Gaps closing between consumer multichannel expectations, retailer readiness

Gaps closing between consumer multichannel expectations, retailer readiness
Tags: Consumer Behavior, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Department Stores, Multichannel Retailing, Online Retailing, Pharmacy/Drugstores, Point-of-Purchase / POP, Psychology, Retail - Apparel, Retail - Automotive, Retail - Convenience Stores, Retail - Electronics, Retail - General, Retail - Home Center, Retail - Mall, Retail - Warehouse, Specialty Stores, Supermarkets & Grocery Stores, Supply Chain, Technology
August 25, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Inc. company, today released the results of a recent survey that shows that the gaps are closing between consumer expectations for a seamless cross-channel experience and retailers' abilities to deliver that experience.

"Shoppers see retailers as one brand — they don't think in terms of multiple channels," said Jim Bengier, global retail industry executive for Sterling Commerce. "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."

The survey, conducted by Multi-Channel Merchant and Sterling Commerce, included data collected from 100 retailers with annual revenue of $250 million or more. In a follow-up survey of 115 retailers who reviewed the survey findings, 98 percent agreed that a retailer's inability to meet its customers' cross-channel expectations threatens customer loyalty and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

In a 2007 survey of 5,000 consumers, more than 90 percent said it was important to be able to track the status of their order and subsequent shipment. Today's survey found 87 percent of retailers indicated they are or will be able to provide that capability in the next 12 months through the purchasing channel, and 77 percent will be able to provide that capability via any combination of channels.

Though 81 percent of retailers surveyed are fully or partially integrated across all of their sales channels, many still are not delivering innovative cross-channel capabilities such as allowing consumers to buy online or through a call center and pick up or return to a store. Only 43 percent of retailers polled have an automated process that allows customers to pick up their orders in the store regardless of the purchasing channel. And, only slightly more (48 percent) of the retailers surveyed have an automated process that allows customers to return their orders to the store regardless of the channel through which it was purchased.

Cross-channel execution also can mean saving the sale in an out-of-stock situation by providing product availability information across channels. And, automating the process could be a differentiator. Two-thirds of the retailers surveyed indicated that they will have in the next 12 months the ability to view on-hand, in-transit and available-to-promise inventory at each location via a single mechanism. Slightly less than two-thirds (60 percent) said they will have in the next 12 months an automated process that enables store associates to find an out-of-stock item at another store location or distribution center and arrange for the product to be held for customer pick-up or shipped to the customer's home — an ability that 70 percent of consumers considered important.