Delivering Compelling Customer Journeys

Transcription

Delivering compelling
customer journeys
The Cognizant UK Shopper
Experience Study 2014
KEEP CHALLENGING
TM
Contents
Welcome.................................................................................................................... 3
A Better Shopping Experience��4
1. The Personal Imperative
2. Mobile Assistants
3. Low-Friction Shopping
About this Research�� 6
This is Not a Broadcast World�� 7
Is Your Customer Communication Doing More Harm Than Good?
Loyalty: the Precursor of Personalisation
Hitting the Personalisation Sweet Spot
Omnichannel Retail is Powering Ahead��12
World-Leading Retail
The Rise of Click & Collect
Mobile as an Extension of Self
Virtual Shopping Made Real
Delivering End-to-End Excellence
Frictionless Retail is the New Battleground ��18
Not on the High Street — For Long
Enlivening the Product Experience
Getting the Shopping Home
Pay Your Own Way
Expectations Extend Throughout the Customer Journey
Retail Fit for Tomorrow��21
Find Out More..........................................................................................................21
Further Reading..................................................................................................... 22
References ............................................................................................................. 23
2
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
Welcome to the Cognizant UK
Shopper Experience Study 2014
The UK is rightly recognised as a retail powerhouse. It’s a vital part of the
UK economy, producing businesses that are the envy of the world.
This 2014 study builds on last year, which was the first time Cognizant has
produced a report focused solely on the shopper data we collected in the
UK. Following the tremendous success of that report, we’ve repeated the
exercise, but made the survey even more comprehensive — analysing the
responses of nearly four times as many British shoppers.
By repeating the study we’ve tracked how the fast-paced world of retail
has moved over the past 12 months. That has allowed us to chart the rapid
acceptance of new technologies, see how shoppers’ habits have changed,
and how their expectations for customer service excellence have taken hold.
Innovations such as “click & collect”, which were treated with a degree of
caution a year ago, are now an accepted and expected feature of UK retail.
It’s clear that UK customers are enthusiastic adopters of new technology, and
technology-powered innovations. It’s now up to the retailers to match those
expectations. To do that, you’ll need to integrate and align your channels, to
provide a seamless and flexible shopping experience for your customers.
We believe there has never been a more exciting time to be in retail, as new
technologies are providing the foundations for delivering quantum leaps in
service quality, making shopping a more rewarding and enjoyable experience.
At Cognizant, we’ve worked alongside some of the UK’s leading retailers,
helping them unlock the benefits of customer data, and helping them craft
service strategies that delight their shoppers time after time. This report
gives you the evidence to drive changes to your customer service strategies.
If you’d like to find out more, do get in touch.
Yours
Ron Curry
Head of Retail, Travel and Hospitality, Consumer Goods
Cognizant Technology Solutions
THE COGNIZANT UK SHOPPER EXPERIENCE STUDY 2014
3
A Better Shopping Experience
In April 2014, UK retail sales growth hit a 10-year high.1 That’s indicative of
how the sector has used recent economic turbulence to get fitter, refocused
on customer service and found the impetus to innovate in a cut-throat
marketplace. Consumer spending was central to the UK’s unexpectedly
strong recovery in the early part of 2014 — even if macro-economic trends
suggest that spending will slow.
We’ve all seen the rise of the discounters2 — particularly Lidl and Aldi in food
and Primark in apparel. But as the Cognizant UK Shopper Experience Study
2014 highlights, price is just the first hurdle. Get it wrong, and the shopper
will look elsewhere.
Price alone is not enough. As this year’s study shows, UK shoppers are a
sophisticated bunch: with high expectations of customer service and they
want shopping to be a pleasurable experience. Through analysing what the
shoppers told us, three major themes emerged:
1. The Personal Imperative
Customers want a purchasing experience that is tailored to them. That
means offers that chime with their preferences, and are delivered the way
shoppers want. (See page 7)
Today’s shoppers are incredibly technology savvy and well informed. They’ll
know the price they expect to pay, and they’ll know what alternative products
they see as suitable replacements. So when it comes to communicating with
them, you need to treat them as informed customers — and use your analysis
of every interaction with them to understand their personal preferences.
