August 28, 2008
Consumers Looking for a Seamless Shopping Experience
When a customer is unhappy with an experience on a retailer’s website, then she is unhappy with the retailer. If the same consumer has a bad experience ordering from a catalog or in a company’s store, she’s unhappy with the retailer. The fact is that no matter how many different shopping venues consumers are given, when they are unhappy, that dissatisfaction extends to every part of the company.
A new report by Sterling Commerce concludes that consumers are looking for seamless shopping experiences and retailers are getting closer to giving them what they want.
“Shoppers see retailers as one brand – they don’t think in terms of multiple channels,” Jim Bengier, global retail industry executive for Sterling Commerce, said in a press release. “Shoppers don’t care how difficult or challenging it is for retailers to organize their companies to meet their needs. This survey shows that retailers without cross-channel execution plans already in place will soon be left behind. But, there are opportunities to leapfrog the competition by automating cross-channel processes and achieving global order, shipment, and inventory visibility across all channels.”
According to the research, 81 percent of retailers surveyed were either fully or partially integrated across all channels (catalog, kiosk, online and in stores) although many did not offer cross-channel services such as ordering a product online and picking it up at a store location.
Having cross-channel capabilities can help stores address out-of-stock issues and keep consumers from going to a competitor. Not having a product in stock in a store can be addressed if consumers are able to order at an in-store kiosk, over the phone or on a PC. Two-thirds of consumers surveyed by Sterling are looking to incorporate this ability by automating inventory across various businesses.
Two-thirds of the retailers surveyed indicated that they will be able to view inventory on-hand, in-transit, and available-to-promise through a single automated process within the next 12 months. Sixty percent are working on systems that will allow them to identify items in other stores that can address an out-of-stock on their own.
Discussion Questions: How critical is it that retailers integrate their various selling channels? What are the operational, technological and other steps that merchants must take to achieve the idealized seamless state of retailing?
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Are you familiar with the very popular computer & console game, SimCity? In it, players build a simulated city from the ground up, including all of the essential infrastructure. Over a decade old, this successful game franchise has sprouted several offshoot games such as SimCity Societies, SimCity Destinations, TheSims, MySims, SimsOnstage, SimsOnline, The Urbz, SimCityscape, SimThemepark, SimCoaster, SimGolf, and SimEarth. Clearly they’re on to something.
How about SimRetail? How about a research tool that would allow consumers to build their ideal retail environment, including all of the shopper-oriented experiences and interactions they prefer? You heard it here first.
It’s surprising that many retailers have not fully integrated their online and offline stores. This step should have been taken years ago. Staples is Staples, whether it is a brick and mortar store or a store in cyberspace.
Retailers that have not fully integrated risk incurring the wrath of consumers, who expect a seamless experience.
Good comments all. What can I add that I haven’t said in these spaces over the past 2-3 years? I can only refer you to http://www.integratedretailing.com, where you will find consideration of the very operational, technical and other steps merchants must take to achieve the idealized seamless state of retailing.
See you there.
Consumers are increasingly seeking transparency across all aspects of their lives, particularly those consumers who are tech-savvy and tech-native, and it spans beyond generational and demographic segmentation. Cross-channel shopping solutions are so innately logical to us now, that it seems almost unreasonable to put up with retail operations that continually have out of stocks when we all know that technology can and should be solving that problem.
I think our loyalty to retailers who can get these kinds of systems up and running sooner will continue to grow, so those who solve it first have a big advantage.
This issue is clearly important, but it goes well beyond the integration of selling channels.
To the consumer, every point of contact with a retailer influences their perception. Poor customer service, mismarked prices, out-of-stocks, or just a messy store can all contribute to a bad experience.
In our work on Front-End checkout management, we have found that long lines, an extended wait, or other problems can have a profound effect on the shopper experience. While it represents a small fraction of the shopping trip, the checkout or cash wrap provides the last (and often lasting) impression of the retail store.
Retailers need to recognize that very point of contact with the consumer is important and can lead to either positive or negative images.
Newtonian physics generally saw things in related chunks: A leads to B leads to C. And that is how we’ve been building organizations for a very long time.
