By Paul Wolf, director, Retail Services, Xerox
Retailers no longer question whether multiple sales channels for shoppers are relevant. Every day shoppers are mulling through stores, checking online and using their mobile devices to research stock availability and compare prices.
So how can retailers move from conceptually integrating these channels into something that really woos shoppers to a full experience, be it on an iPhone or in a store? We decided to find out what retailers were really thinking and facing. We commissioned Retail Systems Research to ask the questions and report the data—all of which are available for free.
Listed below are four key findings that showcase the retailer’s conundrum—and their understanding of how they must evolve.
- 80 percent agree that store results will continue to erode unless retailers find a way to incorporate technology as part of the store experience.
- 91 percent of survey respondents agree that future growth will come primarily from digital channels, not stores.
- 88 percent of retailers agree that in-store technology helps stores compete with the online experience.
- 81 percent of survey respondents agree that their current store technology will not be capable of enabling the future store shopping experience.
The data validates our conversations with retailers. They know what they face, yet question how they can blend and bundle the various technologies–especially at the store level–deliver them consistently and still focus on standard technology infrastructure at the store-level and enterprise-wide. This is where we’ve gained a strong reception among Tier 1 retailers. They recognize our global strength and core competencies in managing technologies of all types and sizes through the Xerox Store Command Center and our global Store Support Center solutions, which serve over 37,000 storefronts worldwide. This single-source approach to IT management is helping our retail clients do what is the ultimate imperative: to focus on what really matters—giving their shoppers the customer experience that keeps them coming back.
For more insights, follow us on Twitter @XeroxRetailIT
