1. US Omnichannel Retail StatPack
Marketer and Consumer Trends
May 2017
Krista Garcia
Contributor: Ricky Costa

2. This StatPack provides an overview of omnichannel retailing trends
Two definitions to know:
Omnichannel retailing: The evolution from multichannel retailing, omnichannel is the practice of using all available shopping channels to buy or sell goods or services. Includes in-store, internet, mobile and catalog sales.
Shipping and delivery: Activities involved in moving a product or service from the supplier/retailer to the customer. Includes shipping, delivery, supply chain, fulfillment, as well as buy online, pick up in-store, and click-and-collect.

3. Digital is increasingly influencing in-store sales, tipping past the 50% mark in 2016
Source: Deloitte, “New Digital Divide: The Future of Digital Influence in Retail,” Sep 2016; sales are those influenced by a customer’s use of any digital device before/during a shopping trip

4. Mobile plays a strong role in digitally influenced in-store sales across categories
Total digitally influenced
Mobile-influenced
Source: Deloitte, “New Digital Divide: The Future of Digital Influence in Retail,” Sep 2016; mobile sales are those influenced by a customer’s use of a web-enabled mobile device before/during a shopping trip

5. Omnichannel shoppers spend more than single-channel shoppers4%
Conducting online research prepurchase led to 13% more in-store spending among omnichannel shoppers
more on in-store shopping
10%
more on online shopping
Source: Harvard Business Review, Aug 2016

6. Retailers: Adoption, Drivers and Challenges

7. In 2016, 59% of retailers said omnichannel customers were profitable, vs. 48% in 2015
Source: Retail Systems Research (RSR), “Retailers’ Omni-Channel Blind Spot: Digital” sponsored by SAP Hybris, Aug 2016; 78% of respondents were US-based

8. Competition and consumer pressures are the most common drivers of omnichannel initiatives
Source: Retail Systems Research (RSR), “Retail Insight: Moving Beyond Omnichannel” sponsored by SPS Commerce, Oct 2016; *distributors, LSPs, manufacturers, suppliers, vendors; **primarily in North America

9. Cross-channel customer analytics is one prominent omnichannel challenge
Source: Periscope as cited in Retailing Today blog, April 2016; respondents chose their top 3 challenges

10. Several factors are hindering omnichannel strategy and execution, however
Source: Retail Systems Research (RSR), “Retail Insight: Moving Beyond Omnichannel” sponsored by SPS Commerce, Oct 2016; respondents chose their top 3 factors; *distributors, LSPs, manufacturers, suppliers and vendors; **primarily in North America

11. The biggest improvement year over year was offering in-store returns of online purchases
The percentage of US merchants offering in-store returns for digital purchases surpassed those offering in-store pickup in 2016

12. Tracking cross-channel fulfilment for planning purposes is the most-used process
Internal inventory visibility (52%) and in-store inventory availability for digital shoppers (51%) were also implemented by a majority of retailers

13. Consistent product assortment was the top omnichannel success
However, only one in four retail executives have implemented it and say it’s working well
Accepting returns in any channel was the capability that could use the most improvement (46%)

14. Consumer Path to Purchase

15. A majority of consumers are more likely to buy groceries in-store than digitally
... but for every other category, online was a more likely sales channel
Source: Retail Dive conducted by Google, March 2017

16. Most buyers begin and end their path to purchase in the same channel
Source: ForeSee, “Experience Index: US Retail,” Dec 2016; most recent purchase only

17. Before buying something in-store, many smartphone users visit retail apps or sites
Shoppers used search engines and visited stores in nearly equal measures
Source: Google and Purchased, “Digital Diary: How Consumers Solve Their Needs in the Moment,” May 2016; n=1,000 ages 18+

18. Shoppers' most desired features are related to convenience and time-saving
Though 30.5% of respondents chose “none of the above”
Source: Periscope, “Omnichannel Retail: The Consumer Perspective,” July 2016; ages 18+

