‘The brilliant basics’ - lessons from the 2021 Omnichannel Retail Index - Episode 216

INTERVIEW WITH KATHY KIMPLE

DESCRIPTION

In today’s podcast, we talk with Kathy Kimple about the 2021 Omnichannel Retail Index, a study conducted every year that aims to evaluate how retailers and brands from multiple verticals are implementing key digital and omnichannel features as well as to give us insight into the best practices and table stakes. What are the most common features and functions in online retail and which ones should you focus on to boost your conversion rate?

Make sure you tune in to find out more!

Kathy Kimple is the Chief Retail Officer of FitForCommerce, a specialty ecommerce and digital consultancy. She has over 30 years of experience in retail with a focus on retailers, brands, and grocery, covering digital strategy and store operations, registry, marketing, tech selection, and organizational design.

“There’s tons of data, but the data isn’t just data; it’s data that can help drive action.”

— Kathy Kimple

KEY TAKEAWAYS

FitForCommerce with a few partners have put together a study called the 2021 Omnichannel Retail Index and it calls out a number of opportunities that many brands and retailers are missing within their digital channel experience.
The Index was designed to take a pulse on how retailers were delivering on the omnichannel promise. It was started in 2015 in partnership with the National Retail Federation (NRF) in an effort to benchmark new tech driving customer behavior, to look at features and functions on websites.
Every year the Index tracks largely the same number of retailers, features and functions to see which things are gaining traction, how different retailers are performing, and to look for omnichannel best practices. This year the average adoption rate score is at 62%, up substantially from last year.
This is a qualitative index, and between 250 and 350 features and functions on a website are looked at, after which the number of all the positive answers is taken and compared to the maximum. This data can be filtered and sorted into web, mobile, cross-channel or store; it could also be sorted into customer service or marketing features and functions.
Between 100 and 150 leading retailers and brands take part and are divided into 13 verticals (home improvement, department stores, toys and games, etc.); FFC consultants are like mystery shoppers, evaluating the experience.
Features are labeled as table stakes or best practices and there is always a search for innovations, like live chat was a few years ago. When something new and emerging is encountered, it is added to the index.
In the past couple of years, there was a substantial movement in features and functions: adoption rate of mobile was 57% and this year it’s 71%; adoption rate of store was 59%, this year it’s 75% - it is an unprecedented leap, retailers are accelerating all of their digital initiatives because of COVID.
Due to COVID, there have been obvious innovations and changes like BOPIS and curbside pickup, and some of the less obvious ones are content, ratings and reviews that have become more important for shoppers.
Here are the top 3 opportunities for improvement for brands operating their own DTC website:
- Optimize search and navigation - one of the most important things you can do. Fixing these issues can result in 3x conversion for customers using search.
  - 97% auto-suggest search terms but only 33% remember previously searched terms;
  - Only 50% include images in search suggestions;
  - 83% offer alternatives or suggestions on empty search results so there’s no dead end;
  - On mobile, 53% have a persistent navigation when scrolling down;
  - For those brands that have stores - inventory availability becomes critical;
- Elevate customer service - offering quick help in cart and during checkout is important and minimizes cart abandonment.
  - 88% have live chat but only 43% offer it in the cart;
  - Only 32% show client service info on empty search results;
  - Although SMS/text is one of the most popular communication methods, only 27% provide customer service via SMS;
- Leverage conversion boosters:
  - 42% use threshold messaging (buy $9 more for free shipping) in cart, 12% on PDP;
  - 89% have reviews, 39% leverage user-generated Q&A;
  - 95% recommend related products on PDP but only 55% in cart;
As a sales or marketing leader at a brand, you should also be looking at how your retail partners are performing in these areas too. While most retailers have implemented basic search functionality, there are many opportunities to enhance search and navigation. Also, make sure you have the right content on the site set in the most efficient manner.