In 2019, while 73% of customers use multiple channels during their shopping journey, only 7% shopped exclusively online and only 20% shopped exclusively in store (2). People are using more channels than ever when shopping.

These same people are expecting a close correlation, if not symmetry, between retail channels. In 2019 a non-omnichannel experience is frustrating, a smooth omnichannel experience is expected.

Despite the growth in the number and complexity of channels available, it is possible to meet customer expectations and provide an omnichannel approach regardless of the scale of the enterprise.

Below are three keys to this unified retail utopia that customers expect.

Key one – Single Core Data Management System

Everything that the customer sees, regardless of channel, originates in a central location of stored data. Good management and organization of this data adds crucial effectiveness to retail campaigns.

Data is never static. Robust and flexible data management software can incorporate real-time data from sources such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Product information management (PIM), Customer relationship management (CRM), Media Servers, and arrange it into a single data lake. It is then availablein statistical form providing key information to decision makers.

Step two – The Unified Use of Data via All Channels

Unified data storage is the foundation of a truly utopic omnichannel retail strategy. However, this is only effective if it truly reaches the customer through the channels they use. Customers who shopped after browsing three or more channels bought 250% more frequently than customers who only engaged with only one channel (1).

This is not only a case of channel usage. This is only true where a unified omnichannel approach was taken across the channels. A genuine omnichannel experience provides consistent branding, product recommendations, and relevant advertising campaigns across the channels.

A case in point is sports giant Nike. The Nike Runners Club mobile application (originally marketed as Nike+) boasts over 100,000 users. Members, who constitute a target audience, are often daily users of the app, see consistent message and branding whether in fabulously designed brick and mortar stores, social media or website. This has contributed in Nike achieving top spot in the running shoe market (3).

Step three – Learn, Learn, Learn

An effective retail strategy requires the repeated efforts of marketers working closely to develop close synergy with the target audience over sometimes an extended period of time. In other terms, it is not easy to get retail strategies right immediately.

Data inflow must be carefully analysed to interpret the success of current campaigns and lessons learned must be applied to future endeavours. This requires more than storage. It requires a complete array of analytical tools and a display that is easily understood and readable by decision makers.

Conclusion – CTA

A house is only as stable as the foundation it is laid upon. A successful omnichannel strategy is likewise built upon a solid data infrastructure.

Omnichannel cloud data management middleware that is both robust and flexible such as Cloud, as developed by Shopi can provide such as basis. Harness the power of omnichannel and provide the unified front that your customers expect.

Retailers are levelling the playing-field by matching the advantages of e-commerce in a brick-and-mortar location. They are employing omnichannel solutions to meet the expectations of consumers. Check out our list of 2019 consumer expectations and see how retailers can meet them.

Well-equipped store assistance

Statistics indicate what many are already assuming, that each new generation of consumers has a lower tolerance for traditional store delays and an expectation of service similar to that experienced in the online world. Customer fears regarding stock levels, long queues before payment, even delays in answering queries influence purchase decisions more than ever before. Technologies such as Assist. by Shopi are the solutions to these concerns. Electronic endless product aisles, mobile payment technology (mPOS), slick communication between staff, even fulfilment from other stock locations, is made possible by this simple application loaded to a smart device in the hands of a store assistant.

Customer freedom

Major retailers are recognizing the advantage in providing an autonomous shopping experience for consumers. Providing the opportunity for customers to enter, browse and purchase without human interaction does have advantages and has obvious parallels to the online shopping experience. Providing access to the entire range of products on HD screens with attractive, branded, real-time data is the foundation of this. Add to this the provision of self-checkout and you have the smooth purchase experience that Gen Z are expecting. Sign. by Shopi provides all this with integration to cloud data management technologies that mean that retailers benefit from each touch and transaction customers make.

Frictionless omnichannel

The smooth consumer omnichannel experience is becoming more absolute each year. The key to providing the seamless experience that the customer expects is technology that unifies all retail technologies in a company. Middleware that is robust and communicates with other technologies will allow the retailer instant access to key data and the absolute ability to deploy this data at enterprise scale. Historically speaking, data from E-commerce, CRM and even physical stores has been siloed and managed separately. Now, however, technologies such as cloud. by Shopi unify this data and allow the retailer to centralize and deploy it. Data accrued from everything from purchases to returns are unified, regardless of the channel it was received from, providing the perfect omnichannel experience.

Unified approach

Gen Z shoppers are more interested in experiences and environments than any other generation. Key decision-makers are educated by data acquired by in-store touch points and e-commerce transactions. They are then in the best position to make top-down decisions regarding everything from store layout to the roll-out of new technology to provide these experiences.
Connect. by Shopi is a smart data and content dashboard, especially designed for marketing and business teams at decision making level. It uses data gathered by products such as sign. and cloud. to provide key insights to the behavior of both retail locations, and customer behavior. The same data is available for utilization with software’s proprietary task management functionality. This keep marketing and sales teams up-to-date and gives them the ability to direct content decisions, manage branding and communicate instantly across the company.

It’s clear that the future of retail is close cooperation between the physical and the online. Rather than resist the inevitable, embracing the technological expectations of consumers gives retailers key advantages. It allows them to consistently and accurately learn who their consumers are and how to build the most mutually beneficial relationship possible with them. The range of omnichannel solutions available at
shopihq.shop/services is second to none in meeting the expectation of customers entering stores, regardless of their generation.

