From transactions to relationships

Connecting with the transitioning shopper

While the store remains the cornerstone of the shopping experience, an IBM Institute for Business Value survey of more than 26,000 customers reveals that today’s empowered consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable purchasing through multiple retail channels.

Many retailers today consider themselves omni-channel, with the intent to provide seamless online and in-store consumer shopping experiences. Yet, many are struggling with uneven channel growth and consistency, allowing those competitors with truly differentiated offerings to race ahead. How can these retailers get – or recapture – their edge and capitalize on the growing consumer trend to use multiple channels to shop and purchase?

To find out, the IBM Institute for Business Value surveyed 26,000 shoppers in 14 countries, across a range of non-grocery retail categories, to learn a how consumers perceive and interact with retail channels. Three important trends were revealed by this research:

  1. Store dominance shifts in an omni-channel world

    Among retail channels, the store still reigns supreme. But cracks are beginning to appear in the dominance of brick and mortar.

  2. “Showroomers” – A small number of shoppers create a big impact

    Another indicator of store softness revealed by our research was the emergence of a small but influential group of consumers who shopped in the store but purchased online – sometimes from a different retailer.

  3. Consumers are hungry for meaningful retail connection points

    There is a high wall to scale to excite shoppers and keep them in a retailer’s own combination of store and online offerings. Most consumers want to help retailers do so. The heavy lifting, however, is the job of the retailer, and many are coming up short.

    With so many visitors and benefits, retailers must work to maintain the store’s advantage. However, they must, as well, be able to reach consumers along multiple touchpoints. They must build and maintain a seamless omni-channel consumer experience. By blending omni-channel benefits into both local shopping trips and online shopping trips, retailers will provide a shopping experience that can lead to brand loyalty and repeat sales.

Register to download the full IBM Institute for Business Value study

About the author

  • Kali Klena

    Kali Klena

    Retail Lead, IBM Institute for Business Value

  • Jill Puleri

    Jill Puleri

    Worldwide Retail Industry Lead, IBM Global Business Services

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