Multichannel Retailing: Trends To Follow In 2010

By Erin Harris, Editor, Retail Solutions Online/Integrated Solutions For Retailers

Industry research estimates that nearly 40% of retail sales will be influenced by the Web and cross channel in 2012. Aberdeen Group data reveals that 58% of retailers surveyed have had a multichannel initiative in place for at least one year. Indeed, retailers are seeking deeper insights into how to maximize the multichannel experience and build customer advocacy so they can successfully evolve with customers' needs over time. With 2009 rapidly coming to a close, retailers must embrace multichannel trends that are sure to impact retail in 2010. I spoke to industry experts from ATG, Cactus Commerce, and Micros-Retail to gain a richer understanding of what's in store for multichannel retailing, and the data they shared is both important and enlightening.

Create A Shared Multichannel Infrastructure

Multichannel sales and fulfillment are here to stay. In this economy, retailers have come to realize that they need to break down their organizational barriers — or any barriers — that exist to implement cross-channel capabilities. This starts by creating a shared multichannel infrastructure. "The holy grail of cross-channel best practices is having a single infrastructure and data source for product, inventory, marketing, and customers that all of your channels can access equally," says Tony Marinelli, CEO at Cactus Commerce, a cross-channel e-commerce solutions provider. "Many retailers are finding that it can be a real challenge to achieve this immediately and have road mapped how they can get there over time."

It's evident that retailers have found themselves in the information business and in need of a shared infrastructure. "Multichannel retailing means collecting a great deal of information and making it accessible to many people within the organization in an organized way," explains Jane Cannon, CTO at Micros-Retail, a cross-channel software solutions developer. Cannon continues, "Retailers need to learn how to keep that information current and verify how they want to use it. Retailers should harness that information — whether it's to better service their customers, to merchandise better, or to upsell. We're collecting a lot of data, but the answer comes from using that data to make sure your customers know about your policies and how to find goods in the store."

Continue To Adopt Social Strategies

Next year promises to advance the consumer's desire to share information, as social strategies are rapidly evolving. "Facebook, Twitter, and features such as forward to a friend, share with your network, consumer ratings and reviews, blogging, and microsite marketing will continue to be effective social strategies that retailers should adopt," Marinelli states. Multichannel retailers need to have the agility to adapt to social strategies when they change and follow the consumers to the next opportunity. "There are retailers out there who are trying to determine how to deal with social networking tools," says Cannon. "These retailers need to work social strategies in a way that's not just advertising their goods, but also allowing the customer to experience something more, such as providing assurance of seamless integration among their channels."

Make Mobile Matter

Mobile adoption is increasing quickly. Indeed, m-commerce has optimized sites and supporting applications that perform a small number of mobile-centric functions. "Good examples of m-commerce include a mobile geolocator application that can help a customer find a retailer's stores, or mobile loyalty cards, mobile gift cards, and mobile coupons that can be used either on the Web or in a brick-and-mortar location by scanning a bar code," says Marinelli.

Marketers and merchandisers need to offer their customers a compelling experience on mobile devices and smart phones — and the iPhone is one of the first devices they should cater to. "Companies can easily put into place SMS (short message service) marketing campaigns and mobile-optimized sites that make their Web store more accessible and appealing on devices like the iPhone, Palm Pre, Blackberry, and Android," says Kelly O'Neill, product marketing director at ATG, an e-commerce software solutions provider. "Then, for many brands, investing in an iPhone application will help take their mobile strategy to another level. The features native to the iPhone make it an ideal interface for merchants to present products and promotions and provide shopping capabilities to consumers. Brands must provide the rich, personalized experiences their customers expect — and the ability to flick and scroll, zoom in on images with a pinch, and browse products on a screen as large and crisp as the iPhone's makes it easy for marketers to get creative and impress their customers. Retailers should think of the iPhone as a personalized kiosk for each customer and allow shoppers to research, browse, and shop wherever and whenever they desire."

The lack of a coherent multichannel strategy, or one with unclear objectives, can hurt your revenue in 2010. Pay attention to multichannel retailing trends to gain a solid understanding of who your consumers are and what they want. Retailers that do so will find that they've added value to their organization and their customer's multichannel shopping experience.