87%
4
KEEP CHALLENGING
of UK shoppers will research a
product before making a purchase.
DECEMBER 2014
2. Mobile Assistants
Omnichannel and multi-channel shopping is the new normal. That’s reflected
by the number of shoppers that use click & collect services — 20% of UK
shoppers do so on a regular basis — and they expect a consistent experience
across all channels.
In this new world, UK shoppers increasingly use their mobile devices as a
virtual shopping assistant. Instead of seeing this as a threat, UK retailers
have embraced the possibilities. Retailers use mobile platforms to augment
the customer journey through in-store beacons, augmented reality displays
and social shopping platforms. (See page 11)
3. Low-Friction Shopping
To keep customers satisfied, retailers have to deliver service innovations —
whether that’s bringing products to life online, or reducing the pinch points
in the store experience, such as waiting times.
As a retailer, it is hard to get an impartial view of customer behaviour: what
they think, what they like, and what they expect. The Cognizant UK Shopper
Experience Study gets to the heart of these issues, providing insight from a
significant group of UK shoppers. Understanding these shoppers’ motivations
and desires is the key to prioritising your technology investments, through
understanding which initiatives will deliver business value.
5
About this Research
This is our second UK-specific report, but Cognizant’s fifth annual shopper
study. The information is based on qualitative online interviews with 2,028 UK
shoppers, carried out in Q2 2014.
The interviewees cover a representative spread of:
•Ages: from 18 to over 65.
•Incomes: household income of under £15,000 to over £119,000 per year.
•Education levels: from no qualifications to advanced degrees.
We also asked respondents about their ownership of smartphones. In this
instance, 95% of respondents said they owned a smartphone. This is higher than
the UK average — 62% of UK adults own smartphones3 — which suggests that the
respondents show a tendency to be early adopters of technologies. That makes
the respondents a leading indicator for shopping behaviour in the UK.
For some questions, we asked about particular categories of purchases in detail
— for instance groceries or electronics. In most questions, we asked about two
main retail groupings: “consumables”, which covered groceries, and health
and beauty products; and “specialty”, which included fashion, homeware, and
consumer electronics.
We have supplemented this data with insights and examples gathered from
Cognizant clients and other UK retail leaders.
2,028 shoppers were interviewed
for the Cognizant UK Shopper
Experience Study
6
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
This is Not a Broadcast World
Is Your Customer Communication Doing More Harm Than Good?
Today, shoppers are better informed before they buy, so they know whether your
products cut the mustard, or if your prices are competitive. We found that 71%
of British shoppers had used their mobile device to research products before
purchasing in the past 12 months.
Shoppers are more sophisticated in the way they shop. The journeys they
undertake, from the impulse to buy to making a purchase, are more complex, with
multiple stages — and routes. There are ever more channels and messages that
compete for shoppers’ attention.
These are shoppers that are used to being proactive about their purchases. They
hunt out online reviews and the opinions of their social peers. That means you
need to up your game with the information you send them. Mass market, broadcast
messages are unlikely to tell your customers anything they don’t already know.
We’ve seen that reflected in what shoppers say about the marketing messages they
receive. 62% of respondents agreed they want retailers to communicate with them
via their method of choice.
62% of shoppers agree that it is important that
the company offering their favourite products/
services communicate with them through the
method of their choice.
Email emerged as the preferred channel of communication for three-quarters of
respondents. Television accounted for just 6% — a similar proportion to those who
identified direct mail. This suggests customers clearly favour non-broadcast channels,
such as emails, which can be tailored to them, compared to blanket messages.
Of course, TV advertising will continue to be a fruitful mechanism for raising
brand awareness, but if you want to engage your customers, you need to show
you understand them. Consumers value their time and expect a return from giving
their attention to a brand message. They don’t want to waste their time looking at
messages that don’t speak to them about the products or services they want now.
