Some would say that retail is one of the most exciting markets in the world right now, while others would argue that it’s one of the most stressful. But one thing’s certain: it’s never dull. Brands, big and small, are facing their most significant challenge since the advent of the internet, and how they deal with it will be critical to their future success. We call this new era ‘Commerce Anywhere’, and it is changing the face of retail forever.
Long gone are the days when selling something simply involved a customer visiting a shop. Commerce Anywhere opens up a whole world of different variations on this theme, that not only entails taking into account the channel by which a customer accesses goods and services, but the tools they’re using to get there and even their frame of mind on that particular day. To give an example of the scale of complexity we’re talking about, you can imagine that a consumer might very feasibly investigate price comparisons for a particular item online using their laptop, search for customer reviews on social media sites using their mobile phone browser, put a call in to the customer care centre to check for the nearest stockist, and then make their final purchase in store.
For retailers this can mean one huge logistical headache. How can you provide a consistent brand experience across so many different channels? How can you ensure that the customer gets the same level of service no matter where they go? How do you cross-sell and up-sell, not to mention increase loyalty, when the customer is chopping and changing their habits and preferences so frequently? These are important questions to ask in such a competitive market, but the answers really boil down to one thing and it is technology that is enabling many of these changes in behaviour. It is also only through the use of technology that we’ll keep on top of them.
In the new world of Commerce Anywhere, customer interactions need to be managed across any channel, any site, and any device. In order to do this effectively organisations really need to have one single engine driving the entire cross-channel commerce operation, choreographing activities across the web, physical store, contact centre, social media, and mobile commerce initiatives in a unified way. At a basic level this can mean the efficient sharing of content and information from carts, catalogues, products, and promotions across sites and/or channels, while at a more sophisticated level this could mean synchronised marketing tools and personalisation options to ensure a joined-up customer experience.
For the retailer, Commerce Anywhere is a massive opportunity to enter new markets and develop new offerings by using new channels to market without necessarily having a physical presence. By using software that provides a multi-site framework and toolset, companies can rapidly and cost-effectively launch and centrally manage multiple customer engagement points including brand sites, mobile sites, social sites, affiliate sites, international web stores and in-store applications. Organisations can also quickly grow and expand the business in myriad and innovative ways, by creating deal-of-the-day offers, members-only shopping clubs, and marketing microsites for new brands from one central hub.
A central engine is also critical for retailers looking to work with greater speed, control and efficiency within a Commerce Anywhere market. For instance, by choosing a solution with a simple user interface it is possible to streamline common tasks, allowing organisations to spend less time managing everyday jobs such as adding new products or altering prices across multiple channels, and instead spending more time responding to market shifts, innovating, and creating competitive advantages for their brands via personalisation and other powerful merchandising strategies. Similarly by using a software-based promotions engine, retailers can rapidly launch and cost-effectively manage promotions across channels with easy-to-use templates. This allows business users to offer more targeted promotions and drive conversions, while maintaining margins.
Making the most of having a centralised software solution also means significant savings for the business. It can reduce implementation resource needs, project timelines, financial costs and risk, by simplifying and accelerating the implementation and management of commerce applications. For instance having a pre-prepared yet customisable storefront solution enables businesses to jumpstart new sites quickly and easily. By building a system that follows best practices in user experience, personalisation, merchandising, multi-site management, multi-language, technical architecture, and code structure, it can significantly decrease operational costs while vastly increasing the chances of success. Similarly by using software to manage search administration, search indexing, data caching, and catalogue load performance, it is possible to dramatically improve web page response and data load times.
Commerce Anywhere marks a new way of shopping and selling that is here to stay, so businesses need to get to grips fast with ways they can deliver a personalised shopping and buying experience that works for the consumer and the bottom line, no matter what the channel. Mobile devices, social media and cross-channel interactions all represent a huge opportunity for retailers to expand their offerings, increase revenues and build their brand reputations. For retailers of all sizes, whether large enterprises or mid-sized businesses, software has the ability to reduce the burden on already stretched IT and merchandising teams, making it simpler for companies to get multiple sites and channels up and running, and to stay ahead of the competition. Put simply, making the most of the technology available is what will make the difference between the Commerce Anywhere winners and losers.
Frank Lord
VP EMEA, ATG