THE STATE OF OMNICHANNEL COMMERCE: A Mystery Shopping Study

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1 THE STATE OF OMNICHANNEL COMMERCE: A Mystery Shopping Study

2 INTRODUCTION It s been years since retailers first grabbed hold of the idea of omnichannel retailing and fulfillment. Moving from multichannel to omnichannel is a big undertaking, but with a great payout. Not only is the customer experience benefited, but digital interactions influence 36 cents of every dollar spent in a brick & mortar store. 1 The omnichannel roadmap will continue to evolve, and different retailers are in varying stages of adoption. As the industry starts to focus more on how omnichannel technology influences the customer experience, it has become important to see how far retailers have come, and where they currently stand. Partnering with Astound Commerce, we performed a mystery shopper study on a group of 30 retailers to assess the overall buying experience from online to in store. Why should omnichannel be an important part of every retailer s roadmap? It comes down to the customer. Let s explore the many paths to purchase customers can take and what creates a great omnichannel experience to fulfill their expectations. 84% of customers believe that retailers should be doing more to integrate their online and offline channels. 2 2

3 OMNICHANNEL PATHS TO PURCHASE Customers take many paths to purchase. These paths not only cover different ground, but they begin and end in different locations. It is the responsibility of every omnichannel retailer to reach and fullfill the customer s need at any time on any path to purchase. Their starting points could look a little like this: desktop research in-store browsing the product mobile shopping store inventory delivery options in-store browsing in-store inventory inventory sharing personalized reminders personalized experience more purchases + + in-store browsing in-store technology in-store purchase in-store experience mobile experience smartphone purchase 3

4 THE FOUR KEY COMPONENTS TO OMNICHANNEL 1. FULFILLMENT AND INVENTORY TRANSPARENCY 66% 55% 49% of consumers say multiple fulfillment options influence willingness to complete purchase 3 of consumers will switch retailers if their preferred fulfillment method isn t available 4 of consumers will remain loyal if buy online, pickup in store is available 5 2. PERSONALIZATION 3. PRICING 71% 60% 2/3 4. SIGNAGE of shoppers believe they will get a better deal online than in stores 9 of consumers leave a store without making a purchase if they couldn t find what they were looking for or the price is too high (51%) 10 of in-store shoppers will check prices on their phone before making a purchase 11 92% 85% of consumers are influenced by product recommendations in a cart when completing a purchase 6 of consumers are influenced by home page personalization 7 68% +5% of customers believe that signage reflects the quality of a business and their product 12 Increase in sales revenue resulting from one additional on-premise sign 13 44% of consumers are influenced with targeted recommendations in the shopping cart 8 4

5 FULFILLMENT AND INVENTORY TRANSPARENCY: The Backbone of the Omnichannel Experience No matter where your customer may be, they should be able to gain access to inventory. Omnichannel fulfillment is first and foremost about connecting inventory to the consumer in the fastest, most cost-effective way possible. A natural byproduct of that is inventory transparency. If a company can see where their inventory is, why not make visible to the customer? 5

6 1. Fulfillment and Inventory Transparency THE PERFECT COMBO: INVENTORY VISIBILITY AND BOPIS Our study found 87% of retailers provided a product locator on their ecommerce site for shoppers to search store locations to find available inventory. Of those retailers with a product locator, most could provide only one of two messages. Either in-stock or available without any information on quantity. Customers want the assurance that items are in stock before they visit the store. Without displaying quantity, customers will be forced to go the old fashioned route and either call the store or take a big risk and make the trip to the brick-and-mortar location without a sure knowledge of payout. Mystery Shopper Finding: 87% of retailers provided a product locator; only 35% displayed quantity of inventory available 6

7 1. Fulfillment and Inventory Transparency The study found 35% of retailers that provided inventory information went the next step and displayed the quantity of inventory available. While this number may feel low and be a bit of a disappointment in this omnichannel world, it is worth noting it is a 17% increase from retailers who provided inventory quantity in our 2016 study. 18 Of course, when it comes right down to it, inventory quantity tied to specific stores is only a number and lacks the last mile of the purchase process. Consider a consumer who is interested in a certain product right now, online. How does the retailer capitalize on that desire? Many things can be done with promotions and the like, but the true key is to offer the consumer the ability to buy at the moment they want to buy. Don t wait for them to come into the store. Our study found that a good portion of retailers have this figured out, showing 77% of retailers offering buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) or ship-tostore. BOPIS and ship-to-store are incredibly smart moves to get the consumer to make the purchase while they are on the website. Mystery Shopper Finding: 77% of retailers offer buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) or ship-to-store 78% of consumers reporting to have purchased online for store pickup in the past 6 months Consumer Trends Report Edition 7

