BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - December 8, 2009) - Aberdeen
Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (
Compared to 2008, retailers across sub-segments are compelled to revive the store experience due to rapid shifts in customer shopping preferences (value, price, size of spend, and frequency). These shifts have led to customer purchase in-action primarily in non-food retail segments. Customers deferred shelf-level buying, which in turn impacted revenue and gross margin return on inventory investment projections of retailers. "Today, customers want an integrated and more personalized shopping experience and stores will need to modify and reorganize the sales experience workflow in stores or risk high customer attrition," says Sahir Anand, Research Director, Retail, Hospitality, and CPG Research.
Traditional customer expectations in stores have undergone a major shift in areas such as:
-- Need for products or merchandise that can exceed both perceived and
actual value or benefits
-- Access to deeper multi-channel product information and research by
both first-time and long-time customers for differentiated product
attributes and personalized offers
-- Desire for intuitive and effortless in-store sales and service has
grown even as the seamlessness of digital shopping channels has improved
For appealing to the buying senses of customers, retailers need to consolidate and expand in some areas such as self-service, cross-channel order integration, continued annual point-of-service and security upgrades, clienteling, and mobility. "These steps can assist retailers to maintain a friendly and knowledgeable service delivery culture, high employee motivation, and in-store productivity in an unpredictable business environment. These are the imperatives for creating a customer-ready retail store environment in 2010," says Anand.
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Contact Information: Media Contact: Sahir Anand Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5271 Sahir.anand@aberdeen.com