E-commerce and online shopping have transformed the entire shopping experience. Today, consumers can go online and buy almost anything conveniently in just a few clicks, thanks to e-Commerce. Here are a few stats based on Southeast Asian consumer reviews about e-Commerce.
E-commerce companies need to be aware of customers’ pain-points and take necessary actions to make the shopping experience a pleasant one.
As the year draws to a close, aside from setting budgets and other plans, it’s typically a good time for some reflection. In our company, where we primarily bring enterprise level, solutions to mid-large retailers in the lifestyle segment, itās been quite the year. Specifically, we have seen significant growth in interest in all things omni-channel. Conversations with prospects, customers, and partners around this are never the same, and hence always interesting. I thought it might be interesting to share an overview.
Fundamentally, most retailers understand there is this thing called E-commerce which is growing rapidly in South East Asia, with this growth generally seen as an opportunity, and typically I hear comments like “yes, we really should be doing something/more online”. However, the sense of concurrence on activity in the online retail world ends there. The number of options open to retailers is large and ever growing. As such, the possible strategies are almost endless. (Own site, marketplace, a mixture as a tasty starter?)
At this point I should clarify we are talking about retailers here, not marketplaces or any other pure-play E-commerce or M-commerce operations. Whilst they are the flavour of the month for many customers (huge range of choice, low prices, free delivery, interest-free credit terms – what could possibly go wrong?), they are not true retailers. Genuine retail requires a physical presence where real, live customers can touch and feel goods, and receive service from real, live sales associates. The differences in the 2 models appears easy to understand. And for many retailers, it would be preferable if they had the option of keeping to this traditional methodology. Creating and maintaining a presence online, whether itās purely for branding purposes, or itās a full blown electronic extension of the physical store, is costly and fraught with complexities and costs that often only surface once the process begins. Think ball of string + unravelling. And that’s only the beginning. Once content has been created and uploaded, there remains the often-under-estimated process of making sure the Customer gets what he/she wants, how and when he/she wants.
So as a first step, many, quite understandably, adopt basic models; we simply show what inventory is sitting in a specified area of the main warehouse, and fulfil from there. E-commerce box ticked. Minimal revenues, minimal costs, and minimal disruption of the ongoing business. Done. Now let’s focus on more important issues such as clearing a slow-moving line or re-distributing that stock, currently sitting in Malang, to Bali, to complete broken size ranges or fulfil a regional preference in terms of size/colour. Now if we can find an app for that, perhaps we can take this online/digital thing a bit more seriously…
The solution is, of course, not an app. It is simply making the customer the centre of attention. Just like they were when they stepped into a dry goods store back in the Old (Wild) West. Mr. Shopkeeper knew all his customers not only by name, but by preference. Over the years, as businesses grow and attention spans shorten (kudos if you got this far by the way), that customer intimacy has shrunk. Convenience has risen yes, but gone is the attention most human beings either crave, or at the least, appreciate. So how to bring back the Old West service then, in an age of smart-phones and Alibaba?
The answer is omni-channel. Simply defined as a merging of the offline and online retail worlds, it allows us to start paying better attention to our customer, delighting them more often, and creating a better business at the same time.
This win-win may sound too good to be true but itās based on some simple business rules ā give your customer what they want, where they want it, when they want it, at a price they like, and you are half way home. The challenge is executing these promises across multi-channels, whilst keeping the whole experience simple from the customer perspective. Arming your team with enterprise-class solutions which take care of inventory, fulfilment, and loyalty regardless of the touch-point is a basic. Empowering your sales associates to cross and up-sell, and never lose a sale due to āout of stockā is extremely valuable. As is developing loyalty strategies which improve margins, not erode them. And rather crucially, is to start looking at your business as a whole, not as online versus offline. Because the customer lives in both worlds, at the same time. And he/she is definitely very much aliveā¦
This article has been written by:
Stephen Dodgson, Principal Management Consultant, ETP Group
Originally from Yorkshire, England, Stephen has spent around 30 years working in various markets including Asia, Europe and Africa, across several sectors: fashion, media and enterprise level IT solutions. He currently consults to many of the finest retailer brands in South East Asia, providing enterprise level, omni-channel ready solutions.
Founded in 1988, ETP is an Omni-channel Retail Solutions company headquartered in Singapore, serving market leaders in more than 22 countries across Asia Pacific, India and the Middle East. ETPās Omni-channel Solutions include Omni-channel POS, Mobility, CRM, Marketing and Promotion Campaigns, Order Management & Supply Chain Management, and Merchandise & Assortment Planning.
With the holiday season less than a month away, shoppers are already planning their purchases in terms of products, budget and time. As soon as the holiday shopping season kicks off, retailers can expect an overwhelming rush. While this could be a good time for retailers to target more sales and boost profits, there could be other aspects that could put retailers in a spot of bother.
