Study: Retailers need to ‘tune in’ and anticipate customers’ needs
To reign successful this holiday shopping season, retailers must understand what trends are influencing customer purchase decisions.
With 42% of consumers shopping both online and in-store every week, brands need to do a better job of forecasting demand across both channels — especially during the critical holiday shopping season, according to “Retail in 4D,” a report from Oracle.
According to the data, personalization is a critical battleground for retailers during the holiday season, as 65% of consumers said personalization and promotions are most important to them in their shopping experience. Meanwhile, 50% of consumers surveyed said they would be attracted to personalized offers based on loyalty data, purchase data or real-time browsing data.
Traditionally poor in-store experiences are also driving consumers to want more self-service options. For example, 55% want to be able to reserve online for same day pick-up, while 56% said self-checkout machines are important to them. Sixty percent (60%) want mobile payment options in-store, and 47% think automatic checkout will be important in the future.
And a whopping 73% want to return online purchases to a retail store.
“Retailers who tune into and anticipate what customers want, and simultaneously optimize their operations to maximize efficiencies and in turn profits, will steal a march on their competitors,” the study said.
With 42% of consumers shopping both online and in-store every week, brands need to do a better job of forecasting demand across both channels — especially during the critical holiday shopping season, according to “Retail in 4D,” a report from Oracle.
According to the data, personalization is a critical battleground for retailers during the holiday season, as 65% of consumers said personalization and promotions are most important to them in their shopping experience. Meanwhile, 50% of consumers surveyed said they would be attracted to personalized offers based on loyalty data, purchase data or real-time browsing data.
Traditionally poor in-store experiences are also driving consumers to want more self-service options. For example, 55% want to be able to reserve online for same day pick-up, while 56% said self-checkout machines are important to them. Sixty percent (60%) want mobile payment options in-store, and 47% think automatic checkout will be important in the future.
And a whopping 73% want to return online purchases to a retail store.
“Retailers who tune into and anticipate what customers want, and simultaneously optimize their operations to maximize efficiencies and in turn profits, will steal a march on their competitors,” the study said.