Quantum physics comes along and points out that “It’s all one thing.” This is the mantra I’m drilling into my clients in an effort to get them to see that fixing one problem at a time isn’t going to get them very far. In the same way building one channel at a time and treating them as though they are separate runs against the way the universe works.
And while we’re at it, it can’t be just about distribution channels either. Everything from who we hire to the vendors we choose to what colors are used in the logo…all of it has to become ONE thing.
The short answer is critical. The biggest challenge, though, is to do it by taking a cross-channel approach, not simply identifying opportunities within channels to be more “cross-channel.” This means identifying your most strategic customer segment, looking at the process they use to buy–how they want to cross channels as part of their shopping process–and then making sure you have all of the touchpoints in place at all the right places to create a seamless cross-channel experience.
Consumer expectations usually are ahead of where retailers are at and retailers fight to catch up and possibly even exceed expectations. Discussing how critical it is to integrate selling channels probably shouldn’t be the issue. Consumers already expect that. The issue is more about how fast can you meet or exceed consumer expectations.
And it doesn’t only apply to brick and mortar retailers. Virtual online stores very often find themselves out of stock and offer no alternative to the consumer.
Technology certainly plays a big role in the ability to manage inventory and merchants have to constantly stay on top of what product is moving and at what rate.
Bottom line from a consumer’s perspective; if you promote the product, it needs to be available somehow, somewhere. A tall order but consumers will be loyal to those who do it right.
An anecdote that may illustrate the complexities of managing all your “multi-channel touchpoints.”
Wanted to buy a couple of items for a daughter who, along with her college roomies, is getting set up in an apartment in Chicago. Needed a power drill to hang shelves, so I figured Sears was the place. Found a great deal online and saw the option for pick-up at the store. Awesome! Oops…in order to confirm the purchase, have to swipe the original credit card at the in-store kiosk. Credit card’s in Jersey; daughter in Chicago. That won’t work. Will have to wait a few days for delivery.
Next: needs an external hard-drive to back up her laptop. There’s a (national office supply chain) with locations in Chicago, so did the ordering online and used the convenient map interface to find her closest store. Available in 4 hours…impressive! But, do you need the credit card for pick-up verification? Online customer service doesn’t know. Says each store is different. Called the store and they’re not sure…think it’ll be OK with just the order confirmation number. I guess we’ll click “order” and say a prayer.
It’s not as easy as it sounds, this multi-channel thing. I imagine IT departments have their white boards filled with very detailed flow charts figuring out all the possibilities.
Customer service is customer service; it has to be excellent regardless of the “channel.” Retailers HAVE TO integrate the buying experience, that’s the price of entry now…but good or excellent customer service is still rare, and the reason for that is that it’s not always a cultural mandate when it absolutely should be. After all, what’s more important?
Look at classic customer service failures for more evidence of how critical an issue it is, no matter that channel: the airlines, department stores, the U.S. post office, casual dining restaurants…the list is endless.
Call this by any name you want but cross-channel retailing comes down to the customer’s ability to buy anywhere and the retailer’s ability to fulfill anywhere. With that as the end goal, cross-channel systems have a clear purpose.
Multi-channel integration is very important. Imagine the missed sales when inventory could not be checked across all channels. If stores are out of something, they should be able to access a database and say, “yes we have this in our catalog, other store, etc. I’ll order it for you!” Voila, a missed sale gone right!
Even though a seamless technology is a good luxury, many times the inherent problem is the processes and procedures. Many companies spend a lot of money on the software and then don’t examine the processes across the channels. Why? Because usually they’re not fully integrated, different managers and [associates], and no one person can cross over all channels. A good opportunity for a non-political consultant to improve efficiencies across all channels and assure process and procedures match. Also, great opportunities for training across channels.
Integration must happen–not only in terms of merchandising and tracking the consumer’s purchasing history (across purchase venues)–but also in terms of the service experience.
The service aspect will become more personalized and consistent as Artificial Intelligence becomes more sophisticated in the digital selling world. The issue then becomes–how to integrate that high level of service with flesh and blood retail clerks.
An integrated retail customer experience is absolutely critical, as the numbers show. Allow me to add an example from one of my personal favorites in this arena–Cabela’s.
