Study: Retailers admit omnichannel shortcomings

The retail executives responsible for delivering omnichannel customer experience admit there is much work to be done to come in line with consumer expectations and demands.



Business technology and services provider Periscope, a McKinsey solution, conducted a survey of attendees at World Retail Congress 2016 held in Dubai in April 2016. According to the results, only 21% say they are more confident than a year ago on delivering omnichannel experiences. Another 45% say progress is not happening fast enough.



At a time when shoppers are demanding a seamless experience across all brand channels, the survey retailers are struggling to move at the speed consumers expect. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said there is no one brand experience across their channels.



A variety of factors are holding retailers back from offering a cohesive omnichannel experience. When asked to name their top three challenges in this area, respondents gave answers including:



· Lack of customer analytics across channels (67%).

· Siloed organization (48%).

· Poor data quality (45%).

· Inability to identity customers across shopping trips (45%).

· Lack of internal coordination for digital channel (39%).



Only 6% of respondents described their omnichannel readiness as “Excellent – fully implemented,” while 36% described themselves as “Testing a proof of concept.” Sixty-four percent of surveyed retailers said a “well-defined cross- or multi-channel strategy” is the top innovation that would drive digital growth.



“What is clear from the survey and conversation we had at World Retail Congress is that while there are technical challenges to delivering omnichannel experiences, the biggest challenge for retailers is the organizational change that needs to take place,” said Channie Mize, general manager for retail at Periscope. “The removal of organizational siloes, creation of new processes, and the forming of teams that work across, rather than within, channels. These take careful planning and execution, but cannot be ignored, because without them any retailer is doomed to fail.”