Retailers have spoken up about the barriers that are preventing them from becoming an integrated omni-channel company.

According to new Research from Accenture and hybris, while providing a seamless shopping experience across all channels and touch points is a top priority for retailers – organisational, operational and technology challenges are getting in the way.

The study, ‘Customer Desires Vs. Retailer Capabilities: Minding the Omni-Channel Commerce Gap’, conducted by Forrester Consulting shows that nearly all (94%) of retail decision makers surveyed as part of the research said that their companies face these problems.

71 % of shoppers expect to view in-store inventory online, and 50 % expect to buy online and pick up their purchase in a physical store. Yet, only one third (36%) of the retail decision makers surveyed said that their companies are able to provide customers with these services, all of which are considered vital for seamless retailing.

“The research shows that retailers who struggle to implement robust seamless capabilities online also experience challenges meeting customer expectations in offline channels. So this is a particularly big challenge that requires immediate attention,” said Chris Donnelly, global managing director of Accenture’s Retail Practice.

Three key actions for retailers include:

• Technology and integration barriers – retailers need to have a consolidated, accurate view of real-time inventory across stores and distribution centres.

• Organisational and operational challenges – retailers need to encourage the sharing of customer data and analytics between channels, countries or locations.

• Opportunities exist to make the physical store a strategic asset – retailers must be able to provide their customers with in-store pickup of purchases.

“Customers expect stores to be well integrated with all of a retailer’s digital capabilities, and to succeed, retailers must be able to serve customer needs regardless of how, when and where they shop,” said Brigid Fyr, managing director of eCommerce for Accenture Interactive. “A focus on omni-channel retailing enables retailers to create a more consistent consumer experience across online, mobile and in-store channels and ultimately increase their brands’ relevance to their customers.

“The research indicates that many retailers are operating with a ‘false state of omni-channel comfort,’” said Walker. “The reality is that the customer is way ahead of many retailers in defining what competitive shopping patterns are, not only across channels, but within each channel. If retailers are unaware of, or unwilling to acknowledge, these competitive threats then their business will go to other retailers agile enough to plug these gaps, and so provide the omni-channel sales experience customers are demanding. Retailers that fail to understand the significance of this gap in service and sales delivery are leaving themselves exposed to a significant competitive disadvantage.”

The study is based on an online survey commissioned by Accenture and hybris, and conducted by Forrester Consulting with more than 1,500 multi-channel shoppers and 256 decision makers from retail and manufacturing organisations across the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Source: newsroom.accenture.com