Last weekend my wife and I visited my kids in MN–back to school time and all that. We had occasion to be in the Owatonna Cabela’s store with my son. While he and I completed his college graduation present with some high-end optics, my wife shopped the women’s clothing section–without much success.
As she was checking out, she related her lament (no women’s hunting clothing to fit a size 4) to the checkout clerk. She told me the story in the car, stating that the clerk had been quite polite and apologetic, and we thought that was the end of it.
Last night the phone rang in our Chicagoland home. It was ‘Chad’ from the Owatonna Cabela’s store, calling to understand my wife’s dissatisfaction better. When he had heard her explanation, he apologized for the store’s limited selection and made the following offer.
“Shop any of our online or catalog sections you can find. Identify any items you are interested in and then call any Cabela’s store you will be near and ask for the Women’s Clothing Lead. Give them your list. We will bring every item you want to look at and try on into that retail store the day you visit. No charge. No obligation to buy. It’s a service to our customers we started offering when we realized we couldn’t keep a full inventory of the slower selling sizes in every store.”
Were we already Cabela’s fans? Yes.
Were we even more impressed with this offer? Yes.
Would it be even better if the stock to meet every customer’s needs were on hand in every store? Of course.
Is that practical? No.
Do we understand? Yes.
Does this anecdote exemplify seamless retail integration? Brilliantly!
I believe that this aspect of a company’s ‘brand’ is most critical. But of course you would expect that from someone whose tagline is, “the experience is the brand.”
Everyone and every aspect of a company’s representatives, ‘company policy book’ and vocabulary speak from the same script. While quality service is paramount, every avenue of contact with the company must offer the same value, response time, and completeness of the answer. A customer shouldn’t have to go to one link to get the service they desire, while ignoring the other.
Of course, the biggest challenge of any retailer is to break down the walls and silos that exist in the company to have that seamless quality. Many companies talk about it, few can achieve it.
When was the last time you bought anything at retail and were forced to look at 5 advertisements for other products before you could check out? Consumers are king! It’s there money and the experience they want has already occurred–they found something they want to buy. The shopping is the experience, not the checkout. Again, retailers waste valuable time focusing on the wrong subject.
Now let’s think about your last trip to Walmart or the grocery store. You did your work filling up the buggy. As far as you are concerned the event is over. The fact that the event is OVER is the reason that people will leave their buggy and go home if the register line is too long. I too have left on line checkout when the seller wanted to know a little too much or the seller wanted to force me to look at ads or otherwise slow me down. The experience occurs while shopping, NOT WHEN CHECKING OUT.
If your check out process is causing “walk aways” rethink your business model. If you want to get people involved in other departments try cross merchandising. It’s been done at retail for years. People who fool themselves into thinking the internet has a different set of rules are wasting everyone’s time and not contributing to the bottom line.
It is essential and critical to integrate various selling channels in order distinguish one retailer from another. It’s not always easy, but consumers don’t differentiate from one channel to another.
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Are you familiar with the very popular computer & console game, SimCity? In it, players build a simulated city from the ground up, including all of the essential infrastructure. Over a decade old, this successful game franchise has sprouted several offshoot games such as SimCity Societies, SimCity Destinations, TheSims, MySims, SimsOnstage, SimsOnline, The Urbz, SimCityscape, SimThemepark, SimCoaster, SimGolf, and SimEarth. Clearly they’re on to something.
How about SimRetail? How about a research tool that would allow consumers to build their ideal retail environment, including all of the shopper-oriented experiences and interactions they prefer? You heard it here first.
It’s surprising that many retailers have not fully integrated their online and offline stores. This step should have been taken years ago. Staples is Staples, whether it is a brick and mortar store or a store in cyberspace.
Retailers that have not fully integrated risk incurring the wrath of consumers, who expect a seamless experience.
Good comments all. What can I add that I haven’t said in these spaces over the past 2-3 years? I can only refer you to http://www.integratedretailing.com, where you will find consideration of the very operational, technical and other steps merchants must take to achieve the idealized seamless state of retailing.
See you there.