One of the effects of the holiday shopping rush is that customers are more demanding, have less time and attention span, and are not willing to compromise. In other words, they may become very difficult to handle and retailers could have a tough time managing them.
In order to help retailers negotiate such occurrences of dealing with not-so-pleasant holiday shopping experiences, here are some simple tips that could prove to be effective:
Listen: Shoppers who are upset need to be heard. So allow your customers to speak their heart out about anything that is unpleasant to them. Active listening would allow retailers to consciously assimilate and comprehend the issues their customers are facing, rather than being judgmental towards them. Active listening will be reflected in the retailers approach towards understanding the customers and this would leave a positive impression on the customers. They will feel that they are being given a fair importance and thus instill a sense of trust in the retail business resolving their issues.
Act: Once the customers have vented out their problems to the retailers, it is now up to the retailers to act. They need to take the necessary measures to resolve the customersā issues. Retailers need to come up with a solution that would be feasible for both, their customers and themselves. If the retail business is unable to resolve the problem upfront, they should request for an appropriate time and respond within the stipulated time.
Repeat: There will be multiple instances where retailers will come across customers that are very difficult to handle and manage. The two steps mentioned above thus need to be employed time and again by retail businesses to reduce the chances of lost sales and the number of disgruntled customers they would need to deal with.
Fore planning, resilience, the right mind-set and treating every customer as an important asset for their business could enable retailers to effectively listen to their customers and act appropriately, making them the preferred retailer that customers go to for a happy shopping experience.
Stay tuned to know the 10 tips that could add extra bling to the festive season sales and profits.
Meeting the complex expectations of the omni-channel shopper demands substantial investment in emerging and effective technologies. Let us look at the factors that are driving omni-channel growth before discussing the return on investment.
The number of smartphone subscriptions globally was 1.6 billion in 2013. According to a report produced by a leading mobile technology enterprise, this figure is expected to increase to 5.6 billion in 2019. 90% of the worldās population will then be able to access mobile Internet connections. This growth in Internet penetration and the immense increase in popularity of smartphones will only magnify omni-channel customer behavior exponentially. These trends point towards omni-channel being the only sustainable way of doing retail business in the future as āone-click shoppingā becomes a reality.
Innovation in technology is also driving the retailersā interest in omni-channel retailing, supporting new capabilities in personalized consumer engagement. Advances in store digitization technologies, predictive logistics, virtual assistance, and customer recognition systems are game-changers. These new technologies have the potential to disrupt existing business models in the same way as e-Commerce disrupted traditional brick-and-mortar sales few years ago.
In future, diverse business models will be driven by the modern day consumerās preferences. The point in case will be e-commerce giants who are trying to add physical presence to get closer to the customers. Meanwhile, brick-and-mortar retailers are adding online stores and also reinventing the customer experience and the role of their stores (for example, by using stores as fulfillment centers for online orders).
Social media is becoming an increasingly powerful sales and marketing channel. Online companies sit on a goldmine of rich consumer data and they can easily use this to customize offers and target consumers more effectively.
Thus today, technology enables consumers to be present anywhere and everywhere and to meet these consumers in their comfort zone, retailers need to be present wherever they are. For this, they need to invest in modern retail technologies that allows a seamless omni-channel customer experience.
Retail has undergone a major transformation in the digital age, and today customers demand better, quicker and seamless experiences. Therefore, brands need to provide omni-channel experiences that allow customers to engage from wherever they are ā brick-and-mortar stores, mobile apps, online, kiosks, catalog and more.
However, simply operating multiple retail channels does not constitute an omni-channel strategy, unless done right. Today, customers may start in one channel and switch to another as they progress to a definite buying decision. Omni-channel implies making these complex āhand-offsā between channels must be effortless for the customer.
Omni-channel is not just a mere buzzword. It is essentially a cluster of strategies that need to deliver results. So what do retailers need to know to create a superior omni-channel customer experience?
360Ā° Omni-Channel customer view
Collecting customer information such as shopping preferences, demographics, buying history, preferred modes of payment and so on is absolutely vital for creating a single unified view of the customer no matter which they use to research and purchase. When acquired, consolidated and leveraged fittingly, this analysis can provide a roadmap for retailers to define and deploy more personalised and effective communication and promotions, eliminating much of the guesswork.
Offer consistent and continuous experiences
Today, consumers have instant access to an extensive range of buying options, they will not think twice while letting go of a brand in search of a superior experience. Even if one of the channels is lagging, the retailer will likely see a drop in customer loyalty. Hence, the value of a complete, continuous and consistency is priceless.
Leveraging emerging technologies
The right technology investment is vital to enabling an outstanding omni-channel customer experience. Retailers should equip their business operations with the right mix of emerging and effective technologies to fulfil consumersā high expectations in this fast and frugal omni-channel age. Brands that can stay on the cutting edge of technology such as mobility, geo-targetting, smart devices for payments, augmented reality and many more are likely to emerge victorious.
