Converged Retailing Roadmap Can general merchandise retailers deliver the shopping experience consumers really want? An NCR White Paper

Transcription

1 Converged Retailing Roadmap Can general merchandise retailers deliver the shopping experience consumers really want? An NCR White Paper

2 02 Are retailers providing consumers with the shopping experience they really desire? Consumers today are more informed, empowered and digitally dependent than ever before. This translates into a shopper that expects a converged retailing experience: seamless and consistent interactions whether at home, on the go, or in the store. Retailers must move beyond multichannel retailing to provide a smooth, integrated consumer shopping experience that includes loyalty programs, social media and digital marketing. According to a study by Retail Systems Research, 100% of responding retailers believe the multi-channel shopping experience should be converged for a consistent experience. However, only 32% have achieved this goal. 1

3 03 Five service attributes are changing the game. Now, retailers must jump in or lose out. To gain insight into the state of omni-channel, NCR conducted consumer surveys and grocery retailer observations in North America, the United Kingdom (UK)/Europe and Japan. These surveys the NCR 2012 C-tailing Research: Global Consumer Insights Survey and NCR Retailer Benchmark Study revealed which top five retail service attributes mattered most to consumers and how well retailers are providing those capabilities. It s clear the omni-channel shopper has changed the game, and a new paradigm has been introduced in the general merchandise retailer/ consumer relationship. What s next? Retailers must act quickly to align their operations with the new reality of converged retailing. For retailers ready to respond to consumer demand for a converged retailing experience, there is a roadmap. Read on to learn more.

4 04 Attribute #1 Purchase Online, Return in Store In today s retail environment, brick-and-mortar businesses can t compete without an online presence. But this feature alone isn t enough. The importance of retailers accepting returns in-store for purchases made online ranked high among the consumers surveyed. Clearly, retailers are paying close attention to this growing consumer demand. According to a 2012 Aberdeen Group study, an increasing number of retailers are accepting in-store returns for items purchased online. 2 A buy online, return to store service offers benefits to both the retailer and the shopper. Retailers can make additional sales once the consumer is in the store, and the shopper can avoid the cost of return shipping. Keep in mind that in-store returns need to be easy. A recent multi-channel report from GSI Commerce indicated that 76% of consumers cited expensive or lengthy online return or refund procedures as a reason for not making a repeat purchase. 1

5 Where do I begin? Retailer Roadmap Starting Point #1: In-store returns for online purchases with NCR Advanced Store Enterprise Returns Management NCR Advanced Store and Enterprise Returns Management integrate with the retailers online web store application, so associates have a consistent and efficient experience when accepting a return that was ordered online. The Consumer-Retailer Gap 78% of shoppers surveyed in North America and 73% in the UK/ Europe stated that buy online, return to store was a highly valued retailer attribute. # This demand hits home among the favorite retailers identified by consumers participating in the NCR survey: 82% in North America and 52% in the UK/Europe offered this option versus 26% of retailers that did not.± Sears is taking in-store returns a step further by adding a drive-through service that allows customers to return or exchange purchases without leaving their cars. 05

6 06 Attribute #2 Personalized In-Store E-Coupons More than ever, consumers are cost-conscious and time-strapped. The faster shoppers can receive money-saving communications from their favorite retailers the better. Most of the surveyed consumers would opt-in for the delivery of personalized coupon offers to their inbox or mobile devices while shopping in the store. Retailers have opportunities both inside the store and outside their walls to demonstrate that they know what their individual consumers want and how to deliver it. In fact, 20% of retailers are now using mobile technology as a marketing channel for streaming promotional content, coupons, ads and other marketing messages via SMS and MMS. 3 2

7 Where do I begin? Retailer Roadmap Starting Point #2: Personalized offers with NCR Advanced Marketing Solution (AMS) NCR AMS integrates with all retailer touchpoints online, mobile and in the store to drive consumer loyalty with highly targeted promotions and incentives. This comprehensive, flexible and consumer-specific omni-channel offer-management solution is the first step in meeting the consumer demand for digital coupons. The Consumer-Retailer Gap The majority of shoppers would welcome personalized offers delivered electronically: 73% in North America and 61% in the UK/Europe. # Yet only 18% of North American retailers currently provide this feature. Retailers in the UK/Europe are slightly more proactive (39%).± A 2011 Coupons.com survey showed that digital coupon users make 48% more stock-up trips than the average shopper, with 18.6 and 12.6 stock-up trips per year, respectively. 4 07