Retailers who can think digital-first and employ digital solutions effectively in physical locations will be crowned champions. When it comes to keeping ahead of the competition with technology, what will be the key areas for retailers?

“Retail is not back… It never went away”

2017-18 was the period in which retailers linked together channels to create a unified approach to retail. What will consumer expectations be in 2019? They will expect a mature and seamless omnichannel experience.

Although retail options in the form of social media will continue to grow, the main channels will become more and more established, with yes, brick and mortar stores playing a seemingly irremovable role.

This is seen by the younger demographic of 18-21 year olds (known often as Generation-Z) using multiple channels in purchase and returns. One major 2018 omni-channel retail report noted (1) that when making returns 21% of 18-21 year olds prefer to return an item to an offline physical location, even when the original purchase was made from a heavily online-oriented retailer such as Amazon.

In fact, 30% of all ages surveyed stated that they will take items to a physical location to make the return and then take the opportunity to browse further items in that physical location.

Omnichannel technologies will make purchase, collection and return simple and easy for the consumer. Online purchases collected in a physical store expected to play a major role as consumers take advantage of shorter shipping times.

Stock availability will also be a key area. The concept of stock unavailability in a retail store or the words “we don’t carry that here” should no longer be heard in retailers thanks to digital cataloguing. Omnichannel technologies give the consumer access to the entire range of products.

Simply put, consumers of 2019 are expecting seamless purchase and fulfilment regardless of the channels they choose to use.

Experiences count, not things

Retailers are gaining experience with hardware and internet-connected technologies to provide far more than a sales shelf. The buzz word of “experiences” is expected to take center-stage in 2019. Although the employment of technologies such as augmented reality may not be installed in every store, improved personal interactions with customers in store will be realized.

Retailers are expected to improve in providing a context or background story for the items they provide. Retailers will employ quality hardware and excellent cloud data management to gather the data regarding customer preferences and lifestyles and then paint an appealing picture with the results.

Customers may fall into demographics, but individuals do not fit into boxes. The experience that appeals to a city office worker will not appeal to a person working in the education sector or a parent caring for children – even though they may be shopping in the same retail outlet.

Clientelling tools that provide a personal electronic interface and bespoke follow-up will provide a distinct narrative for each person and thus an experience that will appeal to each individual.

Consumers are more empowered than ever in using multiple channels when making retail and return choices. It is a salient point that the responsibility is on retailers to provide the most efficient and appealing service possible through each of these channels.

Unified data management via cloud software, robust middleware software to employ that data, and clientelling tools to maximize the relationship with the client are some of the tools available from shopihq.shop to keep you ahead of the competition in 2019.

1: People hate waiting in line.

2: Time spent waiting in line is perceived to pass more slowly, and torturously, than the times when we are active, and our minds are employed.

The sum of the two points above is very real scenario for retailers. One survey indicated that almost 40% of people have abandoned items they intended to purchase in store because of despair in perceived long queues. How long is perceived to be long?

Approximately 25% of people stated that 5 minutes is their personal maximum waiting time.

Make no mistake, shoppers do take this opportunity to vote with their feet. In Britain, where queuing is loved and applied with military precision, it is said that excessive queuing leads to 20.65 million missed sales opportunities every year. Customers are all too happy to gamble that high street competitors will have a shorter waiting time or that researching the item online is preferred to an oppressive in-store queuing experience.

Since the mirror mounting craze of the 1950’s that we discussed earlier, many solutions have been suggested for managing expectations of waiting customers. These imperfect approaches can be broadly split into three categories:

Staff-power
The theory that more personnel and cash registers mean faster customer processing time. Correct! However, during non-peak times it results in salaried staff that are generally under-employed. This is by far the most expensive solution and one that leaves staff feeling somewhat purposeless in during hours of low trade.

Engagement
The theory that more personnel and cash registers mean faster customer processing time. Correct! However, during non-peak times it results in salaried staff that are generally under-employed. This is by far the most expensive solution and one that leaves staff feeling somewhat purposeless in during hours of low trade.

Deceit
Not as evil as it sounds. This is widely employed by larger retailers such as Disney. They are very happy to exaggerate waiting times, meaning that customers wait for less time than expected and are pleased by the moments that they appear to have saved. Yet this method relies on the customer accepting a longer exaggerated queuing time from the beginning.

The most innovative solution, and perhaps the only one which truly addresses the problem of queuing is the digitalization of customer processing. The transferral of most POSs from the cash register to the customer itself.

Consider a customer who enters a clothing store. She finds an item to purchase, consults with a store assistant. She then groans at the thought of queuing for a perceived eternity. She is then informed that the store assistant whom she consulted with, and who is standing in front of her, can process the transaction instantly. The customer than uses the time saved to browse other items, safely assured that she can purchase them just as easily and quickly.

It should not surprise us that the biggest and most successful retail corporation in the world is already championing this approach. Boasting a $50 billion-dollar turnover, Apple has indeed become the master of que-cutting by utilizing roving transactions within its stores. However, interestingly, more than just expedited transactions and happier customers result. Apple also reports better use of floor space in-store due to the removal of high-footprint cash registers, and better customer relations, since the store-assistants are not hidden behind registers but free to approach customers.

The next level of roving transaction technology is currently being marketed: Shopiassist – the mobile application that instantly processes customer transactions. Shopisign: the in-store digital catalogue with functionality that allows for purchases instantly or later via an SMS with your mobile device.

Abandoned carts and hellish queuing experienced are a thing of the past with roving transactions and empowered store assistants.