DENVER, Sterling Commerce Customer Connection – Aug. 22, 2007 — Sterling Commerce has released the results of a recent survey that shows what consumers are looking for in a retailer and the ways they prefer to shop and research their purchases. The survey, conducted in July, polled more than 5,000 consumers to learn their online and in-store shopping habits. The findings demonstrate that retailers are at greater risk in meeting customers’ expectations for a seamless experience across channels. Expectations have increased, and online experiences are influencing how customers behave when they visit a store.
The findings will be presented at Sterling Commerce Customer Connection on Wednesday, Aug. 22, and a full copy of the survey findings can be downloaded at http://www.sterlingcommerce.com/Industries/Retail.
“As retailers ramp up for the biggest shopping event of the year — the holidays — their readiness to address today’s cross-channel customer’s expectations could decide their success,” said Jim Bengier, global retail industry executive for Sterling Commerce. “The cross-channel experience has created today’s ‘spoiled consumer,’ and it raises the bar for every retailer. Retailers who are able to meet and exceed these needs will maintain a loyal customer base and ensure future purchases.”
With the number of channels through which consumers interact with retailers expanding — in-store, online, catalog/call center, kiosk, special order, TV, mobile, etc. — consumers expect a more unified experience regardless of the type of channel or the number of channels accessed. The survey found that those expectations are increasing and demonstrates the gap between those expectations and what most retailers can now deliver. For example:
- More than half of the respondents (57 percent) want to return or exchange items at a store, regardless of how the item was purchased (online, in store or catalogue).
- Sixty-five percent of consumers expect to be able to cancel or modify an order via a store, the store’s Web site or a call center regardless of which channel was used to initially place the order.
- Another 55 percent of consumers feel that it is important to be able to complete an order via a store, the store’s Web site or a call center regardless of which channel was used to initially place the order.
The survey also demonstrated that consumers’ online experiences are changing their expectations when they reach the store. For example:
- Fifty-four percent of consumers find that they can buy products online that are not available in stores, and 40 percent likes the fact that products are usually in stock online.
- Two-thirds of consumers appreciate the ability to research multiple products online at the same time, and nearly half of consumers (45 percent) feel that they can obtain better product information online than in a store.
- Only 21 percent of shoppers will check another store within the same retailer chain for the item that is out of stock. Nearly half will look for the item at a competitor’s store, 13 percent will order it online instead and about 20 percent will decide not to purchase it at all.
The survey provided some insight into how retailers can gain customer loyalty with customer-service based cross-channel solutions. For example:
- Communication is key for online shoppers — 76 percent of consumers think that notification of shipping and order fulfillment is very important to their online shopping experience.
- Fifty-four percent of consumers feel that if a retailer is out of an item, the retailer should locate the out-of-stock item at another location and ship it to the customer for free.
- Providing availability information across channels will help increase customer satisfaction. Forty-three percent of consumers find that sales associates are not able to check availability at the store or at other store locations, and 38 percent of consumers state that sales associates cannot determine whether a given product is in stock.
Sterling Commerce solutions help retailers maximize top- and bottom-line performance by simplifying execution across multiple channels and complex global supply chains. These solutions include an end-to-end order capture/management solution that allows retailers to provide a differentiated cross-channel customer experience by enabling consumers to buy, pick up and return products anywhere. The company’s best-of-breed supply chain fulfillment solutions drive operational excellence by enhancing visibility, optimizing execution, accelerating exception recovery and dramatically improving the management of inventory, transportation and distribution assets. All Sterling Commerce solutions are based on a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and leverage the company’s unparalleled experience in data integration and network management to streamline implementations, drive speed-to-benefit and enhance adaptability for future change.
Survey Methodology
Sterling Commerce conducted this online survey in June/July 2007 and surveyed 5,003 general consumers. The purpose of the survey was to understand consumers’ preferences and attitudes when shopping online and in traditional retail channels. The final sample consisted of 5,003 male and female consumers, aged 18 and older, living in the U.S.
About Sterling Commerce
Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), helps customers thrive in a global economy by connecting their business communities, processes, people, and technology. More than 30,000 customers worldwide – including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 – use Sterling Commerce solutions for business process integration, multi-channel selling, and supply chain execution to improve profitability inside and outside their company walls. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Sterling Commerce has offices in 19 countries and most major cities around the world. For more information, please go to www.sterlingcommerce.com.