How Real-World Journey Testing Drives Omnichannel Success in Retail
Despite a rapidly evolving retail landscape, customers still expect a flawless and unified experience across all touchpoints in their shopping journey, including digital and physical spaces. An omnichannel approach makes the purchase and shopping experience convenient and smooth – a must for top-performing retailers.
Research conducted by Shopify suggests that Gen Z is the main driver behind the omnichannel trend. Born between the late-90s and early-2010s, Gen Z is heavily influenced by their smartphones, and they even pay attention to parts of the post-purchasing journey, such as “Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS)” or “Buy online, return in-store (BORIS).”
Retailers don’t want to be caught flat-footed in such a competitive environment, which is why they must know how they fare against the competition.
Let’s explore why competitive insights are important in ensuring a smoother digital and human experience in fashion retail.
The Challenges of Seamless Customer Experience
In theory, technology and people work in sync and deliver an exceptional experience for customers at every touchpoint. However, the reality for many retailers is that the customer experience and shopping journeys, both online and offline, are fragmented.
We’ve all experienced this at some point. A retailer advertises a discount on their website or app. When we visit the physical store, staff are not aware of the promotion, or it isn’t honored at that specific location.
This situation not only creates confusion, frustration, and mistrust, but can result in negative reviews and potential customer churn.
Other key challenges faced by retailers include:
Finding inconsistencies within the omnichannel experience
Evaluating staff performance and knowledge across different facets of the business – from online to offline, loyalty programs, and tech and human interactions
Measuring the impact of product offerings
Monitoring and tracking customer preferences
Benchmarking their performance against competitors
According to Competitor IQ’s Beauty Retail Landscape 2024 Report, only 24% of shopping experiences included technology. When technology is used, retail teams override its recommendations 38% of the time.
These insights reveal that technology is either not fully trusted or integrated yet. There could also be concerns surrounding training requirements, implementation costs, or consumer preferences.
Other findings from Competitor IQ’s research point to inconsistencies in data and feedback across channels that impede strategic decision-making. For example, teams may not notice emerging issues found on social media or online reviews, resulting in stocking items no longer in demand.
Insights also highlight a heavy reliance on personalized human interaction to address evolving customer needs.
Uncovering Omnichannel Opportunities with Customer Journey Insights
Research conducted by Forrester cited that 45% of retailers mentioned that integration intricacy was a top challenge in omnichannel execution.
By conducting competitive benchmarking and holistic customer journey assessments, teams can determine where technology elevates or hinders customer experience. Customer journey insight data also enables teams to improve customer experience by making data-driven decisions and helps them address challenges associated with competitors and changing preferences.
A report by McKinsey reveals that companies managing the full customer journey achieved a sales conversion increase of 15–20% and a 10-20% improvement in customer satisfaction.
At Competitor IQ, we develop programs that evaluate in-store, online, mobile, and hybrid journeys.
Optimizing the Omnichannel Experience with Human and Digital Interaction
Research by CapitalOne highlighted that omnichannel retailers retain 90% more customers than those only leveraging one channel. Competitive benchmarking identifies how teams are using technology to streamline and provide personalized services.
Insights generated from these assessments are instrumental in improving staff training and processes, optimizing the value of technological investments required to upgrade the omnichannel experience.
Competitive benchmarking also indicates how staff are using different tools when assisting customers, such as color-matching apps, mobile checkouts, or loyalty apps, and whether customers are receiving an engaging and consistent experience.
The assessments also highlight aspects within the shopping experience where a “human touch” is recommended and where automation can streamline services, resulting in a more enhanced customer experience.
Continuously Adapt Customer Experience to Evolving Expectations
In an increasingly omnichannel retail landscape, tracking how customer preferences shift over time and ensuring that their omnichannel strategy evolves accordingly is paramount for successful retailers.
As mentioned, implementing continuous experience evaluations and real-world journey assessments reveal how technology and people can complement each other at every touchpoint and interaction with customers.
Competitive benchmarking and competitive experience insights are critical for maximizing omnichannel strategies and delivering a seamless experience for customers.
If you’re looking for a strategic partner to deliver a phenomenal transformation for your omnichannel experience in retail, drop us a line.