Consumers are increasingly seeking transparency across all aspects of their lives, particularly those consumers who are tech-savvy and tech-native, and it spans beyond generational and demographic segmentation. Cross-channel shopping solutions are so innately logical to us now, that it seems almost unreasonable to put up with retail operations that continually have out of stocks when we all know that technology can and should be solving that problem.
I think our loyalty to retailers who can get these kinds of systems up and running sooner will continue to grow, so those who solve it first have a big advantage.
This issue is clearly important, but it goes well beyond the integration of selling channels.
To the consumer, every point of contact with a retailer influences their perception. Poor customer service, mismarked prices, out-of-stocks, or just a messy store can all contribute to a bad experience.
In our work on Front-End checkout management, we have found that long lines, an extended wait, or other problems can have a profound effect on the shopper experience. While it represents a small fraction of the shopping trip, the checkout or cash wrap provides the last (and often lasting) impression of the retail store.
Retailers need to recognize that very point of contact with the consumer is important and can lead to either positive or negative images.
Newtonian physics generally saw things in related chunks: A leads to B leads to C. And that is how we’ve been building organizations for a very long time.
Quantum physics comes along and points out that “It’s all one thing.” This is the mantra I’m drilling into my clients in an effort to get them to see that fixing one problem at a time isn’t going to get them very far. In the same way building one channel at a time and treating them as though they are separate runs against the way the universe works.
And while we’re at it, it can’t be just about distribution channels either. Everything from who we hire to the vendors we choose to what colors are used in the logo…all of it has to become ONE thing.
The short answer is critical. The biggest challenge, though, is to do it by taking a cross-channel approach, not simply identifying opportunities within channels to be more “cross-channel.” This means identifying your most strategic customer segment, looking at the process they use to buy–how they want to cross channels as part of their shopping process–and then making sure you have all of the touchpoints in place at all the right places to create a seamless cross-channel experience.
Consumer expectations usually are ahead of where retailers are at and retailers fight to catch up and possibly even exceed expectations. Discussing how critical it is to integrate selling channels probably shouldn’t be the issue. Consumers already expect that. The issue is more about how fast can you meet or exceed consumer expectations.
And it doesn’t only apply to brick and mortar retailers. Virtual online stores very often find themselves out of stock and offer no alternative to the consumer.
Technology certainly plays a big role in the ability to manage inventory and merchants have to constantly stay on top of what product is moving and at what rate.
Bottom line from a consumer’s perspective; if you promote the product, it needs to be available somehow, somewhere. A tall order but consumers will be loyal to those who do it right.
An anecdote that may illustrate the complexities of managing all your “multi-channel touchpoints.”
Wanted to buy a couple of items for a daughter who, along with her college roomies, is getting set up in an apartment in Chicago. Needed a power drill to hang shelves, so I figured Sears was the place. Found a great deal online and saw the option for pick-up at the store. Awesome! Oops…in order to confirm the purchase, have to swipe the original credit card at the in-store kiosk. Credit card’s in Jersey; daughter in Chicago. That won’t work. Will have to wait a few days for delivery.
Next: needs an external hard-drive to back up her laptop. There’s a (national office supply chain) with locations in Chicago, so did the ordering online and used the convenient map interface to find her closest store. Available in 4 hours…impressive! But, do you need the credit card for pick-up verification? Online customer service doesn’t know. Says each store is different. Called the store and they’re not sure…think it’ll be OK with just the order confirmation number. I guess we’ll click “order” and say a prayer.
It’s not as easy as it sounds, this multi-channel thing. I imagine IT departments have their white boards filled with very detailed flow charts figuring out all the possibilities.
Customer service is customer service; it has to be excellent regardless of the “channel.” Retailers HAVE TO integrate the buying experience, that’s the price of entry now…but good or excellent customer service is still rare, and the reason for that is that it’s not always a cultural mandate when it absolutely should be. After all, what’s more important?
Look at classic customer service failures for more evidence of how critical an issue it is, no matter that channel: the airlines, department stores, the U.S. post office, casual dining restaurants…the list is endless.