8 1. Fulfillment and Inventory Transparency INVENTORY TRANSPARENCY AND FULFILLMENT IN STORE Everyone has experienced being in a store and not having their needs met. So they find a store associate and ask if they have any in the back or at a different store nearby. What does that interaction look like? This study found 97% of store associates could access inventory levels enterprise wide. This is a 7% increase from last year s study. With 97% of store associates being able to access inventory levels enterprise wide makes one believe omnichannel is working in action. However, to truly see the omnichannel customer experience we need to look at the way in which the store associate can access the information. A typical scenario finds a shopper in need of a store associate and walks around to try and find one. Store associates can sometimes be hard to find, as 98.6% of retail businesses employ fewer than 50 people. 19 Once a store associate is found, our research discovered the associate was able to assist the customer, but only if they have a handheld device or are at a register. If the store associate can t immediately answer the question, very typically the shopper has to follow the store associate around the store as they seek the answer. Considering the ideal omnichannel path to purchase, this scenario doesn t stack up. Entering a store, walking to find the desired item, seeing an empty shelf, finding a store associate, and then walking back to a register to check inventory isn t exactly seamless. Unfortunately, our study found that 66% of associates had to be at a terminal to access the enterprise-wide inventory. Handheld and mobile technology still is not widespread. The remaining 34% of store associates used a scanner, handheld device, tablet, or smartphone. Mystery Shopper Finding: How Store Associates Access Enterprise Wide Inventory 66% Terminal 20% Scanner 8% iphone 3% ipad 3% Other 8

9 1. Fulfillment and Inventory Transparency While inventory access is a huge win to the omnichannel customer, recent research has found that inventory found only through a register can t go the distance: 84% of consumers are influenced to make a purchase when an associate is equipped with a mobile point of sale. The retailer that doesn t equip their associates with a mobile point of sale are missing out on a significant number of sales. But here s the real kicker: Even with the majority of associates having inventory access, a quarter of retail associates could find inventory availability for shoppers, but couldn t place the order for them. Of those that could place an order, almost all (92%) had to do it at a register or customer service counter and could not complete the task in-aisle. TIPS FOR IMPROVEMENT: INVENTORY VISIBILITY AND FULFILLMENT Retailers should take advantage of the consumer s need for visible inventory quantity on a website. According to the Kibo Consumer Trends Report 2017 Edition, 64% of consumers say having quantity of inventory displayed influences them to complete their purchase. 20 Retailers that don t yet have this on their roadmap may soon want to add it, before they miss out on more sales. Empower store associates! For the best omnichannel experience, store associates will assist in making in-store transactions as seamless as possible. They should be able to have accurate access to enterprise inventory and to easily place orders, all while having clearance to offer free shipping if shipping to store, or low priced two-day shipping if shipping to home. Last year s study found a dismal 7% of store associates tried to save a sale when items were out of stock. 21 Don t let that be your reality. The 24% of retail associates in this study that could find inventory but were unable to place an order limits the ability to save-the-sale or line busting, all which aid in efficiency and improve the shopping experience. And just remember, not every customer is motivated to find a store associate or to go online for a product. 70% of purchase decisions are made in front of the shelf, so if your product is out of stock, you re out of luck. 22 If your business plan doesn t include more store associates, consider digital signs or touchscreens that can save the sale, and always make sure to refer to your website as another source of inventory information. 9

10 PERSONALIZATION It is becoming increasingly important for retailers to use a strong personalization strategy. Advanced personalization technology changes the game from simple product recommenders to actual real-time, individualized experiences. 10

11 2. Personalization Mystery Shopper Findings: Order History: 100% We were happy the study showed 100% of retailers provided order history. Because order history acts as an online version of a receipt, keeping a history for the customer goes a long way in building and maintaining trust. Wish Lists or Saved Lists: 83% Retailers that offer wish lists or saved lists also can get to know their customer better and provide personalized promotions or discounts based on the items on the list. Wish lists not only provide a personalized experience, but have the opportunity to increase average order value(aov). Recently Viewed Items: 60% Surprisingly 40% of retailers are missing this basic, yet desirable personalization function. Showing a customer recently viewed items is a good example of reminding customers what they are interested in, and a great way to make a site feel personalized even if the customer isn t signed in. The more a customer feels valued on a site, the more likely they are to engage with and sign in, making an unknown user a known user. Return Visit Personalization: 73% Personalization continues at the second visit to the website. This research found that 73% of retailers had personalized recommendations or recently viewed items on their home page at the second visit. Of the stores in this study, only 53% were able to show personalized recommendations without signing into the store account. If half of personalization experiences only happen when a shopper is logged into their account, this is an incredibly missed opportunity. Cart Abandonment 57% Our mystery shoppers also tested cart abandonment. 4 in 10 of the retailers surveyed did not send an following an abandoned cart, and only 6% of those that sent an personalized it beyond including the item(s) that were abandoned. No name, no additional items, no extra content. And the worst and most shocking result of all: ZERO retailers offered an incentive to complete the purchase of their abandoned items. For the purposes of this report, we judged retailers on their ability to provide very basic, high level personalization with the customer logged into an account. To learn more about advanced personalization, refer to Kibo s Ultimate Guide to Personalization. 11

