10427 The Retailer Autumn 2018_Final Draft Pages

Retail 2019 – What do consumers want?

WAYNE SNYDER VP RETAIL STRATEGY EMEA JDA

JDA’S WAYNE SNYDER EXPLORES FIVE KEY AREAS FOR RETAILERS TO FOCUS ON Online retail continues to boom in the UK; with e-commerce sales reaching £13.7 billion last year. Based on these figures and recent demises of the likes of Toys R’Us and Maplin, it is easy to believe that the end of bricks-and-mortar is nigh. But in reality, the in-store experience remains a critical part of the shopping experience. JDA’s latest global Consumer Survey found more than half of UK consumers (51%) favoured in-store as their preferred method of shopping. However, retailers can ill-afford to rest on their laurels. Retailers need to be able to quickly respond to ever changing customer expectations, delivering the products they want, in the environment they like best, with the fulfilment options which meet their needs. 1) RIGHT PRODUCT, RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME While customer journeys may start in one channel and purchase in another, whilst it may be a cliché, getting these fundamentals right is more important than ever when customers have so many other options to choose from. Almost half of UK shoppers (47%) claim having the right product in stock is the deciding factor for a good or bad experience. If a customer is unable to find what they want, there’s a risk of not only losing the sale in the short-term, but also of further damage if they do not come back in the future. This is where a solid supply chain operation can underpin retail success. Retailers must provide product assortments localised for what customers want, using that information to determine what items to stock in-store and which to offer online. 2) UNDERSTANDING THE DYANMICS OF CLICK-AND- COLLECT Click & Collect remains a popular option with consumers, especially in the UK, with three-quarters of consumers saying they have used it. Shoppers gave a wide variety of reasons for choosing Click & Collect over home delivery; from avoiding delivery charges (58%), to getting the product more quickly (36%), and the added convenience of in-store pick up (33%). Our survey also found that, for retailers, there’s an added benefit to in-store pickup; with two-thirds (66%) of respondents making additional purchases while visiting a store to collect orders. This means retailers should view in-store fulfilment as an opportunity to potentially capture additional sales from online customers.

3) DON’T IGNORE THE RETURNS EXPERIENCE The shopper today is already thinking about how they can return a product before they even buy it and having the right process in place for returns is imperative. 86% of global consumers stated that the ease of returns is a key factor when deciding where to buy. Furthermore, a poor returns service from an online retailer would make 81% of consumers switch to an alternative retailer when next shopping online. The growth of ‘serial returners’ should also not be ignored. More than a quarter (27%) of respondents said they intentionally bought multiple sizes or product options, with the intent of returning what they didn’t want or need to a store. Retailers must ensure that their supply chains are geared to the challenge of returns. This means forecasting return rates to avoid over-stocking and ensuring products are processed quickly so they are back on the shop floor as soon as possible. 4) JOINING THE TECH REVOLUTION Today’s shopper is becoming increasingly tech-savvy, expecting a great technology experience both in-store and online. Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri have become a familiar presence in many households, with 40% of consumers globally using these devices for some element of their shopping journey. What’s more, 53% of consumers believe that technology such as augmented reality, robotics and voice assistance will enhance the online shopping experience in the future. While the current use of augmented reality in retail stores in the UK is quite low compared to the likes of Asia and the Far East, its potential is huge. Our survey found 60% of consumers believe that using AR to preview a product would make them more likely to make a purchase in-store. To take advantage of this opportunity in the future, retailers need to take the next step and lead the customer by putting these emerging technologies into wider use. For example, only 20% of UK consumers have bought an item via social media compared to 50% in most of Europe and 85% in China, demonstrating the further opportunities that are possible.

14 | autumn 2018 | the retailer