Market watcher IDC believes personalisation will be an increasing focus for leading
retailers in the coming years — one that will lead to increasing returns.4
7
Loyalty: the Precursor of Personalisation
Our survey shows that there’s still life in the loyalty scheme. 51% said a “compelling
loyalty scheme” affected their decision to engage with a consumables retailer —
that’s higher than in the US, where just 41% said the same. Parents were also
proportionately more likely to be influenced by loyalty schemes than shoppers
from households without children — that’s important given the likelihood that
they will spend more on weekly shops.
For many retailers, particularly in consumables, the first steps towards
personalisation were achieved via loyalty programmes. This has been a blunt
form of personal marketing: shoppers exchange their purchase history and some
demographic information for money-off coupons, delivered through the post.
And yet, even though it’s a well-trodden path, Morrisons has only recently
launched its own Match & More programme. That comes at a time when the future
of loyalty schemes is hotly debated — especially at the UK’s large supermarkets,
where the discount stores have gained market share.5
But loyalty schemes can often be a missed opportunity for UK retailers. For
instance, airlines’ loyalty schemes were far more influential — with 71% of
shoppers saying the schemes affected their purchase decisions.
There may be factors, including purchase frequency and value, which explain
some of those differences. But it also highlights how some retailers have failed to
use loyalty schemes to deliver compelling personalisation. So coupons arrive by
mail, but there’s little attempt to interact further or develop the types of offers
sent. Nor is effort being made to use new types of data, or to adapt messages
by context.
Personalisation can mean many things. Successful implementations tend to
include the combination of three distinct elements of how you segment, the
benefits you’ll offer and the mechanism for relaying the message (see The
Three Keys to Personalisation).
Quick Take
Sandwich shop Eat is showing how loyalty scheme
innovation can be used to deliver more compelling offers to
its customers. Eat trialled an update for its stamp scheme
with a smartphone loyalty app, enabling it to build up a
richer picture of consumer purchases. Beacon technology
has been installed in its trial stores, which allows it to push
personalised offers to customers as they walk in the door.6
8
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
The Three Keys to Personalisation
Offer/
Price
Social
Services
Signage
Demographics
Style/
Tone
Staff
interactions
Life
events
Exclusive
access
Email
Social
signals
Product/
Bundle
Status
Loyalty
Purchase
history
Mobile
Frequency
of message
How you personalise
What you personalise
How you communicate
9
Hitting the Personalisation Sweet Spot
British shoppers are resistant to marketing they feel is intrusive or inappropriate.
They don’t want promotions appearing out of the blue in their Twitter feed, or to be
bombarded with adverts for products they’ve already researched and bought online.
Personalised, relevant and timely messages are the key to rewarding shoppers for
their attention.
Poor personalisation isn’t just an opportunity missed, it can damage your brand. It’s
no use having a perfectly crafted offer that customers find intrusive, or worse gets
the personalisation wrong.7 If you want people’s attention, they expect something
back. If you push the wrong message, you’re wasting their time — and the more
irrelevant messages that are pushed, the more you damage your brand.
35% of shoppers say their purchase decisions
are influenced by receiving offers based on
their current wishlists.
Getting personalisation right is hard. Your marketing department cannot
manually create a million different messages to suit each individual customer, so
personalisation has to become both a data quality and a strategy issue. Marketing
has to specify the rules; your data team needs to identify which algorithms to use
to craft personalised messages that truly embody your brand values. And if you
want your brand to resonate with shoppers then the algorithms must continue
to grow and change. Your personalisation algorithms and brand must develop a
symbiotic relationship.
Today, UK shoppers have come to expect retailers anticipate their needs — because
the best ones have shown it’s possible. One example is Mothercare. It uses its
customer database to identify shoppers’ life events to predict what customers
want before they’ve realised themselves. For example, six months after buying a
feeding bottle, mothers are sent emails containing weaning advice and offers. Its
brand values — that of helping mothers raise their children — is being translated into
algorithms that predict events and provide advice.
This isn’t highly complex personalisation — the big changes in infant development
are well understood and largely predictable. But the impact can be powerful.