8 08 Attribute #3 Seamless Purchase Online, Pick Up In-Store The ubiquity of e-commerce sites means consumers can shop at their favorite retailer whenever they want. Retailers can help satisfy the consumer s desire for instant gratification and reduced shipping costs by providing the option for purchases made online to be picked up in their local store. As the battle for consumer mind- and wallet-share rages on, retailers are beginning to recognize the competitive edge that can be gained by offering these shopping conveniences. 3

9 Where do I begin? Retailer Roadmap Starting Point #3: NCR Advanced Store and VendorNet StoreNet In-Store Pickup Solution When deployed with StoreNet, NCR Advanced Store links store inventories with e-commerce platforms to enable shoppers to buy online and pick up in the store, while allowing retailers to accept exchanges and returns for purchases made across multiple channels. The Consumer-Retailer Gap 68% of consumers in North America and 60% in the UK/Europe stated they would like the ability to pay for purchases online and pick up their items at their convenience. # Nearly half of retail locations observed are already providing this shopping convenience for consumers: 44% (52% in UK/Europe; 35% in North America) offered this service, while 48% did not.± Case in point: The 2011 edition of the Top 500 Guide listed 84 retailers that offered an in-store pick-up option to consumers who ordered from their e-commerce sites, up from the 77 retailers that offered the service in

10 The option to buy online and pick up in the store is a Retailers who offer the option to pick up online purchases at the physical store are boosting their revenue overall. Meanwhile, shoppers love this feature because they can often receive their purchases sooner and avoid costly shipping fees. In short, it s a win-win! Still not convinced? Read on! Walmart was the first major retailer to offer cash payments for online transactions to accommodate its customers without a credit or debit card. 5 Now, more than half of the sales made on Walmart.com are picked up in-store. 6 For The Container Store, online orders for in-store pickup tend to be much larger than typical in-store purchases. The Container Store customers who pick up orders in-store visit about 50% more often than customers who shopped only in the stores. 7 Toys R Us has gone one step further by adding a pay instore option on their ToysRUs. com and BabiesRUs.com e-commerce sites. Consumers who select the option at checkout then visit one of the retail chain s brick-and-mortar stores and pay at any register to have their web orders processed. 8 10

11 Attribute #4 Pre-Sale Communications Consumers are often primed to purchase the next hot retail product be it a gadget, book or fashion accessory. Retailers can tap into this market of would-be buyers by allowing them to opt-in to notifications about new and pre-order products. The majority of consumers who participated in the NCR survey believed this was a valuable retailer offering. And, when consumers opt-in to be notified about advanced store sales, it presents an open-door opportunity for retailers to engage them. The Consumer-Retailer Gap 48% of consumers in North America would welcome contact from retailers about upcoming products available for pre-sale, as would 55% of UK/Europe consumers. # However, only 12% of North American retailers provided the feature. Across the pond, UK/ Europe retailers are responding slightly better with 26% meeting the demand.± 4 11

12 12 Where do I begin? Retailer Roadmap Starting Point #4: Personalized offers with NCR Enterprise Preference Manager (EPM) and NCR AMS, and coordinated customer outreach with NCR APTRA emarketing NCR EPM empowers retailers to capture the voice of the consumer, create a consistent brand, and deliver the personalized shopping experience consumers want. When integrated with NCR AMS, consumer preferences can also be leveraged to create, disseminate and manage targeted offers, promotions and programs in real time. NCR APTRA emarketing coordinates outreach including , SMS, banner ads and electronic receipts to help retailers interact with consumers and prospects. The solution allows unlimited personalization opportunities to strengthen consumer communications.

