Video: Are retailers ready for the channel agnostic customer?

The modern customer is channel agnostic. They don’t see any difference between channels. What they care about is experience. And what they differentiate on is price, service, convenience and brand. Today’s digital environment has transformed the shopping experience, as all this information is available at the touch of a button. And that poses a huge challenge for traditional retailers. How can they position themselves to be ready for the channel agnostic customer?

Traditional retailers are adapting their business models to the channel agnostic customer. But, as MeetTheBoss TV’s Sasha Qadri explains, it’s a slow process.

The modern customer is channel agnostic. They don’t see any difference between channels. What they care about is experience. And what they differentiate on is price, service, convenience and brand. Today’s digital environment has transformed the shopping experience, as all this information is available at the touch of a button. And that poses a huge challenge for traditional retailers. How can they position themselves to be ready for the channel agnostic customer?

They’ve seen this coming for a while. And they know they have to get omnichannel right so that they truly offer a seamless experience across in-store and online channels. Easier said than done. There are the usual barriers: legacy IT, siloes, sharing customer data and integrating back office technology…it’s a long list.

It’s a process. But there are some retailers getting it right. Two examples. In the UK, department store John Lewis has invested heavily in technology with an omnichannel strategy at its core. It opened its first omnichannel store in the UK in 2012 and is constantly evolving its click and collect service.

Starbucks also comes up frequently as getting omnichannel right. They have a seamless payments system across channels and in addition, reward members can digitally tip their baristas and download free music, apps and books through the Starbucks mobile app.

It’s an evolving process. But retailers are slowly moving in the right direction – and that improves the customer experience and feeds into the bottom line.

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