Multi Channel Innovation in 2009

I was interested to read the views of Frank Lord (VP EMEA at ATG) on the eCommerce landscape in 2009. Here are a few of our shared thoughts on the subject:

With retail having such a bad time at the moment, which direction should the industry be heading in? A great pricing policy is not enough to guarantee customers head towards your store. Service is important, but even this is not enough. In today’s environment, customers demand both price and service in the channel of their choice.

Multi Channel
Often used to summarise bricks and clicks, the multi channel reality is far deeper and more difficult to achieve. Retailers have been quick to adopt innovations like “click and collect” but this is only one small step of a long multi-channel journey. A consistent and continuous customer approach is the end game whether it be in-store, online, mobile, phone or chat. To be able to provide a personalised, one-to-one relationship with your customer is something many organisations will be striving for over the course of the year.

Social Networking
Last year we saw social networking have a real impact on the eCommerce world. The ability to tap in to like-minded customers who are all potential brand advocates is a compelling story. Whilst there are a wide range of tools and possibilities available, commercial and economic pressures will dictate that retailers will have to think long and hard as to where they will see the maximum return on their investment. However, those that do embrace a more likely to enhance their relationship with existing customers but equally importantly, also attract new ones.

The Future
While 2009 will continue to see retailers struggle, those that manage the customer lifecycle most effectively and embrace new technology such as social networking are most likely to stand out.

Posted February 24th, 2009 by acansick | In category Online
Tags: Click and Collect, E-Commerce, ecommerce, Multi Channel, Personalisation, Social Networking