Mothercare found its life-event promotions had significantly better response rates
than typical direct marketing.
10
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
Personalisation efforts that fall flat — or worse antagonise shoppers — tend to be
based on the violation of three basic maxims:
•Context: Irrelevant marketing is often deemed tedious and unwelcome.
•Frequency: Even the best marketing can be undone if the recipient
feels
bombarded.
•Consent: Unless shoppers give explicit consent, messages run the risk of
feeling intrusive.
This helps explain why shoppers prefer messages delivered by email. Emails are
easy to ignore or delete, so even if they violate one of these maxims, they feel
less problematic. They require little attention, consumers can quickly delete or
open and browse; if the product, price or offer are a good match, the customer
will be more likely to open your next email.
Mobile messages, or those delivered via social media, always feel like an
interruption. So while 22% of shoppers valued receiving location-based offers on
their mobiles, just 2% identified mobile as their preferred communication channel.
22% of shoppers appreciate getting locationbased offers on their mobiles.
It’s a similar tale for social. 24% of UK respondents wanted their favourite
specialty retailer, and 20% want their consumables retailer, to work with social
networks to provide better experiences and special promotions. But just over 1%
wanted promotional messages delivered via social media.
11
Omnichannel Retail is Powering Ahead
Your customers don’t see your online and offline channels as separate
entities — neither should you.
World-Leading Retail
Online and mobile shopping, showrooming and reverse showrooming are wellestablished trends in all mature markets. But you may be surprised how advanced
the UK is, and how dominant online and mobile have become — certainly when
compared to the US.
Take non-consumable goods, such as homewares, consumer electronics or
clothing. We found 44% of UK shoppers preferring to buy these items online,
compared to just 37% in-store. In the US, in-store is still most favoured, albeit
only just — with 45% of shoppers preferring to make specialty buys in-store,
compared to 42% online.
Such differences are also apparent in mobile shopping. We found 10% of British
shoppers bought groceries via their mobile, compared to just 5% of US shoppers.
And 16% had bought non-consumables via their mobile in the UK, compared to
just 10% in the US.
Why is the UK ahead in multi-channel retailing? There are many possible causes:
•Geography:
The UK is far smaller than the US, making logistics more
straightforward. The Royal Mail’s universal delivery commitment makes
fulfillment easier.
•Harmonised legal and tax frameworks: The UK’s sales taxes apply across the
country, reducing the burden of setting up online stores.
•Network coverage: Until 4G, the UK was ahead of the US in the deployment
of mobile network connections. As a result, UK retailers have had longer to
adjust to mobile broadband.
•Cost of fraud: European regulations have put the burden of payment fraud on
the card companies; in the US, it often falls on retailers or consumers.8 This is
potentially an entry barrier for online retailers.
The US, with its plush, out-of-town shopping malls, with ample free parking,
might be more appealing than bustling British high streets — and thus boosting
the appeal of online shopping in the UK.
But whatever the causes, the end result is that UK retailers are looking at
omnichannel innovations to give themselves an edge.
12
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
The Rise of Click & Collect
With online shopping becoming more popular, established retailers have looked for
ways to respond — using their physical stores to add value to the customer journey.
34% of UK shoppers research before buying
for more than half of their purchases.
As we’ve seen, UK shoppers are accustomed to researching products before they
buy. 34% of our respondents do this more than half of the time, and 5% always
or nearly always do.
This mixing of physical and virtual shopping and researching has a downside for
traditional retailers: showrooming. There’s little point in turning off the in-store
Wi-Fi: as the availability of 4G networks and powerful smartphones becomes
ubiquitous, it’s easier than ever for shoppers to do their research in store, then
use their mobile to find their desired product at the best price online.
UK retailers have responded to these omnichannel threats by enhancing the
services they offer that span both physical and virtual worlds. The first stage in
the fightback has been click & collect — encouraging shoppers back into the stores.
Considering all your shopping over the past year how
often have you purchased or reserved a product online
and picked up the order in a store?
