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Majority of Retailers Fail to Bridge Omnichannel Chasm [Infographic]

Majority of Retailers Fail to Bridge Omnichannel Chasm

We recently spoke to 350 retailers to find out their thoughts on the effectiveness of their omnichannel strategy and their plans for the future. The findings were eye-opening.

In particular, the study found a staggering gap between omnichannel adoption and excellence. Embracing the promise of omnichannel is not the same as implementing effective strategies and technology, and retailers are failing at execution on a substantial scale.

The ability to effectively operate across all possible retail channels is difficult, that cannot be understated. The retail industry is undergoing a metamorphosis unlike anything it has experienced in decades.

However, that is no excuse. Today’s customer expects you to know him or her. This is made difficult to do when spending considerable time on cost-consuming backend processes. 

Omnichannel execution needs significant improvement. Retailers need to invest more time and resource into technology to effectively implement their omnichannel strategies or face being left behind.

Check out our infographic which reveals some of the findings from the report:

Key Stats to Remember

Today, over 90% of retailers and brands have an omnichannel strategy or plan to invest in one soon, and 87% of retailers agree omnichannel is critical or very important to their business success. However, only a small segment (8%) believe they have mastered omnichannel or (12%) have the right omnichannel technology.

In addition to the enormous gap between omnichannel importance versus execution, additional key themes were highlighted:

  • Almost half of retailers (45%) say they either do not have the right omnichannel technology or feel they would benefit from additional technology platforms.
  • Over half of retailers consider their omnichannel approach a “Work in Progress” and 19% say it’s a “Struggle” or a “Pipedream. Therefore, 74% are dissatisfied with their strategy execution and progress.
  • More than six out of ten survey respondents say the key payoff from implementing omnichannel successfully is to provide better customer service.

Want to learn more about what retailers really think of omnichannel? Insights and analysis can be found in our new study, The State of OmnichannelDownload it here.

The report includes insights and benchmarks on:

  • What omnichannel means to retailers
  • How omnichannel is used
  • Management of sales spikes and returns
  • Challenges and c-level hurdles