12 2. Personalization TIPS FOR IMPROVEMENT: PERSONALIZATION WITH THE UNKNOWN USER DATA INPUTS The best way to improve personalization is to eliminate the need to be signed into accounts. Even though the majority of retailers are doing some sort of personalization, they rely on visitors to be logged into their accounts for the data. Although exact figures are not known across all retailers in this study, it is safe to assume the majority of website visitors probably do not have an account. Real-Time Behaviors Product Catalogs User Profiles Purchase History Ratings & Reviews Location Awareness Personalization technology has made huge leaps in recent years and no longer needs to rely on a visitor to be known and associated through an account. Today, retailers that provide the best personalization are those that use technology with big data and machine learning at its core. THE PERSONALIZATION ENGINE Big Data and Machine Learning CONVERSION AT EVERY TOUCHPOINT Landing Page Recommendations Search Offers Chat Social Mobile 12

13 2. Personalization HOW IT WORKS: Machine Learning for Personalization Machine learning utilizes a set of algorithms to dynamically drive personalized experiences for customers whether in the form of promotions, recommendations or interactive web content. The result is a significant reduction in manual effort, the ability to automate targeting, and the potential to surface highly relevant content to increase conversions and engagement. Best of breed machine learning-based solutions will create a customer data hub to aggregate information across all digital sources such as websites, social channels, paid advertising, and promotions to predict what specific micro-segments might purchase next. Personalized content is based upon observing the implicit actions of website visitors. This helps to interpret the intent of a website visitor. Some of these actions include how a visitor arrived at the site, the context of successful search queries and navigation patterns, downloads, purchases, and registration input. These behaviors are captured and sent to the personalization engine, typically using code embedded on the website. The most advanced algorithms will be self-learning and frequently adapt based on buyers browsing, interacting, and purchasing preferences making collaborative filtering and rules-based approaches obsolete. MACHINE LEARNING 13

14 3 PRICING Shoppers walk into stores with their phone in hand. If they aren t price checking against a competing store or Amazon, they may be price checking against a store s own website. Pricing consistency across all channels is a critical component for a satisfactory omnichannel experience. 14

15 3. Pricing Mystery Shopper Finding: 67% of retailers had a statement of their commitment to match prices. Of these stores: = 100% would match their.com price = 80% would match in-store competitor pricing = 40% would match Amazon (excluding Marketplaces) = Zero retailers would match Marketplaces Our study found 16% of retailers had inconsistent pricing between their store and ecommerce site. When prices are inconsistent between in-store and online, the retailer is conditioning the shopper to only use the touchpoint that has the best pricing. Consistent pricing encourages visits to both brick and mortar stores and online sites. TIPS FOR IMPROVEMENT: Communication is key. As every retailer and manufacturer knows, pricing consistency across digital and in-store can be very tricky, and it is unlikely consistency will be there 100% of the time. So it is important that retailers clearly state their policy, both online and in-store, for the times pricing inconsistencies arise. Consider a price matching policy and tell people about it. As stated above, keeping every price for every item the exact same no matter where it is found can be a burden for some brands and retailers. A known price matching policy keeps customers happy and loyal, and encourages them to keep shopping in brick and mortar stores. 15

16 SIGNAGE Retailers know the importance of signage for purchasing decisions, as 82% of mass merchant purchase decisions are made in-store. 27 While all signs point to smart signage instore for increased transactions, the same goes with signage that shows off or informs omnichannel capability. In-store omnichannel-centric signs have two purposes: To guide and direct, or inform and reinforce branding. 16

17 4. Signage In our study, we found signage was all or nothing. Those with signage often have strong storewide execution. For those retailers that don t fully embrace the omnichannel experience, the stores are devoid of any connection to the.com world. 63% Mystery Shopper Findings: of the stores visited in this study promoted omnichannel offering via signs, to promote things like online URL for more available inventory, BOPIS, and price match guarantee. This is up slightly from 50% of retailers that had this type of signage in % of retailers showed off digital signage, examples include: directional signs, manufacturer or merchant ads, product demonstrations, or touch screens giving guidance. These digital screens build desire and excitement in the consumer as they move throughout the store. This study also found that 37% of stores had their URL on the front doors, alerting shoppers of their web location. 17