Never
In Cognizant’s 2013 UK
Shopper Study, less than
5% of respondents used
click & collect more than
10 times in the preceding
three months. But in
2014, 20% said they now
use it on a regular basis.
26%
Some of
the time
53%
About half
of the time
14%
Most of
the time
Always
Quick Take
6%
1%
13
Our data also shows that a fifth of UK shoppers use click & collect services on a
regular basis — that’s higher than in the US, where just 16% do.
John Lewis exemplifies how leading omnichannel retailers have succeeded
through initiatives such as click & collect. Its chairman Charlie Mayfield
attributed its 2013/14 sales — which topped £10 billion for the first time — to its
omnichannel capability.9
In the UK a full 74% of shoppers say they’ve used
click & collect services in the past 12 months. That
shows how UK shoppers and retailers alike have
embraced new models. In the US, just 54% of
shoppers have used click & collect over the past year.
And click & collect is becoming even more convenient. Waitrose, Asda and Tesco
are looking at using collection lockers based at London Tube stations10 — enabling
retailers to serve customers in areas of high footfall, but at locations where they
cannot justify opening a store. 65% of UK shoppers said they have picked up
their click & collect purchases at locations other than a store.
65% of UK shoppers that use click & collect pick up
their purchases at locations other than a store.
In last year’s UK Shopper Study, we saw how UK retailers were embarking
on fulfilment innovations — including examples such as Amazon Lockers,
same-day delivery services, eBay’s partnership with Argos to make picking
up purchases easier.
Quick Take
Innovation has continued apace — although not always
with a focus on speed. Amazon, for instance, is now
offering slow shipping. It offers it’s Prime customers —
who pay an annual fee for free next-day delivery — a
“No Rush” shipping option, with the incentive of getting
credit for its digital content service if customers choose
the slower delivery option.11
14
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
Mobile as an Extension of Self
We know that retailers have embraced technology as a means to drive more
value from their physical stores — take Evans Cycles’ use of in-store QR codes on
its products, which lets serious cycling buffs get the lowdown on the equipment
in front of them.12
34% of respondents prefer to use a dedicated
app when shopping on their mobile device.
This year, we’ve seen retailers innovate further, supplementing shoppers’ desire
to use their smartphones as a shopping companion.
House of Fraser is using beacon technology to identify customers through
their smartphones, using this as a springboard to a better in-store experience.
Shoppers that have installed the beacon app on their smartphone can pull up
information about the clothes displayed on mannequins, links to purchase the
items online, or details on how to find the clothes in-store.13
Beacon technology can be used to improve in-store navigation, providing indoor
location sensing, and helping direct customers to where they want to go. But it
can also help retailers identify customers — so that when customers enter the
store, the shop assistants can pull up purchase histories, giving them the sort of
insight that online retailers take for granted.
Online retailers, such as Amazon, have demonstrated the power of data to build
comprehensive profiles of their customers. But the same opportunities exist
for omnichannel retailers that can examine the digital breadcrumb trail that
all shoppers leave — from their social network activity, online purchases, and
loyalty card data — to build rich customer profiles that span the physical and
virtual worlds. Unlocking these Code Halos is the key to delivering a rewarding
omnichannel shopping experience.
15
Virtual Shopping Made Real
Today, technology-assisted shopping isn’t limited to showrooming, or even
reverse showrooming. Retailers are introducing mobile and social tools to help
shoppers make better-informed purchases in a variety of novel ways.
For instance, IKEA uses an augmented reality app to lets customers see how its
furniture from its 2014 catelogue might look in their house.14
Online auctioneer eBay is also bringing virtual items to life on users’ smartphone
and tablets, thanks to its 3D visualisation platform. Its PhiSix technology can
create 3D models of clothes from a handful of photographs.15 The idea is to give
shoppers a better idea of how garments might look — or even which styles will
be the best fit.
Other retailers have seized on the potential of social shopping, via mobile devices.
In Summer 2014, Made.com launched Unboxed, a social part of its website that
allows customers to show off their purchases, and letting others see how the
products look in their homes.
