Member Article

Unconnected in-store journeys cost Swedish retailers conversions

Traditional stores could be the ‘weak link’ in Swedish retailers’ omnichannel chain, new research from iVend Retail, a global retail solution brand, and Retail Store, a Swedish retail systems provider, suggests.

The original research from iVend Retail and Retail Store warns that, despite Swedish retailers’ efforts to integrate omnichannel journeys, consumers are increasingly disappointed by their in-store experiences when compared to online.

This, the research suggests, is because the data that retailers can gather around individual shoppers’ behaviours online – from frequency of purchase to purchase history and buying preferences – which allows them to deliver the personalised engagement shoppers have come to expect, disappears when the same customer enters a physical store.

Research from the report reveals that while 51% of Swedish consumers still mostly shop in traditional, physical outlets, a third (32%) said they were more likely to be disappointing experience in the store than online, rising to 42% among 16 – 29 year olds.

A quarter (25%) agreed that the service they received online was more personal than instore, and a further 26% said the store felt outdated when compared to ecommerce encounters. 17% even said they felt like a retailer’s ‘friend’ online, but anonymous in the store.

Increasingly customers want retailers to do more to bridge the digital divide: 78% of Swedish consumers would like retailers to have a ‘single view’ of them, connecting their online and offline shopping habits to make in-store interactions more personal and deliver seamless buying journeys.

Anna-Lena Lööf, Sales and Marketing Manager at Retail Store, commented: “To reinvigorate the store and in their omnichannel strategies, retailers should look to digitalise physical outlets using customer data and a single view of stock to deliver more tailored and connected interactions. By equipping store associates with digitally enabled devices that are linked to back-end systems, they can bring the online experience to customers at the shelf edge, keeping the customer on the path to purchase.

“We know that 58% of Swedish shoppers no longer differentiate between channels; they simply shop using the medium that’s most convenient to them at the time – whether it’s online, in-store or on a mobile device,” said Richard Kolodynski, Senior Vice President of European Operations at iVend Retail. “This makes delivering a seamless journey all the more important. Shoppers don’t separate channels, so retailers must ensure fluidity and visibility between them and this is, traditionally, where the store has found it hard to keep up with online.”

“By using technology to enable physical stores to behave in the same informed, flexible manner as online shopping channels, retailers can improve omnichannel conversions,” he concluded.

For further information about iVend Retail and Retail Store see http://retailstore.se/retail-management-system-ivend-retail

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Kolodynski .