Call this by any name you want but cross-channel retailing comes down to the customer’s ability to buy anywhere and the retailer’s ability to fulfill anywhere. With that as the end goal, cross-channel systems have a clear purpose.
Multi-channel integration is very important. Imagine the missed sales when inventory could not be checked across all channels. If stores are out of something, they should be able to access a database and say, “yes we have this in our catalog, other store, etc. I’ll order it for you!” Voila, a missed sale gone right!
Even though a seamless technology is a good luxury, many times the inherent problem is the processes and procedures. Many companies spend a lot of money on the software and then don’t examine the processes across the channels. Why? Because usually they’re not fully integrated, different managers and [associates], and no one person can cross over all channels. A good opportunity for a non-political consultant to improve efficiencies across all channels and assure process and procedures match. Also, great opportunities for training across channels.
Integration must happen–not only in terms of merchandising and tracking the consumer’s purchasing history (across purchase venues)–but also in terms of the service experience.
The service aspect will become more personalized and consistent as Artificial Intelligence becomes more sophisticated in the digital selling world. The issue then becomes–how to integrate that high level of service with flesh and blood retail clerks.
An integrated retail customer experience is absolutely critical, as the numbers show. Allow me to add an example from one of my personal favorites in this arena–Cabela’s.
Last weekend my wife and I visited my kids in MN–back to school time and all that. We had occasion to be in the Owatonna Cabela’s store with my son. While he and I completed his college graduation present with some high-end optics, my wife shopped the women’s clothing section–without much success.
As she was checking out, she related her lament (no women’s hunting clothing to fit a size 4) to the checkout clerk. She told me the story in the car, stating that the clerk had been quite polite and apologetic, and we thought that was the end of it.
Last night the phone rang in our Chicagoland home. It was ‘Chad’ from the Owatonna Cabela’s store, calling to understand my wife’s dissatisfaction better. When he had heard her explanation, he apologized for the store’s limited selection and made the following offer.
“Shop any of our online or catalog sections you can find. Identify any items you are interested in and then call any Cabela’s store you will be near and ask for the Women’s Clothing Lead. Give them your list. We will bring every item you want to look at and try on into that retail store the day you visit. No charge. No obligation to buy. It’s a service to our customers we started offering when we realized we couldn’t keep a full inventory of the slower selling sizes in every store.”
Were we already Cabela’s fans? Yes.
Were we even more impressed with this offer? Yes.
Would it be even better if the stock to meet every customer’s needs were on hand in every store? Of course.
Is that practical? No.
Do we understand? Yes.
Does this anecdote exemplify seamless retail integration? Brilliantly!
I believe that this aspect of a company’s ‘brand’ is most critical. But of course you would expect that from someone whose tagline is, “the experience is the brand.”
Everyone and every aspect of a company’s representatives, ‘company policy book’ and vocabulary speak from the same script. While quality service is paramount, every avenue of contact with the company must offer the same value, response time, and completeness of the answer. A customer shouldn’t have to go to one link to get the service they desire, while ignoring the other.
Of course, the biggest challenge of any retailer is to break down the walls and silos that exist in the company to have that seamless quality. Many companies talk about it, few can achieve it.
When was the last time you bought anything at retail and were forced to look at 5 advertisements for other products before you could check out? Consumers are king! It’s there money and the experience they want has already occurred–they found something they want to buy. The shopping is the experience, not the checkout. Again, retailers waste valuable time focusing on the wrong subject.
Now let’s think about your last trip to Walmart or the grocery store. You did your work filling up the buggy. As far as you are concerned the event is over. The fact that the event is OVER is the reason that people will leave their buggy and go home if the register line is too long. I too have left on line checkout when the seller wanted to know a little too much or the seller wanted to force me to look at ads or otherwise slow me down. The experience occurs while shopping, NOT WHEN CHECKING OUT.
If your check out process is causing “walk aways” rethink your business model. If you want to get people involved in other departments try cross merchandising. It’s been done at retail for years. People who fool themselves into thinking the internet has a different set of rules are wasting everyone’s time and not contributing to the bottom line.
It is essential and critical to integrate various selling channels in order distinguish one retailer from another. It’s not always easy, but consumers don’t differentiate from one channel to another.