Retailers who are not happy with their cross-channel experience need to remember this one thing: their brick and mortar store and online store should function as one entity.
Research by Edge Research for Sterling Commerce showed several significant gaps between what consumers want and what retailers are delivering. A retailer’s ability to meet consumer expectations — and deliver a seamless, cross-channel experience — will be the deciding factor in their ability to survive in the age of the empowered consumer.
But the survey showed that while 85 percent of consumers say they expect a seamless brand experience across all channels, only one in 10 retailers feel they currently excel at cross-channel execution. And while 87 percent of consumers say they expect retailers to be able to track an order via any channel, less than half of retailers offer this capability.
According to retail experts at Avanade, retailers must integrate their entire customer experience. Customers should be able to buy online and pick up or return items to the store in one seamless process.
Here’s the problem: retailers don’t want the credit for the online sales to go to the brick and mortar store because then they’ll have to pay tax on them. They also tend to have separate systems for tracking products.
But this is a mistake. Retailers should shield this process from customers and allow them a superior cross-channel experience. Upgrade your tracking system, Avanade experts said. It’s worth it.
Source: ChainStoreage, June 2011
