How to delight the multi-channel shopper

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Today’s consumers expect to be “wowed” from the moment they make the very first interaction with a brand to the moment they visit the physical store. Being channel-agnostic, all that customers seek for is convenience and consistency during every step of their journey. They demand personalized and relevant experiences, whenever, wherever, and with whomever they interact with.

How can modern retailers meet these rising expectations and delight their customers?

What most retailers do is to focus more on the digital channels and less on delivering in-store capabilities. Although they have long understood the value of launching an effective omnichannel strategy, the physical store remains untouched. Not only they haven’t digitalized the in-store experience, but they do not have a plan for unifying the experience between the two channels.

Understand the multi-channel shopper

The multi-channel shopper is here.

A recent Harvard Business Review Shopper Survey of 46,000 consumers found that only 7% of these consumers were ‘store only’ and only 20% were ‘online only’. The remaining 73% were ‘multiple channel’ buyers that valued ‘an integrated shopping experience’ and felt more positively about the retail brand. Moreover, the same ‘multiple channel’ shoppers also spend 4% more in store and 10% more online on any of their purchases than ‘single channel’ buyers. According to the same study, these types of buyers made purchases more regularly than the “single channel” shoppers.

So, to effectively reach today’s empowered and well-informed omnichannel shoppers, retailers should change the traditional channel-focused mentality and invest heavily in understanding the value and the complex shopping behavior of the multi-channel shopper.

Use technology to add personalization

Personalization is key when it comes to delivering a seamless experience to these customers during every stage of their “always on” shopping journey. As smartphones are becoming increasingly important to the consumer’s in-store shopping journey, brands can leverage this opportunity to reach customers directly to the most personal device they own. Armed with technology and more specific with marketing automation tools, they can automate key processes and enhance the in-store experience by sending targeted messages on mobile at exactly the right time.

Related: Smartphones: your secret weapon to creating customer loyalty

Moreover, technology innovations such as clientelling apps, digital signs, beacons, interactive windows and more, contribute to creating a remarkable experience during the store visit.

Related: [Whitepaper] Loyalty transformation: Reinventing loyalty for clicks and mortar

Leverage unified data

As the lines between the online and offline world are blurring, the unified data enables you to optimize experiences across all touchpoints and get the most out of the relationship with your customers. From purchase history, demographic profiles and micro-moments, to email, phone calls, social media interactions, and loyalty program engagement, you can properly gather and combine customer information in one place and understand what works and what doesn’t for your multi-channel customers.

Remember that human beings are emotional and to win their trust, you need to talk to their heart first. Follow these tips and start delighting your customer today!

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