Much like waves, customer engagement and buying behaviors are constantly evolving. Ambitious brands that embrace continuous improvement of their customer experience until it is perfected will surf out and achieve a state of nirvana, while others will bail out and embrace exhaustion.
Investment in technology is a big issue. Most retailers can’t integrate their systems properly to manage data let alone manage their loyalty programs, or transact properly with online gift cards. It can be a nightmare for consumers.
Then there are brands like Nordstrom, for example, they are a particularly comprehensive example of omni-channel retailing.
In addition to enabling customers to easily return purchases made on or offline, they have integrated social media into both the online and offline shopping experience as well.
I recently read that Nordstrom uses mobile POS systems in store, which creates a personal, one-on-one experience that engages customers. And the future looks bright for the new technology: Jamie Nordstrom stated in an article from MultiChannelMerchant that, “in the foreseeable future we will not have cash registers in our store.”
Do a quick review of the latest stats around mobile and its impact on e-commerce, and there’s no denying mobile’s impact on e-commerce. For example, mobile coupons are redeemed 10 times as often as traditional coupons.
59% of tablet owners use their tablets for product research and are 38% more likely to purchase physical items than smartphone shoppers.
So what does all of this mean? Brands should ensure that they offer the best mobile experience possible. Apple does it right – in a recent survey 51% of their visitors said their mobile experience was very satisfactory.
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A really great app doesn’t hurt either, and in fact 46% of shoppers say they’re less likely to comparison shop when using a mobile app. Customers have an ‘I want it now‘ mentality because with a mobile phone they can get it now and mobile apps are important part of giving customers they experience they want.
In addition to in-app purchases, brands could also use apps to create the ultimate omnichannel experience. Picture a scenario where a customer uses their mobile app for a brand like Free People. They could walk into the store and pick up an item they have already reserved on their iPhone app in their size and preferred color.
More often than not, a customer’s experience involves seeing something online, going into the closest store to pick it up, and having the item not be there.
How can marketers provide the seamless customer experience necessary to keep consumers coming back?
Gamification continues to help brands bridge the omnichannel experience, and tie together social, mobile, and physical channels. Brands like Forever 21 encourage shoppers to wear their clothes and promote them via social media using hashtags. The Starbucks rewards program employs gamification, as well, by assigning different badges for different customer behaviors both online and offline.
Customers are rewarded for buying coffee or automatically reloading gift cards. In essence, the goal of gamification is to keep customers constantly thinking about the brand and always ready to shop.
Understanding what customers want, and understanding how a high value relationship benefits the brand and the customer is important. To that end, brands are employing new tactics to learn about what customers want offline as well as online. A recent report from Merchant Warehouse shows that more and more consumers are participating in a behavior known as “webrooming,” or the practice of doing price comparisons online and then purchasing in a physical store.
The concept has emerged as a good way to test a product and whether or not there is demand for it globally, or within a certain geography. All brands should have the ability to monitor what’s available in a physical store, and compare that against what is available online to determine if there is enough demand to put that product in stores. There is a high cost associated with stock sitting in stores, so introducing a new product line into a store may not be a risk a brand wants to take.
One of the biggest question around data is how to make customer data more actionable, which ties back to customer experience and monitoring a buyer’s interaction with your brand. If a customer is online buying shoes, for example, they should only be presented with shoes in their size and in styles they frequently view.
It’s fairly easy to learn which channels and buttons drive revenue, and which products your customers are most likely to buy online.
Targeting customers offline, and giving them exclusive brand experiences is a bit harder. Brands are currently experimenting with everything from beacons to tracking users in store browsing habits by offering free wifi.
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Purchase automation is another area that e-commerce retailers are looking into.
Amazon, Diapers.com, and others have already rolled out subscription-based purchasing so that users can buy everyday items like laundry detergent or pet food at regular intervals – they want you to set it and forget it. Wearables and smart appliances are also evolving so that consumers are potentially always connected. LG even has a smart fridge that tells you when food is spoiled, suggests recipes based on the items you have, and enables you to order groceries from e-commerce grocery services like Fresh Direct.
Ultimately, shoppers continue to lead omnichannel trends. Many retailers are attempting to learn to predict their next steps, and then to keep them coming back. Going forward, it will be important for retailers to embrace mobile and big data to continuously evolve and meet the needs of their customers now and in the future.
There will come a day when retailing will not be omnichannel, or e-commerce, or brick-and-mortar or any other channel, it will simply be retailing and selling across channels. Data will be at the center of connecting the dots to create a holistic customer experience.
