New survey shows customers have data concerns about omnichannel

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Aug 1, 2016

According to new research by Periscope™ By McKinsey, in-store shopping is still the dominating way to purchase goods, US and UK customers said. 83% of US and 77% of UK consumers said in-store is one of their top ways to shop.

This was followed by ordering online via a computer (59% US, 55% UK). But just 2% of US respondents would consider click-and-collect, compared with 15% of those in the UK. Consumers said they were keen to try features like:

* "To instantly order items that are out of stock in the store via my phone for home delivery"
and * "To select items online and be directed to them in the store" (49% US & UK).

However, to implement omnichannel services, retailers must use the information gathered online and through location-based services or other mobile device data, and not all customers want this. 60% UK and 62% US respondents currently do not want their online and offline information to be connected to optimize the shopping experience, the survey found.

The survey also found that customers were happy to receive recommendations if they were relevant (61% US & UK), when shopping online, but if recommendations are not relevant, they can be damaging towards the sale.

Commenting on the findings, Channie Mize, General Manager for Retail at Periscope said, “Retailers that can build the bridge between instore and online, as well as bridge the trust gap, are those that will flourish in the future. It will allow them to deliver experiences that will get customers flocking to their doors and online store."

“Implementing a traditional analytics platform is not enough anymore – retailers have to use new tools to bridge the instore and online experience with platforms and algorithms that are situation aware and make recommendations in that context.”