Omnichannel

Omnichannel investment up, yet retailers falling short of seamless experiences

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July 7, 2022

Retailers and brands are increasing omnichannel investment but a majority are still falling short when it comes to implementing best practice capabilities and struggling to deliver a seamless shopping experience.

That's a prime finding of an OSF Digital retail report, "2022 Omnichannel Retail Index." The report was launched seven years ago by OSF Digital consulting division FitForCommerce in partnership with the National Retail Federation.

The annual study found top-scoring retailers and brands are aggressively increasing adoption rates of omnichannel and digital capabilities including optimized content, frictionless checkout and cross-channel capabilities. Yet most companies in the Index have implemented less than 61% of best practice capabilities.

The highest-ranking company in the Index had implemented 85% of the Index's designated best practices, which is a significant jump from 2021, when the highest score was 72%.

Some other key findings include:

• The implementation of Buy Online Pick-Up In-Store curbside pickup has increased significantly, accelerated by the pandemic.
• 74% of the loyalty programs are based on a typical "earn and burn" approach. Only 49% allow shoppers to redeem points for product discounts, and even fewer allow shoppers to redeem points for "experiences."

"Retailers and brands have quickly adopted new capabilities driven by the pandemic, but the necessary customer experience continues to evolve," Bernardine Wu, executive managing director of digital strategy at OSF Digital, said in the release.