And the top omnichannel retailers are ...

Retailers wondering who among their peers is an omnichannel leader have an answer.



The new Omnichannel Retail Index from the National Retail Federation and e-digital consultancy FitforCommerce identifies the top performers among 120 retailers in several key areas of omnichannel commerce. The areas include showing in-store product availability, multidevice/platform shopping experience, email and loyalty marketing programs, delivery to customer, and customer returns.



In the area of showing in-store product availability, the top retailers are BJ’s, GameStop, Lowe’s, PetSmart and Staples. Only 50% of retailers note in-store product availability online and 49% enable mobile lookup of online inventory.



Leaders in multidevice/platform experience (mobile optimization, saved cart, in-store service) are Apple, Ikea and Macy’s. Ninety-five percent of retailers have mobile-optimized sites and 84% save a cart between platforms, but only 26% offer in-store WiFi and 12% offer an email receipt for in-store purchases.



For email and loyalty marketing programs, Bloomingdale’s, Crocs, H&M and Kay Jewelers have the highest rankings. While 81% of retailers offer in-store loyalty program sign-up, only 54% mobile-optimize email and 48% have an online/offline loyalty program, with even lower rates for online email sign-up incentives (40%) and collecting email addresses in-store (39%).



Two luxury retailers – Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, and a big box DIY retailer – The Home Depot, perform best in customer delivery. Seventy-seven percent of retailers provide home shipping for in-store purchases and 58% provide free shipping. Far less common are offerings such as buy online pickup in store (BOPIS – 28%) and BOPIS for mobile purchases (26%).



Top retailers for customer returns are Aldo, Cabela’s and Target. Almost all retailers accept in-store returns (93%) have store associates who can handle returns (89%), and note return policies on receipt (84%). Buy online return in store (BORIS) is fairly common (70%), but less so for mobile purchases (51%). Almost half (49%) provide free shipping.