Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 117

ONLINE EXTRAS
impact on online sales was striking. Nearly half of all online purchasers
in the retail categories covered by our study were showroomers. Further,
25 per cent of these showroomers said they initially planned to buy in
store, but were swayed by their online experience, and 65 per cent plan to
buy online for their next purchase. The trend is clear: the rapidly growing
online retail industry is being fueled by shoppers who first visit a store.
3. Consumers are hungry for meaningful retail connection points
There is a high wall to scale to excite shoppers and keep them in a retailer’s
own combination of store and online offerings. Most consumers
want to help retailers do so. Eighty-nine per cent of shoppers in our study
were willing to contribute 20 minutes on average to help a retailer better
understand their desires and provide them with more meaningful offers.
Fifty-five per cent of shoppers expect the retailer to use past purchases
in order to offer relevant promotions. In other words, shoppers are willing
to help the retailer initially, but the long-term heavy lifting is up to
the retailer—not the shopper.
The rise of the omnichannel retailer
It is true that the store is still the first choice among shoppers, with 84
per cent having made their last purchase in a store. However, in order to
make sure the store doesn’t lose this advantage, retailers must, as well, be
able to reach consumers along multiple touch points. They must build and
maintain a seamless omnichannel consumer experience. In particular, the
disconnect (and even competition) between a retailer’s online store and
physical store must end. Sales and satisfaction increase dramatically when
a retailer can make an item missing on the shelf “appear” at the purchasing
moment, even if that appearance is next-day delivery.
Ultimately retailers will only accomplish omnichannel success by tailoring
and personalizing the shopping experience across all channels. They must
monitor, listen closely and meaningfully respond to consumer feedback.
Leading retailers will discover the powerful but subtle influencers by product
category and use analytics to better market to shoppers as individuals.
It is also the time to infuse digital experiences into the store, enable store
associates with technology to save the sale and embrace consumers’ own
technologies. By blending omnichannel benefits into both local shopping
trips and online shopping trips, retailers will provide a shopping experience
that can lead to brand loyalty and repeat sales.
How can IBM help?
Business Consulting and Delivery Services—IBM helps retailers formulate,
implement and operationalize programs to respond to changing customer
buying behaviors, align organizational structure and metrics, and transform
customer-centric processes.
Retail Industry Solutions—IBM offers a comprehensive portfolio of Retail
solutions comprising merchandising and supply chain management, omnichannel
retailing, retail performance analytics and TotalStore solutions to
help retailers deliver the fastest time to value at the lowest risk.
Retail Centre of Competency—IBM helps retailers make the best use of
technology to streamline costs, reduce inefficiencies, aid product development
and speed go-to-market activities. It also helps retailers build new capabilities
to better understand, track and respond to consumer preferences,
drawing on its team of highly skilled experts from around the world.
www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer | store 2013
KEY IBM CONTACTS
Jill Puleri
jpuleri@us.ibm.com
Laura VanTine
katzl@us.ibm.com
Kali Klena
kklena@us.ibm.com
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Canadian Retailer - Store 2013

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