Not every retailer will want to develop their own social shopping platform —
especially as there are numerous popular platforms, such as Pinterest, that
might be suitable.
With user-generated content, its important to remember that it is supposed to
form part of a dialogue — it’s not a broadcast message you can control. That
means retailers need to be keenly attuned to context. Is your brand or category
suited to these social platforms?
You also need to be mindful of what you’re selling. What works well for homewares
and apparel, might be less useful for toothpaste. Shoppers may be reluctant to
participate in social activities when it comes to high-value goods too — there’s a
limit to how much shoppers want to advertise their home contents.
16
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
Delivering End-to-End Excellence
One of the supposed benefits of omnichannel shopping is the convenience for
customers — they get a joined-up experience, however they choose to shop.
We found 44% of respondents agreed that their
experience across various touch points, such as
online, in-store and on social media is important in
forming an overall opinion about a product.
But that doesn’t always hold true — especially when it comes to returns.
Online shopping has traditionally had higher return rates. For example, return
rates for clothing can be as high as 40%.16 That’s undoubtedly a challenge — and
one exacerbated by click & collect. After all, what is your process for accepting
returns for items purchased online but fulfilled in-store?
Some UK retailers have begun to focus on improving reverse logistics — the
process of receiving returned merchandise with the purpose of proper disposal
or recapturing value.
Quick Take
Homeware specialist Lakeland has embarked on a data
integration programme that enables it to combine
online and in-store data on marketing, merchandising,
operations and returns to identify areas where it can
improve customer service — and increase profit.
17
Frictionless Retail is the New Battleground
British retailers are competing on their ability to eliminate “pinch points”
along the customer journey — removing any barriers to purchasing.
Not on the High Street — For Long
Not everyone can make it to their favourite store all the time. Meanwhile, some
smaller brands struggle for space in large outlets. Pop-up stores — which rely
on cloud, mobile and social media to provide the supporting infrastructure and
necessary publicity — fill that gap. They help small brands develop a physical
offering, or large brands to make tactical openings, and malls to fill vacant space.
Pop-up stores have changed the face of UK high streets and malls — adding £2.1
billion to the UK economy.17 Even Amazon — the quintessential online retailer — will
open its first bricks and mortar store for the 2014 holiday season, demonstrating
the power of having operations that span channels.
Enlivening the Product Experience
It can be hard for shoppers to choose their favourite outfit, but technology can make
it a less time-consuming effort, as well as helping customers make up their mind.
Uniqlo has implemented ‘Magic Mirror’ technology in a number of its stores,
which allows customers to try on garments in different colours without having to
physically change clothes.18
At Westfield malls, customers can use their CollectPlus app, to highlight outfits they
might like to purchase, before visiting the stores. The outfits are then waiting to be
tried on when the customers arrive at the special fitting rooms.19
Getting the Shopping Home
Convenience has always been one of the major attractions of online shopping.
That’s why Amazon has begun exploring the opportunities for same-day deliveries
in the UK — using the established newspaper distribution networks.20 It — along with
Google and DHL — is looking into the possibilities of accelerating delivery through
the use of drone technology.21
These types of supply chain innovations haven’t been solely the purview of
online retailers. If shoppers urgently need a new outfit for their night out, fashion
group Aurora offers its UK shoppers a 90-minute delivery option.22 That’s made
possible through the integration of its online portal with its supply chain and stock
management systems.
Others, such as House of Fraser, are introducing queue-busting technology for
click & collect customers. House of Fraser’s smartphone app enables shoppers to
check-in via a self-service kiosk as they enter the store, getting a text with a time to
pick up their order at the counter.
Improving the shopping experience doesn’t end once the customers have escaped
the queues. Hands-free shopping services, such as those offered at Westfield malls,
or at outlet shopping centre Bicester Village23, mean shoppers don’t have to stop
just because they can’t carry any more bags. But retailers have opportunities to
innovate further.
