In the late 90’s, the e-commerce revolution was upon us and it would come to realize many speed bumps and growing pains to get to the point where we know it today. Industry analysts spent hours debating how e-commerce would change the shopping experience. Once e-commerce was generally accepted, the industry spent the next several years discussing how to create a cross-channel or multi-channel retail experience. The goal was to deliver consistent information and customer support via phone, email, Web and retail store channels. In the early 2000s, there were many challenges to delivering on this vision. One of the most prevalent issues was that the Web channel and the retail channel each had separate sales goals which ultimately prevented them from coordinating efforts. It was also found that promotional offers, return policies and fees had differed by channel as well. This proved to be potentially problematic if a consumer found a product online but chose to purchase it in the store or from the contact center.
Today, we’ve added new channels such as smartphones and tablets. The concept of multi-channel retail has evolved into a term called omni-channel retail. Wikipedia defines omni-channel retail as follows: “The omni-channel approach will track customers across all channels, not just one or two. All shopping channels work from the same database of products, prices, promotions, etc. Instead of perceiving a variety of touch-points as part of the same brand, omni-channel retailers let consumers experience the brand, not a channel within a brand. Merchandise and promotions are not channel specific, but rather consistent across all retail channels.”
In my opinion, smartphones are driving retailers to create omni-channel experiences in a way that e-commerce alone could not. Consumers don't think in terms of channels. Consumers buy from brands and stores. Consumers use mobile devices at home to research and purchase products. Consumers use smartphones while in the store to check pricing, inventory availability, and product reviews. The result is a new behavior called showrooming. Showrooming is the act of viewing merchandise in a physical retail store without purchasing it there, and then purchasing the product online or from another retailer. A recent survey by Harris Interactive found that 43% of smartphone and tablet owners have engaged in this practice. To combat showrooming, retailers are in the process of deploying omni-channel strategies, such as buy online and pick up at the store. One such example is the “Site to Store” option that Wal-Mart offers which allows customers to purchase merchandise online and then have it delivered to a Wal-Mart store of their choice.
I recently met with Gladson’s Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Cole, to share perspectives on omni-channel retailing. Gladson maintains the largest, up-to-date database in the U.S. of product information on consumer packaged goods. The company helps large brands build a consistent product database that can be used to feed information into each channel. Gladson offers a unique perspective on the challenges brands are experiencing in maintaining consistent information about a product. Mr. Cole provided the following statistics:
- Three-quarters of U.S. Internet users research grocery and personal care products online
- More than 70 percent of shoppers would like electronic delivery of advertising inserts
- Over 80 percent of shoppers make their purchase decision before leaving their home
- Over 50 percent of smartphone owners use the device while in stores to guide their purchases
- More than two-thirds (69 percent) of U.S. consumers that are shopping for food want access to nutritional information
Cole said the connected consumer researches products and depends upon friends and social media for insight. With smartphones, the connected consumer can gain product knowledge anywhere. While it is important to provide consistent pricing and inventory availability, Cole mentioned other factors that should remain consistent as the consumer shops across channels, such as the product image and product specifications. For example, if a person views one image of the product on their smartphone and a different image on the shelf, the customer will be confused. Also, if the nutritional information on the package doesn’t match what was on the Web, the shopper may select another product. Shoppers expect to see the same information about products wherever they look. Product data inconsistency will destroy customer confidence, dilute the branding, and cause shoppers to switch products or retailers.
While there are many components to an omni-channel retail strategy, retailers and brands must define one source of product information that can be used by all of the channels. Inventory availability is one aspect of product data consistency. It should also include aspects such as product image and product specifications. Mobile Commerce Daily recently posted an article about Disney redesigning its mobile website because its customers expected a consistent look and feel across channels.
The question remains, how should a business integrate all of its respective retail channels into a cohesive, consistent, and consumer-oriented fashion in order to provide the best shopping experience to its customers? As a company designs a mobile web site and related applications, it should seize this opportunity to define a unified data source. Along with creating this omni-channel experience for customers, the company can also utilize technology in order to capture new data about its customers through embedding analytics into the site and applications. A company also has the ability to look to cloud services to store and distribute product data to multiple devices. Overall, consistent data is just one operational element to master, but it is a critical one for any business aiming toward successful competition and gaining market share.
