Winning Over Shoppers in the Digital Age: A Guide for Retailers and CPG Companies
The data in this InfoBrief comes from a web-based survey of 1,000 consumers in North America and five in-depth interviews with consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail marketing executives in North America.
The objective of the consumer survey was to understand the changing landscape of the customer shopping experience and journey. IDC surveyed respondents on shopping expectations, preferences, and the way they made their decisions on where and how to shop both in-store and online.
The executives interviewed by IDC were key decision makers with responsibilities in digital transformation (DX) strategy, marketing, consumer/customer insights and analytics, customer experience (CX) strategy, or operations. Qualifying respondents came from companies with 2017 annual sales revenue of $200M-plus, an explicit DX strategy, and pursuing one of the following business models: omni-channel retailer, pure-play ecommerce retailer, or consumer goods company with direct-to-consumer business.
The insights captured in this InfoBrief can help retailers and CPG companies understand what constitutes a great shopping experience and how to deliver one that meets or exceeds consumer expectations.
Excecutive Summary
Omni-channel commands retail. Today, 71% of customers prefer omnichannel retailers. Brick-and-mortar stores account for 70% of total growth. Omni-channel retailers hold 35% of ecommerce growth.
Retailers and CPG companies are challenged by the same forces disrupting business models, supply chains, commercial strategies, financial flows, and customer behaviors across industries worldwide. DX presents a compelling urgency and creates myriad paths to success. DX also holds the key for retailers and CPG companies aiming to deliver superior CX. So smart retailers and CPG makers have transformation programs underway.
New digital commerce models are emerging, but transformation must align to realities. Showrooming strengthens stores. Customers prefer store returns. Loyalty matters. Same-day and next-day delivery and “buy online pick up in store” (BOPUS) are not universal differentiators.
Every customer prefers to shop one way or another, but all shop multiple ways. Transformation creates opportunities to innovate formats and services to match how customers want to shop. Success depends on fine-tuning omni-channel strategies to fit your customers’ preferences.
Omni-channel stores meet important customer concerns. Most shoppers say they are more likely to feel better and do better in omni-channel stores than at pure-play ecommerce retailers or on Amazon. Shoppers appreciate choices around trying, buying, picking up, and returning merchandise.
Deploying a retail commerce platform is critical for success today and tomorrow. However, there’s only a two- to three-year window to ensure competitive advantage. The time to act is now.