13 13 Attribute #5 In-Store Self-Service for Home Shipment Consumers are accustomed to using technology independently to assist with the sales transaction. In today s retail landscape, in-store kiosks are musthaves for keeping pace with the competition. Among the shoppers surveyed by NCR, nearly half stated they would be willing to use in-store kiosks to make purchases for shipment to their home. Online sales for brick-and-mortar stores are growing fast. Take Macy s, for example, whose online sales increased by 40% in 2011 and now represent 7% of the company s total sales revenue. As a result, Macy s is looking to add in-store kiosks to enable shoppers to access inventory beyond what s on the physical store floor, which is being called an endless aisle. 9

14 Where do I begin? Retailer Roadmap Starting Point #5: Endless Aisle Kiosks with NCR Netkey NCR Netkey is an enterprise-level kiosk and digital signage platform enabling retailers to create and manage content remotely. In addition to NCR Netkey being an endless aisle kiosk solution that helps consumers order online within the store when a particular item is not available, it can also be used for way-finding, price inquiry or product details. The Consumer-Retailer Gap North American retailers lag when it comes to meeting this shopper demand: 19% of retailers provided in-store kiosks± versus 44% of consumers who desired this technology #. Europe/UK fared slightly better: 46% of consumers surveyed would like this option# and 52% of retailers are meeting the demand±. 14

15 By following a roadmap, general merchandise retailers can meet consumer demand for an omni-channel experience. NCR s benchmarking results indicate a disconnect between what shoppers expect and what retailers are actually delivering. NCR s suite of converged retailing solutions can help retailers chart their course for moving beyond multi-channel retailing to an omni-channel model, which provides consumers with a highly personalized, digitally enabled, self-service experience across all channels. Roadmap for General Merchandise Retailers: o For In-Store Returns of Online Purchases: NCR Advanced Store integrates with the retailer s online web store application, so associates have a consistent experience when accepting a return that was ordered online. o For Personalized Offers: A pair of integrated, converged retailing solutions NCR EPM and NCR AMS enable highly personalized offers. NCR EPM captures consumer preferences by learning behaviors (such as preferred language) and their expressed choices on products, services or other data points. These collected preferences can then be aligned with personalized offers in NCR AMS. 15

16 16 o For Pay Online, Pick Up In-Store Purchases: NCR Advanced Store integrates with VendorNet StoreNet In-Store Pickup Solution to provide a seamless transaction from the web purchase to the in-store pickup of merchandise. o For In-Store Kiosk Purchases: The endless aisle feature in NCR Netkey integrates with the retailer s back-end e-commerce system to enable consumers to browse for product information, check inventory, compare products and order out-of-stock items or products not carried in the store.

17 If you re ready to experience how converged retailing can transform the way you engage your customers, NCR can show you the way. Contact your NCR representative NCR Corporation 3097 Satellite Boulevard. Duluth, Georgia USA

18 About the research NCR conducted two surveys to make up the NCR 2012 C-tailing Research: Global Consumer Insights Survey and the NCR Retailer Benchmark Study. To gain insights into consumer preferences for multi-channel service offerings, NPD was commissioned to complete 300 consumer surveys in nine countries with grocery and non-grocery retailers. Countries surveyed included: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the United States. NCR Customer Experience Consulting conducted a benchmark study to gather data from top retailers in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the United States to determine which of the multi-channel capabilities selected as most desired by consumers were currently provided by the top and consumer favorite retailers. Sources # Results of the NCR Global Consumer Insights Survey ± Results of the NCR Retailer Benchmark Study * Calculation note: In the Retailer Benchmark Study not all retailers were observed, resulting in percentages not equal to Nikki Baird and Brian Kilcourse, Omni-Channel 2012: Cross-Channel Comes of Age, 2012 Benchmark Report, Retail Systems Research (RSR). 2. Aberdeen Group, The New Point-of-Service Study, August Aberdeen Group, State of Multi-Channel Retail Marketing: A Paradigm Shift for Reaching New Customers, May Coupons.com survey, Sarah Perez, Wal-Mart Adds Pay with Cash for Online Shoppers at Walmart.com, Tech Crunch, April 26, Stephanie Clifford, Luring Online Shoppers Offline, nytimes.com, July 4, 2012, 7. John Thrailkill, Vice President of Stores. The Container Store Allison Enright, Toys R Us adds cash as an online payment option, Internet Retailer, November 1, 2012, 9. Laura Heller, Macy s to Embrace In-Store Technology for Shoppers, Deal News, May 2012, In-Store-Technology-for-Shoppers-Including-Free-Wi-Fi/ html