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Why some retailers do much better across channels than others

by | Aug 7, 2017 | Marketing, Public Relations

If retailers are to succeed these days, they must move faster, spend more on tech and employees, and get out of the Amazon price war, according to new research from Retail Systems Research.

The firm recently released its 2017 Benchmark Report, Omni-Channel Retailing: Retail’s Existential Challenge.

Why some retailers do much better across channels than others

“The way people shop has changed drastically in recent years,” said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at RSR Research and co-author of the report, in a news release. “But unfortunately for retailers, incrementally chipping away at old processes and the systems that supported old ways of shopping just is not working out.”

Why some retailers do much better across channels than others

Key findings of the research:

  • With consumers returning products at 3x and 4x what they were just a few years ago, retailers are now facing one of the largest and most difficult external challenges they have ever faced. However, the best-performing retailers are making serious inroads here from which everyone can learn.
  • Outperformers are also looking to turn the heat up on competition and attack the inefficiencies associated with shipping direct to consumers. What do they most heavily favor? Customer-direct shipping from distribution centers.
  • What do they de-emphasize? Ship-from-store as a fulfillment option; they know that picking and shipping from the store can lead to uncontrolled costs that destroy per-order profitability.
  • And underinvestment in enabling technologies is seriously damaging retailers’ ability to execute omnichannel activities We examine what types of retailers are setting aside budget—and for which type of technologies—in the closing pages of the report.

Download the report here (free registration required).

This report was based on survey findings from 96 retailers.

Why some retailers do much better across channels than others

Richard Carufel
Richard Carufel is editor of Bulldog Reporter and the Daily ’Dog, one of the web’s leading sources of PR and marketing communications news and opinions. He has been reporting on the PR and communications industry for over 17 years, and has interviewed hundreds of journalists and PR industry leaders. Reach him at richard.carufel@bulldogreporter.com; @BulldogReporter

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