Retail examples showing how to bring the on and offline worlds together through social and mobile channels.
I have been following the retail industry as businesses plunge or dip their toes into the omnichannel waters. Some are certainly doing some revolutionary, original campaigns using technology which I'll look at here - do share others you like!
This blog posts sums up my favourite case studies from retailers with some thoughts on how this will impact the modern marketing department’s strategies, as technology drives change.
How are retailers tackling the on and offline world?
Consumers are using multiple devices, screens, and channels to make purchases, but you know this already. Retailers still get a huge chunk of sales in their bricks and mortar outlets, for example clothing and footwear brands in the UK 44% of purchases are done in store*.
In store doesn’t provide the same level of data as their website or digital marketing activities. They will only…
How will Webrooming and Showrooming evolve this year?
The Holiday season has just past, while for some the numbers are still being tallied on whether or not end of year festivities were successful, let’s take a look at how shoppers got into the holiday spirit.
The holiday 2014 shopping season has shown an increase in shoppers’ spending for holiday gifts. Shoppers were eager to get on with the gift buying and avoid uncomfortable overcrowded situations. Online sales up by 8.3 percent in comparison to online sales in 2013. - IBM, 2014. Holiday spending for 2014 will rise by 4.1%, predicts the National Retail Federation predicted.
What is Webrooming and Showrooming?
Shoppers were engaging in two types of shopping behaviour: webrooming and showrooming.
Webrooming is identified by 'the behaviour a consumer takes by researching online, before going into the store to elevate and examine the physical product before purchasing.' [Donnelly,…
A review of the options to avoid 'showrooming' and connect with customers digitally when they are in-store
As retailers figure out how to incorporate the ever-changing omnichannel and added extra credit card processing security, they will also need to think about the Internet of Things [IOT] and how it fits into the retail experience and marketing budget. Some retailers are using digital in-store to enhance the shopping experience of their customers. But implementing these devices could be costly and time-consuming, especially if they fail to produce results for the retailer.
But we must recognize that customers have overwhelmingly connected lives. In their daily journey, they are shuttling between their homes and work in a constant connected state. This connected state has an effect on their shopping behaviour. Customers will search online, comparing prices, promotions, ratings and reviews. Internally, the customer may debate things like the difference between shipping costs versus the cost…
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March 19, 2014
Which channels matter most today? An analysis of the effectiveness of 40+ marketing channels
Several months ago, I created a simple spreadsheet of 40+ marketing channels available to marketers to reach and influence consumers today. I shared this on the Smart Insights blog and readers added to my base list - thank you for the recommendations! In this article, starting with the original channels, I've added attribute data about each channel to provide a better picture of channel versatility, cost, purpose and function.
This blog post will cover an analysis of a new all channel spreadsheet available via my site to determine which are the best channels for functionality and value.
Cross-functional channels
Venn Diagram
The four segments in this Venn diagram show the functional intersections for channels used for different types of customer interactions. The four functional categories are:
Marketing, can the channel be used to market to customers?
Service,…
New research on consumer feedback on buyer omnichannel fulfilment requirements
Value: [rating=3]
Recommended link: Comscore and UPS's 2013 Pulse of the Online Shopper survey
ComScore was commissioned by UPS to survey over 3,000 US consumers, to find out about their online shopping experience and the impact of the range of channels now available to the consumer. The research looks at the consumer journey from pre-purchase, to check out, delivery and post sales. It provides insight into how businesses need to adapt to consumers expectations of an integrated sales experience and the focus on the customer experience.
'Overall, satisfaction with online shopping is high at 83%. However, it drops below 50% when shoppers are asked about: flexibility to choose delivery date; ability to choose a specified time of day for delivery of purchase; flexibility to re-route packages; and a green shipping option'
Key…
Why businesses need to adopt an omni-channel approach
The recent (and well publicised) reports of a number of high street retailers such as Comet, HMV and Jessops going into administration has reinforced the need for businesses to continue to adapt their strategies or suffer the consequences as a result. Prominent high street retailers that failed to capitalise on the e-commerce boom (making the move online too late) have consequently been dealt a harsh lesson in reality.
The opportunity online
On the flip side 2012 was another strong year for e-commerce with UK retailers achieving 14% year on year growth (IMRG) with similar growth is expected in 2013. Combine this with the incredible growth of mobile/ tablet commerce and this year presents a real opportunity to online businesses.
According to the latest BRC-Google Online Retail Index tablet searches increased 238% in the fourth quarter and the IMRG m-Retail index reported…
Why retailers need a strategy to plan for omnichannel retail
Building an effective retail brand today needs new ways of looking at how to communicate with customers across multiple digital and traditional channels. With the growth in importance of mobile and social media touchpoints, omnichannel has displaced multichannel as the preferred term in 2013 for managing these interactions.
What is omnichannel marketing?
Omni comes from the latin for all or every. Channel refers to the method in which customers interact with an organisation. Literally it is “every-channel”.
Omnichannel is the mix of all physical and digital channels to create an innovative and unified customer experience. Transacting through these channels is a hygiene factor. If all store staff do is scan products and collect payment then they are adding no value at all. As we’re seeing at the major supermarkets they can be replaced with touchscreen terminals connected to chip and pin devices. The experience…
How different types of omni-channel services can improve the customer experience
Customer service should be at the top of every marketer's agenda since satisfied customers are the key to brand loyalty and that all important sale. With the many new devices and channels now available, omni-channel helps to firmly place the customer at the centre of all marketing activity by bringing together the right channels to enhance the customer experience.
To help marketers get their heads around this latest form of marketing, RedEye has selected 5 examples of brands creating an omni-channel customer experience:
Oasis: Online Shopping Instore
M&S: Instore Experience
Waterstones: Instore eBook Service
John Lewis: Click and Collect Service
Boots: Instore Digital Kiosk
Oasis: Online Shopping Instore
The introduction of iPads across Oasis’ stores enables the customer to browse online, pay online and place orders online whilst in store. Users have the option to try an item on in store, and then order it online and have…
A visual of the multichannel universe
Many activities are needed to succeed in multichannel marketing. Whether you work for a company or for an agency, you need to communicate to colleagues or clients what is needed for success. I found the Twiss Universe visual an interesting way of showing what's needed to develop multichannel strategies, so thought I'd share it so you can compare it to your approaches.
Twiss say:
"Our Map of the "Universe" provides an overview of available mediums, technologies and services that comprise Multi-Channel marketing as a whole. Every brand has its own footprint of involvement, large or small".
(Click to Expand)
I like the emphasis that the visual puts on measurement, testing and customer research and coverage of the main "carbon" and "electronic" tools.
It's not so strong on process, for that I recommend Dan's "Marketing Wheel" infographic.…
How alternative models of the customer journey can help us build more realistic media plans and experiences
A couple of weeks ago I rolled out one of my favourite slides, the Forrester ‘spaghetti’ view of the online customer journey. I’m fond of Forrester’s reworking of the traditional sales funnel for the digital age. On the one hand, the reworked sales funnel probably is a more accurate picture of the way that people make purchase decisions online. But it isn’t easy to see how it would drive sensible digital strategies back in the real world:
To help gain better insight, we need to add the time dimension. Research can can show that decision times vary a lot by category and they're not short. This research…
