System (OMS)	15%
Loyalty and marketing automation	15%
Customer Data Platform or single customer profile	14%
Integration with marketplaces	9%
Unified pricing and promotion management	8%
Role-based dashboards and business intelligence	8%
DK/NA	2%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
AI-driven personalization and recommendations	33	40	51	37
In-store “Clienteling” application	34	40	23	32
Workforce and task management	20	29	28	26
RFID and real-time stock visibility	11	15	46	39
Cloud POS delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS)	23	25	18	13
Order Management System (OMS)	16	15	18	13
Loyalty and marketing automation	13	13	18	21
Customer Data Platform or single customer profile	9	13	18	21
Integration with marketplaces	11	15	5	3
Unified pricing and promotion management	9	2	5	18
Role-based dashboards and business intelligence	14	2	10	3
DK/NA	0	6	0	3

Turning to store operations, which of the following areas are key challenges today? Please choose up to 3

Onboarding and training	47%
Staff engagement and motivation	41%
Staff rostering and staffing	37%
Task management, checklists and audits	28%
KPI and productivity tracking	25%
Consistent visual merchandising	22%
Loss prevention and shrink	22%
Process standardization and discipline	7%
Headquarters to store communications	2%
DK/NA	2%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
Onboarding and training	44	48	51	47
Staff engagement and motivation	36	40	49	45
Staff rostering and staffing	33	31	41	45
Task management, checklists and audits	14	40	31	32
KPI and productivity tracking	31	29	13	21
Consistent visual merchandising	27	21	21	18
Loss prevention and shrink	23	23	28	13
Process standardization and discipline	9	2	10	8
Headquarters to store communications	0	2	5	0
DK/NA	3	0	3	0

On a scale from 1 to 5, how ready is your business for international expansion across multiple countries, currencies and tax regimes?

1 = Not at all	15%
2	17%
3	13%
4	23%
5 = Very	32%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
1 = Not at all	30	10	10	0
2	20	21	15	8
3	9	10	26	11
4	14	29	28	24
5 = Very	27	29	21	57

Regarding customer experience, what are your top priorities online and in-store? Please choose up to 3

Loyalty program and benefits	37%
Fast and contactless checkout	35%
Easy returns and exchanges	35%
“Clienteling” and appointments	34%
Personalization using artificial intelligence	34%
After-sales support and repairs	16%
Sustainability, transparency, and traceability	16%
Mobile app and digital wallet	12%
In-store navigation and signage	11%
Omni-channel services such as Reserve, and BOPIS	4%
DK/NA	1%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
Loyalty program and benefits	25	27	56	47
Fast and contactless checkout	44	38	15	39
Easy returns and exchanges	34	42	23	42
“Clienteling” and appointments	39	27	36	34
Personalization using artificial intelligence	20	38	49	37
After-sales support and repairs	23	15	13	8
Sustainability, transparency, and traceability	11	21	13	21
Mobile app and digital wallet	11	13	13	13
In-store navigation and signage	5	8	18	16
Omni-channel services such as Reserve, and BOPIS	3	2	5	5
DK/NA	0	2	0	0

Which solutions are you interested to explore in the next 12 months? Please choose up to 3

AI personalization and recommendations	40%
Workforce and task management	30%
RFID and real-time stock	23%
Clienteling	21%
CDP or CRM and loyalty	21%
Cloud POS	20%
Order Management System, OMS	15%
Marketplaces integration	14%
Unified pricing and promotion management	13%
Dashboards and business intelligence	11%
DK/NA	3%

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
AI personalization and recommendations	27	44	49	47
Workforce and task management	27	25	38	34
RFID and real-time stock	20	17	23	37
Clienteling	23	27	21	11
CDP or CRM and loyalty	14	27	33	13
Cloud POS	30	19	10	13
Order Management System, OMS	16	13	10	21
Marketplaces integration	19	17	10	8
Unified pricing and promotion management	14	17	15	5
Dashboards and business intelligence	14	13	15	0
DK/NA	3	0	0	8

Would you like us to contact you about solutions tailored to fashion retailers?

Yes (32%)

No (68%)

	2–3 stores	4–10 stores	11–30 stores	31+ stores
Yes	34	27	33	32
No	66	73	67	68

Analysis of findings

The survey results point to a sector undergoing a structural tension rather than smooth transformation. Although digital tools, customer experience enhancements, and operational modernization appear across the responses, the underlying pattern is not one of collective progress but of divergent strategic realities. Greek fashion retail is not simply evolving, it is fragmenting into distinct trajectories based on organizational capability, outlook, and ambition.

Small retailers are trapped in a defensive cycle: constrained resources, pessimistic expectations, and limited readiness for expansion reinforce each other and suppress technological investment. Their heightened vulnerability to e-commerce competition suggests that without targeted interventions, either through consolidation, investment partnerships, or strong digital adoption, they may face progressive marginalization. The market appears to be moving faster than their capacity to adapt.

Mid-sized retailers sit at the uncomfortable frontier where operational complexity surpasses organizational structure. Their challenges (OMS performance, real-time stock visibility, price consistency, cloud scalability), are not symptoms of failure but indicators of being “stuck in transition.” They have outgrown legacy systems but lack the integrated digital architecture of large players. Without decisive strategic choices, they risk entering a period where complexity accumulates faster than capability, weakening competitiveness despite growth in store count.

Large retailers, by contrast, are already behaving like regional operators rather than local ones. Their high readiness for international expansion, strong appetite for RFID and AI-driven personalization, and interest in unified management systems suggest that a segment of the Greek market is preparing to compete on a European or global stage. These companies are moving toward a model where data consistency, real-time visibility, and customer intelligence form the core of business strategy. The gap between them and smaller peers is widening, and the sector may experience a future where competitive advantage is determined primarily by digital infrastructure and wholistic customer experience innovations.

Conclusion

The broader implication is that the sector’s evolution will likely be uneven and discontinuous. Rather than converging around a common standard, retailers may polarize – some advancing into high-efficiency, omnichannel maturity, and others remaining structurally constrained. This divergence is reinforced by the neutral sector outlook (51%) and the bifurcation in expansion readiness, suggesting a market where confidence and capability correlate strongly, and where low expectations can become self-fulfilling.

Ultimately, the critical insight is that fashion retail in Greece is not defined by a lack of awareness of what must be done, since the priorities are clear, and the solutions are widely understood. The challenge is capability: the ability to fund, absorb, and operationalize digital transformation in serving their customers in an individualized way. Retailers that can align strategic intention with technological execution are likely to shape the next phase of the industry. Those unable to break the cycle of defensive behavior may find themselves increasingly exposed in a market where consumer expectations and international competition continue to accelerate.

In this environment, AI-driven digital transformation is no longer a choice but a sorting mechanism, one that will determine which retailers scale, which survive, and which gradually exit the competitive landscape.