Volvo is piloting a roaming delivery service, which allows drivers to have online
goods delivered to their cars. The delivery service uses digital keys to unlock the
boot for a controlled length of time.24
18
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
Pay Your Own Way
One of the fastest changing areas of in-store retail is how we pay. Retailers are
making huge strides in finding ways to minimise the hassle of payments.
For instance, Apple is moving towards a retail model that makes shopping “feel
like stealing”25. Its stores are increasingly using in-store sensors, smartphone
and beacon integration, and payment technologies, so that ultimately shoppers
will be able to walk into an Apple store, select their item, confirm their purchase,
and leave — without needing to wait for staff to be free.
Self-service needs careful implementation. Done poorly and the constant refrain
of “unexpected item in the bagging area” adds friction. But there are signs that
retailers are making their self-service options more palatable.
We found 60% prefer to use self-service rather than waiting in lines. That’s a
noticeable shift from the previous year, where self-service was viewed as an
inconvenience or a mechanism for shops to lower staff costs.
We also found evidence that shoppers are beginning to appreciate payment
innovation. That’s backed up by the UK Card Association, which reports that the
number of contactless payments trebled in the past 12 months to 94 million.26
How important is acceptance of new payment options such as
digital wallets, PayPal, Softcard etc?
Speciality
35%
11%
21%
15%
18%
Consumables
38%
11%
21%
13%
17%
1
2
3
4
5
19
Payment innovations are still a relatively new trend, which is reflected in the
survey results. But as Apple Pay, Paym, and other mobile payment technologies
gain acceptance, it’s likely that this will be an area of increasing importance.
Our survey results show that shoppers who already use digital wallets and
mobile payments are proportionately less likely to worry about the security of
these services than credit or debit card shoppers. That could be because these
methods are used to make low-value purchases, and haven’t attracted the highprofile breaches as card payments — but it also shows that security need not be
a barrier to payment innovation.
Expectations Extend Throughout the Customer Journey
When dealing with customers across multiple touch points, it’s vital that your
values are upheld at every stage. As a retailer, you could have a high-performing
website, slick in-store operations, and delivery choices that ensure customers
get the right products at a time that suits them. But if the goods turn up late in
a battered old truck, with delivery drivers that show little care when handling
products, all that effort can be wasted.
The need to deliver consistently high-quality service throughout the customer
journey puts an emphasis on your choice of partners — whether that’s the
company that provides you with logistics or IT support. You need partners that
understand your values, and will help you deliver a reliably excellent service
across all channels and touch points.
20
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
Retail Fit for Tomorrow
The UK retail sector is rightly recognised for its excellence and its importance.
Shoppers come from all over the globe to visit the UK’s iconic shopping centres,
streets and stores. But competition — on the high street and online — is intense
and relentless. This has pushed UK retailers to new levels of excellence in
customer service — and this is just the start of the journey.
We’ve already seen retail pioneers finding new ways to merge the physical
and virtual worlds, so that in-store shoppers are treated as well-understood
customers, and online services are given the human touch.
Tomorrow’s winners will be the retailers that best understand their customers.
These will be the retailers that are most effective in the sensitive collection of
customer data, and can use that to deliver effective customer service innovations
with a deft touch.
Compared to last year’s findings, UK shoppers are ready to adopt new ways
of shopping — providing they see the benefits. This is not about creating
gimmicks; it’s about delivering on the promise of a more personalised and lowfriction experience.
But shopping should also be fun. It’s a leisure pursuit for many of us, so there’s
room for creativity and play throughout the experience. Many of the innovations
we’ve seen in UK retail today — and the ones that customers enthuse about —
are those focused on making the shopping experience more pleasurable and
less hassle.
The need to innovate is a given: competition is such that those retailers that
stand still will perish. But innovation is hard, and can be fraught. Winning is
about being attuned to your customers, analysing the oceans of data we are all
creating every day, and devising ways to please your customers more.
Find Out More
To discuss these findings in greater detail and what they mean to your business,
get in touch with our retail experts.
