BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - February 9, 2010) - The top pressure retail organizations face
around cross-channel retailing is the need to address rapid changes in
customer affinity for sales channels, according to the Aberdeen Group
report
Fast-Track Cross-Channel Gains: The Final Frontier for
Customer Share of Wallet in Retail. Between December 2009 and January
2010,
Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks
Company (
NYSE:
HHS), surveyed 100 retail organizations to determine how
leading retailers are utilizing cross-channel integration for a more
convenient shopping experience.
"If retailers operate their channels as separate business units that never
converge, it is difficult to contemplate an organizational set-up that can
plan and execute a single brand identity. Besides business unit
coordination, IT plays an essential role in unifying channels," says Sahir
Anand, primary author and research director, Aberdeen.
In response to these pressures, retail organizations indicated that
identifying new sales channel opportunities is their top strategic action.
"Retailers that are currently without the mobile order, marketing, or
related offering must seize the opportunity to grow their channel
capabilities in line with the latest needs of their customers," states
Chris Cunnane, co-author and senior research associate, Aberdeen.
A top capability to emerge from this study is the ability to track
cross-channel performance analytics. "Cross-channel analytics are truly
transformational as they enable a retailer to inspect, adjust, and deliver
the customer promise which is the very essence of modern retailing," says
Anand.
To improve cross-channel integration performance, Aberdeen data has shown
that a migration to complimentary channels is of utmost importance.
Aberdeen's analysis of leading organizations demonstrates that these
companies have placed an increased focus on:
-- Implementing a mobile marketing application. Mobile marketing allows
retailers to interact with their customers in nearly any location. By
not implementing this technology, retailers are unable to take advantage
of location-based promotions, smart posters, 2D barcode promotions, or
social media applications within the mobile environment.
-- Executing a unified marketing plan for all channels of operations.
Today's consumer is looking for a unified shopping experience across all
channels, from a merchandising, pricing, and marketing standpoint.
Retailers must ensure that their marketing messages are not telling
conflicting stories based on the channel.
-- Developing capabilities to fulfill cross-channel customer order needs.
The lack of unified cross-channel order management can lead to high
customer attrition and high lost sales opportunities leading to wallet
share loss for the retailer.
All of the above requirements, amongst others, are part of the winning
strategy for cross-channel retailing.
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the
following underwriters: Cactus Commerce, CrossView, and Junction
Solutions. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=6289
Visit
Research.Aberdeen.com for
additional access to complimentary
Retail Research.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers
demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the
past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving
market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering
meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the
global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that
drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to
learn more about
Harte-Hanks,
call (800) 456-9748.
© 2010 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com