Omni-Channel Industry – The Changing Retail Model
As customers shop in stores, on Amazon and on their smart- phones, the lines between online and offline shopping continue to blur. Consumers want what they want, when they want it, at the price they want, and they don’t care how, or by which channel – phone, Internet, cash register – they buy it.
This is the very definition of Omni-channel retailing: “providing an immersive and superior customer experience regardless of channel,” according to IDC Retail Insights. Essentially, Omni-channel retail focuses more on the customer than the channel of commerce.
Currently, 51 percent of consumers research online, and then visit stores to make their purchases, according to Ipsos OTX/Google. On the other hand, 44 percent both research and buy online. 32 percent do product research online, visit stores to examine the item, and then go back online to buy it at competitive prices. Only 17 percent visit stores first, and buy online later.
Individually, each of these channels generates adequate sales. Together, the sales – and marketing – potential is incredible. Omni-channel shoppers spend up to 30 percent more than multi-channel shoppers and show stronger brand loyalty, says IDC Retail Insights.
That said, Omni-channel retailing has global implications. As the exploding presence of smart phones and social media sites enhance network connectivity, customers are more knowledgeable about merchandise, causing trading partners to interact in different ways.
Take eBay.com and Amazon.com., for example. eBay alone has more than 100 million active buyers and sellers world-wide, with 300 million concurrent item listings in more than 50,000 categories, accessible through social media, other websites and apps. With interconnectivity like this, merchants of all sizes must reach buyers in new ways to keep up. In fact, traditional department store retailer Macy’s has publicly and proactively embraced Omni-channel commerce, even partnering with eBay and Amazon to sell products and enhance brand value. Terry Lundgren, Macy’s CEO has said, “We are using technology in our stores to mirror the online shopping experience, and adding functionality and content online to provide customers with additional assistance in product selection.” In short, modern technology provides consumers with a consistent shopping experience, whether in a brick and mortar store or online.
“74% of consumers think it’s important that product information is trustworthy. 35% would never use an app again if it had bad data”
So how do we embrace interconnectivity in an effective way to enhance efficiencies and improve customer service?
The current setup doesn’t support this inevitable, necessary move toward Omni-channel retailing. Right now, the focused is primarily on B to C. But new reality is B to B to C. Years of bad data, labour costs and risk (losing customers over dissatisfaction or missed opportunities), just doesn’t work anymore. Point-to-point, proprietary solutions do not adequately support the Omni-channel consumer’s need for enhanced data and fulfilement. A scalable, repeatable, industry-wide solution for global partners is required. So how do we get there?
GS1 Standards make it possible for companies to speak the same language and connect with each other by identifying, capturing, and sharing information about products, business locations, and more – across all channels and countries. Without these global standards, non-standardised solutions will emerge, threatening more bad data, loss of efficiency and confusion in the marketplace.
When it comes to omni-channel retailing, there are three clear benefits of using GS1 Standards
1. consistent product identification across all channels using Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs);
2. enhanced, accurate product data, and
3. Better inventory management.
As customers demand a simpler search process, GTINs support market needs to aggregate, store, and deliver data in a consumer-friendly way for online product search and discovery. In other words, your product and accurate information about it will show up across more commerce platforms; you can literally be everywhere your customers are.
“More than half of consumers today research products online first, and then buy them in stores ”
When it comes to enhanced product data, consumers want more choices in price and fulfilment. They need data they can trust, but most of the current digital information about products is incorrect. In fact, 74 percent of consumers consider it important that product information is trustworthy, and 35 percent would never use an app again if it contained incorrect product information.
Finally, GS1 Standards improve inventory management, a requirement for omni-channel retailing. Imagine buying a product online and two days later the company says that product is no longer available. You’re now a very unhappy customer.
Omni-channelling is inevitable on the global scale, but it is also an opportunity.
Please visit www.gs1my.org for more details.