While every retailer will bring a distinct omni-channel customer experience strategy to the table, brands will have to strive to provide a seamless, noteworthy customer experience across channels to meet consumer expectations.
– Ross Stokes
WOW, that was awesome, I’m so happy!!
… and I want to go back and experience that again and share it with my friends, orWOW, that was horrible and can’t believe I wasted my time and money!!! … and I never want to ever experience that again and I don’t want anyone else to have to experience it either.
I walked out of there with a new pair shoes, not the best value for money shoes I’ve bought but definitely the most memorable pair.
We all have horror stories and memories from bad retail purchases and store experiences.
Bain has written an article “A Fresh Look At Store Labor”
The article highlights “Winners adapt their store labor model to what matters most to customers, they zero-base their operations instead of relying on what worked for them in the past, and they are systematic in mobilizing store labor for the required changes in behaviors, activities and processes.”
They include 8 useful starter questions to help a retailer explore whether they are empowering their store operations.
Nothing new other than the enabling technology.
Ross Stokes, Regional Director, ASEAN-ANZ, ETP Group
Ross brings a diverse corporate and personal set of experiences to his role of Regional Director, Asia Pacific, for ETP. His business experience aids in understanding the various challenges retail owners and executives experience while growing their business and successfully supporting their desire to improve retail management processes and systems to achieve optimal profitability.
Consumers across the globe are shifting from their traditional shopping patterns and adapting to more modern, digitally driven methods of purchasing. This shift in the shopping behavior of new age consumers has been a game changer lately for the retail industry. Businesses have no choice but to accept this change and to adapt to it. And, the everlasting retail axiom ācustomer is kingā has never been truer than now. Retailers need to be cognizant of this and go out of their way to please them. Hence, the motto for any customer centric retail business should always be surpassing their customersā expectations and not merely satisfying them.
With the tremendous influence of āomni-channelā in retail, the biggest challenge lies in identifying customer preferences as to when, what, where and how they shop. The impulsive switching by customers between channels while researching or shopping can be overwhelming for retailers to keep track of, analyze and accordingly, make provisions for meeting the customer needs. If retailers are unable to match the pace of their customersā arbitrariness or are not present when and where their customers want them to be, with all certainty, such retailers wonāt be able to sustain for long, leave aside gaining profits.
Availability is the essence of being omni-channel, time and place being important factors. If retail brands donāt want to miss out on a single opportunity of interacting with their customer, they ought to be a business which is everywhere the customer is, and every time the customer wants. For example, if a brand conscious customer is looking for her favorite brand in a particular location but is unable to find it in a physical store there, the retail brand must ensure that the customer is still able to explore and purchase the products through an alternative medium. To go the extra mile, the brand may also deliver the goods at the customer doorstep. In simple words, retail businesses should be āeverywhereā āevery timeā!
Retail success can be visualized as a two stage process. It is not just about getting a customer to enter the retail store or to access the e-commerce website to shop, but also closing the sale. And both these stages are potential challenges and battles that retailers need to win, thanks to the ever-growing and fierce competition.
Recent trends suggest that shoppers are constantly looking for offers and discounts, and are likely to make a purchase from retailers who sell merchandise at discounted prices or offer free shipping and so on. But thatās not it. Customers are also seeking more information regarding products and services that interest them. All this can be viewed by retailers as probable opportunities to offer something extra to their customers by making it more relevant and personalized.
Busy shoppers value quick reminders about the products that they had left in their shopping carts during their previous interactions or even about those that they may have been researching for or had shown interest in previously. Personalized offerings such as tailor-made discounts, promotions or other benefits, during auspicious occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries or social occasions such as festivals really go a long way in influencing the customersā decisions while making their next purchase. Additionally, personalized messaging and recommendations provide customers with the information that will enable them toĀ determine products that are the right fit for their needs. Information about frequently purchased products, merchandise that can be coupled either together or with special offers and discounts also persuades customers to make a purchase. Location based or proximity marketing such as in-store discounts or free shipping can appeal to shoppers, driving them to buy. A superior after sales service could go a long way in boosting shopper affiliation towards the retail brand further as being interactive and engaging with customers helps keep their interest sustained in the brand.
Personalization, if done appropriately and by being conscious of not overstepping limits, retailers can make the customers feel special and important. In a more customer-centric retail environment, where the focus is on the customer more than ever before, providing a personalized service that is valuable and memorable can unquestionably be the differentiating factor for customers to choose the retail brand they would want to be most associated with. As retailers streamline their omni-channel retail business operations and focus on enhancing the customer experience, customer profiling can enable retailers to understand their customers better to be able to offer them a personalized shopping experience.
