Canadian Retailer - Store 2015 - 14

INDUSTRY TRENDS

Engaging during the Transact stage

Engaging during the Fulfill stage

Nothing beats being in the moment. Once the customer has
The customer shopping journey doesn't end
decided which item they prefer, the focus of retailers should be with a purchase. Retailers must consider how
on how best to enable them to transition from the intent to buy they can extend the conversation with their custo making a purchase. The digital landscape is full of abandoned tomers in order to keep them involved with the
shopping carts. This suggests that there is a lot of opportunity brand for the long term. The final point of enfor retailers to find better ways to foster a customer's transition gagement in one shopping journey can become
from the Influence stage to the Transact stage of the shopping part of the Influence stage for the next one.
journey. But in an omni-channel retail world how can retailers Since many customers enjoy discussing their
duplicate the effectiveness of a skilled in-store sales associate purchases on social media, the Fulfill stage can
who can help a customer through the purchasing process?
be a great time to incent your customers to beFirst and foremost, retailers must ensure that product avail- come your promoters and influencers.
ability is easily known. One of the biggest purchase barriers
During this stage, retailers can focus on enis on shelf availability, regardless of the purchasing channel. hancing the conversation with those customA break in the engagement process at this point will typically ers who want to engage. They can then use this
lead to the customer's abandonment of the purchasing decision. information to determine what customers they
That's why customer engagement must include information on should target next.
merchandise availability and accessible alternaQUESTIONS TO ASK DURING THE FULFILL STAGE
tives or fulfillment channels when products are
not available through a particular channel.
* How did the delivery go?
Secondly, retailers need to make sure that any
* Did the product meet your expectations?
relevant promotion offers are clearly communi* Have you been happy with any service-related requests?
cated prior to the purchase decision. 52 per cent of
* Would you consider these related products or services?
Canadian customers say they visit social media
When performed well, customer engagement during the
pages in order to find attractive deals, promoFulfill stage will:
tions and sales. By providing information on pro* Extend the customer conversation into the next
motions clearly and consistently, in addition to
shopping journey
mechanisms for customers to make an immedi* Encourage customers to become brand promoters and
champions
ate purchase, retailers can enhance the likelihood
that customers will make a transaction.
* Allow retailers to better target customers and communities in the future
During the Transact stage, retailers need to
focus on how to use the information they have
on customers effectively. The truth is point of sale (POS) trans- Get customers to engage with you, not
actions in a store only provide information on what a customer your competition
has purchased, not on what products they considered or why
Most retailers would agree that it's much
they didn't choose particular products. The retailers who truly easier to sustain engagement with customers
understand engaging with their customers during the Transact than it is to start it. This belief aligns with the
stage are able to use unstructured data from social media to results of our Total Retail Survey, which indibetter understand shopper sentiment. Retailers that can link in- cated that customers prefer to engage with
formation from digital and social media with POS data to build fewer brands who can fully meet their needs.
a proprietary view of each of their customers will be better posThat's why customer engagement throughout
itioned to engage with their customers across all phases of the the shopping journey is so important. If a cusshopping journey in the future.
tomer is busy engaging with you they won't have
When performed well, customer engagement during the the time to engage with your competition.
Transact stage will:
* Provide a seamless transition from influence to purchase
Ted Salter, Partner Retail Consulting and
within and across channels
Deals with PwC, specializes in working with
* Provide accessible alternatives when products aren't readily retail and consumer product companies to deavailable through a specific channel
velop and convert strategic plans into targeted
* Allow retailers to create a multifaceted view of their cusbusiness capabilities enabled through operattomer using data from all channels and transaction points
ing model transformations. Contact Ted Salter
* Create incentives for customers to purchase now using
at (416) 814-5856 or ted.salter@ca.pwc.com.
digital and social media technologies

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CANADIAN RETAILER | STORE 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Store 2015