19. Shoppers who use more channels to engage retailers are more likely to purchase weekly
Purchase in-store
Purchase digitally
This is even more pronounced for in-store purchases
Engagement channels include things like ads, social media and newsletters
Source: Fluent, “The Omnichannel Advantage,” May 2016; read chart as saying 62% of internet users who use 10+ channels to engage with their favorite retailers purchase from them in-store at least once a week

20. A combination of mobile and in-store product research is more common in the US
67%
of US smartphone users complement product research via smartphone with in-store visits.
That percentage is higher than in China (59%), Germany (52%), Japan (45%) and the UK (47%).
216854
Source: xAd, March 2016

21. Comparing prices is the most common mobile activity conducted in-store
Source: Market Track, “Shopper Insight Series: Shifting Behaviors” conducted by Qualtrics, Sep 2016; n=465 ages 21+ who use their mobile device while shopping in-store

22. The number of younger shoppers who webroom and showroom is growing
In 2016, almost half (46%) of US young adult internet users researched products digitally and bought them in-store
Close to one-third (32%) of respondents researched in-store and bought digitally

23. The In-Store Experience

24. Customer acquisition and retention are among the top opportunities for in-store tech
Leading tactics to improve the in-store experience:
Educating and empowering in-store employees using technology (53%)
Focusing on a more convenient customer experience (51%)

25. Nondigital factors are influential in getting shoppers to return to a store
Click-and-collect also held sway, though
Source: Kelly Scott Madison (KSM) and ORC International (Opinion Research Corporation), “State of Media: The Death of Brick-and-Mortar?”, Nov 2016; ages 18+

26. Difficulty comparing products was the leading frustration with shopping in-store
Source: Capgemini, “Making the Digital Connection: Why Physical Retail Stores Need a Reboot,” Jan 2017

27. By 2020, US adult internet users want to:
62%
Have access to products/sizes in-store without engaging a sales associate
55%
Virtually view how furnishings and decor fit in a home prepurchase
Compile a shopping list on a store’s app and receive a map to locate products
54%
Source: International Council of Shopping Centers, Feb 2017

28. Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store

29. Buy online, pick up in-store is the most implemented in-store omnichannel strategy
Source: Kibo Commerce and Worldwide Business Research, “In-Store Meets Online: Unifying the Retail Customer Experience,” June 2016

30. Buy online, pick up in-store is driven by saving on shipping fees and convenience
Two separate surveys, same conclusions
Source: iVend Retail, “Great Omnichannel Expectations Shopper Survey Report,” Jan 2017
Source: Bizrate Insights (a division of Connexity) as cited in company blog, July 2016

31. In one poll, 64% of US smartphone users picked up mobile purchases in-store monthly
Source: the e-tailing group, “Mobile Accelerates to the Express Lane,” June 2016; ages 18+; in the past 3 months

32. Most US internet users buy online, pick up in-store a few times per year
Source: RIS News, “Transforming Shoppers Into Engaged Collaborators,” May 2016; ages 18-74

33. Half of smartphone users have been buying online, picking up in-store for over a year
Source: InfoScout as cited in company blog, Nov 2016; ages 18+

34. During the 2016 holiday season, discount stores were popular for in-store pickup
Source: InfoScout, Nov 2016; ages 18+; among the 37.7% of respondents who used buy online, pick up in-store for holiday gifts

35. Younger internet users are more likely to buy via mobile and pick up in-store
87%
of US millennial internet users have bought via smartphone and picked up in-store
79%
of US Gen X internet users have bought via smartphone and picked up in-store
Source: International Council of Shopping Centers, Feb 2017; millennials ages 18-36; Gen Xers ages 37-52

36. Boomers are the most likely to make impulse purchases during in-store pickup
But all generations had a strong propensity
Source: ChargeItSpot, Feb 2017; millennials ages 18-34; Gen Xers ages 35-49; boomers ages 50-65