Omni-Channel Leadership Report- Highlights and Takeaways

NewStore has published a report entitled “2021 Omni-Channel Leadership Report” to point out the critical areas every retailer has been dealing with since the first quarter of 2020 and will continue to be focused on for the immediate and long term future.

Yes, the Global Covid-19 Pandemic arrived early in 2020 and while it has been challenging for every American business, all signs point to the fact that it will not be here forever.  But, how retailers have responded during 2020 and how they will need to respond in the future, may in fact be the “New Normal” for the retail industry.

The report’s research objectives were as follows:

• Demonstrate how the Coronavirus pandemic has affected the pace of Omni-channel adoption among retailers
• Review the availability of the most desired no-touch or low-touch shopping capabilities
• Assess whether the Omni-channel solutions brands’ offer truly integrate online and offline
• Examine how brands are adapting their businesses and store associate responsibilities to accommodate the new shopper

Before we provide the results of this very interesting report, let’s remind ourselves what the term Omni-channel really means.

The Oxford Dictionary describes Omni-channel as “denoting or relating to a type of retail that integrates the different methods of shopping available to consumers (e.g., online, in a physical store, or by phone).   

The Omni-channel Leadership Report looked at approximately 200 luxury, premium and lifestyle brands’ Omni-channel competence for the availability of 14 core capabilities to determine if and how each brand was providing safe and socially distanced shopping.

While some retailers did better than others in the various categories investigated, the overall results of the report have some significant meaning for all retailers going forward.  

Report Highlights

• 63% of brands have live web chat vs. 38% in 2019 and 33% in 2018
• 83% of brands offer contactless pay vs. 75% in 2019 and 57% in 2018
• 40% of brands offer buy on line pick-up in store (BOPIS) vs. 25% in 2019
• 45% of store associates can contact customers outside the store vs. 25% in 2019 and 13% in 2018
• 20% of brands offer online appointment booking versus 9% in 2019
• Less than 1% of brands allow shoppers to schedule a time to pick up their BOPIS orders
• 32% of brands offer curbside pickup
• 44% of brands show store inventory online
• 46% of brands ship from store to the customer’s door 

Key Report Takeaways

• Covid has absolutely sped up the prioritization and implementation of Omni-channel capabilities
• Solutions include live web chat, contactless payments, appointment scheduling and remote customer service
• Brands have adopted these new services and have been experiencing explosive growth driven by the stark new reality created by Covid-19
• Seamless is a required quality of the Omni-channel customer journey
• Omni-channel needs to be simple and easy for customers to access
• Currently many brands still do not have the ability to integrate their web storefront with their physical solutions
• Brands need to close the gap between expectations and reality or risk brand erosion and lost revenue
• While more consumers are shifting the majority of their buying online, as of August 62% of shoppers said they are still willing to visit brick and mortar stores
• Consumers have been pushed out of their normal buying routines and their new behaviors are here to stay
• It’s essential for retail brands to continue to use the pandemic as a catalyst for change
• Adapt and evolve to who your customers are now, don’t fall back on who they were

The Report’s Conclusions

• Omni-channel has proven itself to be the ONLY WAY forward for the industry
• Brands are positively accelerating their online and in-store innovations around the core Omni-channel solutions
• There must be a LARGE SCALE adoption of the capabilities or else brands risk getting squeezed out of the market
• Omni-channel is now a REQUIREMENT for SURVIVAL
• Consumers are looking for very specific CONTACTLESS and CONVENIENT ways to shop and if they don’t exist at one brand the consumer will find a brand that does
• While history will look back at 2020 as a tumultuous year, the overall RESILIENCE of consumers, brands has been IMPRESSIVE
• EVERY retail brand needs to STRATEGICALLY plan for the long-term implications of the Covid-19 Pandemic
• There has NEVER been a GREATER NEED for a new store for the NEW NORMAL

We encourage all businesses to take heed from the results of this very comprehensive study and continue to implement their own BEST PRACTICES to ensure longevity and business success today and well into the future.  We’d love to hear how your company is progressing in the world of Omni-channel distribution.