Ron Curry
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07766 608655
Ian Jarvis
Mobile: 07880 784194
Donald Shields
Mobile: 07802 377447
21
Further Reading
Cognizant regularly publishes thought leadership articles, white papers, and
viewpoints, outlining the latest trends in retail and drawing out the issues that
matter most to your business.
2014 Shopper Experience Study — US Edition
http://cogniz.at/1vbx33u
A Playbook for Managing at the Crossroads
http://cogniz.at/1rqn8Vv
The Value of Signal (and the Cost of Noise)
http://cogniz.at/1isyDpA
Reverse Logistics: The Way Forward
http://cogniz.at/1w2i2Uc
Strategies to Mitigate Shrink in a Boundary-less Retail World
http://cogniz.at/1xTHxa3
22
KEEP CHALLENGING
DECEMBER 2014
References
1.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27498468
2. http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Business-News/IGD-predicts-unstoppable-rise-of-discount-stores
3. http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/research-publications/adults/adultsmedia-lit-14/
4. http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS25233514
5. http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/10/tescos-downfall-is-a-warning-to-data-driven-retailers/
6. http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1281133/weve-signs-eat-first-brand-trial-mobile-loyaltyscheme-pouch
7. http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/01/22/social-selling-is-the-creepiest-retail-technology-invention-of-all/
8. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/10/economist-explains-18
9. http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/03/06/omni-channel-capability-has-been-key-our-success-saysjohn-lewis-strong-financial
10. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25941699
11. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201617940
12. http://www.pushon.co.uk/news/evans-cycles-shows-qr-codes-can-be-successfully-used/
13. http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240226432/House-of-Fraser-rolls-out-beacon-enabledmannequins-in-Aberdeenmannequins-in-Aberdeen
14. http://www.gizmag.com/ikea-augmented-reality-catalog-app/28703/
15. http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/ebay-acquires-phisix-to-offer-virtual-3d-fitting-rooms-video-20-02-2014/
16. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jan/03/gift-returns-christmas-retail-figures
17. http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2014/09/11/retail-update-depth-look-power-pop-shop-ny-fashion-weekround-and-brc-s-august
18. http://www.humansinvent.com/#!/15678/magic-mirror-your-in-store-virtual-fitting-room/
19. http://uk.westfield.com/london/services/collectplus
20. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/10/15/amazon-u-k-taps-newspaper-distributor-for-same-day-deliveries/
21. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/25/german-dhl-launches-first-commercial-dronedelivery-service
22. http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/articles/03143-aurora-fashions-to-offer-90minute-deliveries
23. http://www.bicestervillage.com/en/guest-services/village-services/handsfree-shopping
24. http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/volvos-concept-roam-delivery-service-brings-your-groceries-right-to-thetrunk-of-your-car/
25. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/whats-ahead-with-the-retail-checkoutexperience/362017/
26. http://www.theukcardsassociation.org.uk/wm_documents/UK%20Cards%20Annual%20Report%20
2014%20interactive.pdf
23
European Headquarters
1 Kingdom Street
Paddington Central
London W2 6BD
+44 207 297 7600
[email protected]
About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of
information technology, consulting, and business
process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the
world’s leading companies build stronger businesses.
Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant
combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology
innovation, deep industry and business process expertise,
and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the
future of work. With over 75 development and delivery
centers worldwide and approximately 199,700 employees
as of September 30, 2014, Cognizant is a member of the
NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and
the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing
and fastest growing companies in the world.
Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on
Twitter: @Cognizant.
© Copyright 2014, Cognizant. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written
permission from Cognizant. The information contained herein is subject
to change without notice. All other trademarks mentioned here are the
property of their respective owners.

Delivering Compelling Customer Journeys

Transcription

Similar documents

the brandbank service makes it quick, easy and cost

92% of mobile video viewers

SuiteCommerce Advanced

Case Study - Brick Meets Click

Used Car Specials from Cars.com | Target Used

Retail customers are shouting-are you adapting?

Retailers Beef Up Omnichannel Business Women`s

updated! - SASSIE Mystery Shopping Systems

MM07 Consumer Behaviour Assignment