Page 18 - index

RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

eMarketer.com: Consumers

expect omnichannel experience

this holiday season

“With holiday season 2014 rapidly approaching, retailers pers’ dismay with the coherence of the shopping path
are investing in their fulfillment infrastructure and mak- during holiday season, retailers that can best reconcile
ing sure those omnichannel marketing schemes, de- online and offline experiences will likely retain shoppers
signed to reach consumers at every point of their shop- well into the New Year.
ping journeys, are up to snuff”, eMarketer published re-
cently, emphasizing that shoppers this year demand Retailers must meet expectations that the quality and
more than ever. quantity of information and service online and offline
will match, SDL’s study revealed, even stating that 66%
In a new study of 3,000 global shoppers by SDL, 90% of of consumers said they are willing to pay a premium to
consumers said they expected the customer experience get a positive customer experience.
to be consistent across channels and devices this holi-
day season. This represents a 17% increase from what Customer experience varies by gender and genera-
consumers reported last year, the research said. Hence, tions
the need for a seamless, integrated online and offline
experience remains pressing, as the path to purchase However, the willingness to take on these higher costs
meanders from digital to analog and back again. The vary by generation and gender. Generations X and Y
norm is, for example, a shopper who researches on a both agree that they are willing to pay more for a prod-
mobile device on the go, continues that research on a uct if the brand is willing to deliver a positive customer
desktop, later walking into a storefront to scope out the experience during the purchasing process. For millenni-
desired item and comparing prices on his or her als ages 18 to 29, 17% strongly agree that they are
smartphone even while physically in that store.
willing to pay; those ages 30 to 39 feel even more
strongly, with 19% agreeing that paying extra for a
Positive customer experience integral to sale higher-quality customer experience would be worth
their while. Older generations care slightly less—only
For holiday season, when shoppers have limited time— 8% of 40- to 54-year-olds and an even lower 6% of
and limited spending money—set aside to pick out the those ages 55 and up strongly agreed.
perfect gift (or, a gift that passes muster) for beloved
friends and family, their expectations are higher still. Males are more willing to pay for better customer expe-
SDL found that 47% of holiday shoppers had so far rience compared to females. While 9% of females said
been frustrated that their experiences in-store were dif- they could, that number jumped to 12% among males.
ferent from those online; 40% of respondents claimed
there was a disconnect between the quantity and quality What exactly might that experience look like? For one,
of information available online vs. in-store as well.
the study showed that 90% of people expected custom-
er experiences to be seamless when passing between
With 46% of consumers surveyed saying they used interacting with the brand online and offline. The SDL
online search and 32% saying they used the retailer survey confirmed that shoppers are interacting with
website to conduct research about a brand and its prod- retail brands at multiple touchpoints, showrooming and
ucts, online presence is critical. Yet the Amazon.com webrooming along the way.
problem, the expectation that shoppers have developed
that all items should always be in stock and delivered to Respondents were ticked off when they received an
them with little delay online or offline, has mounted frus- item of poor quality for the price they paid. Second-
trations about out-of-stock items (60%), not enough in- most-irritating was that there was no one available to
formation available to make purchasing decisions (52%) help—or not enough information provided—when they
and the differences between online and in-store impres- needed it most. No matter the price, no matter the qual-
sions (47%).
ity of the discount, customer experience was important.
In an age where the internet has made everything infi-
What shoppers really want is consistency across chan- nitely more convenient and accessible, those factors
nels. They demand it. Just because they engage with a are frequently considered lowest common denomina-
retailer through multiple touchpoints before they pur- tors. ◊
chase doesn’t mean they should struggle to piece those

experiences together. And while the study reveals shop-
Source: eMarketer
18 Asian eMarketing November 2014 - Cross-, Multi-, Omni-Channel & Everywhere Commerce