18 4. Signage Tips For Improvement: Signage guides and reinforces services, setting the stage for a positive visit. However, some signs missed the mark, as evidenced by this picture here: A key, yet obvious point: make sure in-store technology is running correctly and reliably before investing in marketing it to your customers. For the remaining 37% of retailers that do not use omnichannel signage, they are completely missing an opportunity to streamline the in-store shopping experience. They should consider promoting all channels available to consumers, no matter where they are shopping. Some retailers do a great job of pushing store visits while a consumer is online, but not vice versa. Another area of improvement for information transference is a visible phone number on a home page. Retailers are making great strides in omnichannel, but missing opportunities with customer service. Only half of the retailers surveyed (53%) had a phone number visible on the homepage and took some effort to locate. Although selfservice is the direction retailers are going, until this is perfected it is important to allow customers to receive information from any channel including the old fashion phone call. 18

19 CONCLUSION Retailers are making progress in their journey to an omnichannel reality. Notedly the number of retailers with access to enterprise-wide inventory and some personalized experience has grown over the past year. There are still many areas of improvement. The paths a retailer can take to omnichannel nirvana can be numerous. To the right are the top take-aways from this study and the areas retailers should focus on over the next months to make the most difference to their business and provide optimal shopping experiences for their customers. Placing a focus on these areas will help retailers thrive and meet ever-heightening shopper expectations. The assessment of the personalization and omnichannel sophistication of retailers in this report should provide perspective and understanding of how well the industry is executing an omnichannel experience, and what are the strengths and weaknesses. Despite the retail industry experiencing tough times with store closures and bankruptcies, retailers need to stay focused and continue to invest in a seamless and frictionless experience. This is where they can win customer loyalty and truly differentiate themselves in the industry. Personalize the experience across every channel; up the game with more advanced machine learning technology Deliver an in-store experience that marries the best of technology with strong associate support Allow access to inventory across the enterprise with the ability to place an order efficiently Have a keen awareness of pricing models internally and competitively Provide customer service access that answers questions in a timely fashion wherever whenever 19

20 METHODOLOGY, METRICS AND MINDSET Selected 30 retailers and defined a set of 57 metrics to evaluate an end-to-end omnichannel experience A. DESKTOP-I WANT TO SELECT THE RIGHT PRODUCT FOR ME Looked for an item online with limited shopping time available Found item but didn t have time to check out so left item in cart (notated abandonment experience) Came back to cart and added item to wishlist Inquired with store associates about price matching policies Asked associates about their ability to access inventory across the enterprise and subsequently place an order on our behalf Explored deployment of technology in the store and how associates were using to support customers C. CUSTOMER SERVICE-I HAVE A QUESTION MODE Live chatted (where available) to see local store availability and current promotions Reviewed omnichannel connectors including product store locator, inventory levels and pickup opportunities Wove in personalization elements as part of the overall process to gauge sophistication level B. STORE I WANT TO TOUCH AND FEEL THE PRODUCTS Downloaded app in advance of store visit, signing in upon arrival to store to await any retailer messaging Observed omnichannel signage Selected products of interest and looked for.com and Amazon pricing on our smartphone 20

21 REFERENCES 1. Retail s Main Event: Brick & Mortar vs. Online, RetailNext 2. Retail s Main Event: Brick & Mortar vs. Online, RetailNext 3. Consumer Trends Report Edition 4. Consumer Trends Report Edition 5. Consumer Trends Report Edition 6. Consumer Trends Report Edition 7. Consumer Trends Report Edition 8. Consumer Trends Report Edition Amazing Online Shopping And Ecommerce Statistics, Selz Retail s Main Event: Brick & Mortar vs. Online, RetailNext Consumer Trends Report Edition 15. Consumer Trends Report Edition 16. Consumer Trends Report Edition 17. Consumer Trends Report Edition Retail s Impact, National Retail Federation 20. Consumer Trends Report Edition % of customers believe that signage reflects the quality of a business and their product. signage-statistics-every-marketer-must-know 26. On average, one additional on premise sign results in an increase in annual sales revenue of 4.75%

22 ABOUT KIBO ECOMMERCE ORDER MANAGEMENT MOBILE POINT OF COMMERCE REAL-TIME INDIVIDUALIZATION Kibo is a leading omnichannel commerce platform for retailers and branded manufacturers with over 800 customers fulfilling orders in 75 countries. Clients achieve optimal performance and loyalty through truly connected customer experiences across customer devices and retail touchpoints. Kibo s unified approach includes a leading ecommerce platform, big data 1:1 personalization, mobile POS, and distributed order management delivered via a modern, cloud-based infrastructure. The Kibo platform can scale as clients grow their business while maintaining a low cost of ownership and faster time to market than other solutions. Kibo enables you to reach higher peaks of sales and customer loyalty. No matter the challenge, Kibo powers your success. To find out more about Kibo, call or visit our website at 22