Comment: There is no longer a 'new or normal'

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Multi-channel, cross-channel, omni-channel, any-channel, ecommerce, m-commerce, f-commerce, s-commerce - what does it all mean?

We are obsessed with defining a new vernacular and marketing label to characterize the disruptive transformation taking place in our industry as we move towards commerce anywhere. No longer is there a “new or normal”. Driven by consumers, this is simply the evolution of experience retailing and the stakes have never been higher.

If retail is a race for the global consumer, then Amazon is winning. The average American Customer Satisfaction Index score for Amazon is 11 points higher than physical discount or department stores. Little surprise as Amazon offers 78 times more assortment than a sample of 20 brick-and-mortar general merchandise stores and is estimated to control 7% of the global e-commerce market. If Amazon is not stealing your customers right now, chances are they soon will be. And this stark reality has retail boards and investors asking how will you differentiate and succeed?

Many of the biggest global retail brands have been gathering customer data for decades. Yet this asset has not yielded an edge in building customer intimacy and loyalty. Despite petabytes of storage and the heritage of customer data in a traditional retail brand, business agility has suffered as information has remained stored in silos. Consumers remain anonymous to the retailers that serve them and power has shifted to the consumers’ fingertips. Clearly, information that gathers dust is not driving sales or market share.

The rest of the industry needs to learn from Amazon how to harness the power of customer insight and deliver on the complete experience requirements of the new consumer, which they have created by shaping expectations in the image of their offer. However, choice is an appetite that is hard to satisfy and Amazon has yet to offer an in-store shopping experience. Yet this is what keeps many up at night.

With these considerations in mind, along with our perspective that retailers do not necessarily understand the challenges of today’s consumer-led world, Oracle commissioned a piece of global consumer research in July 2012 to examine the views of consumers on the new global marketplace and what this means in terms of meeting their needs. Consumers between 18 and 60 years old from Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Russia, UK and USA were interviewed on their views regarding fundamental retail principles, including service, experience, preferences, shopping trends and attitudes on technology. This survey aims to establish what matters most to consumers about their retail experiences, with a view to helping retailers define their strategies and key business priorities to meet consumer demand and compete more effectively in the evolving global marketplace.

It was unsurprising to find that this group of enabled and informed consumers want what Amazon offers: to take advantage of the global marketplace, but to do so in a way that is defined and dictated by the consumer, and that is local and meets their individual requirements and preferences. The perception of ‘good for me’ takes this concept further and can be defined as a co-created experience that meets expectations locally and culturally, and is appropriate to the individual in terms of the level, frequency and intimacy of the interaction between the consumer and the retailer.

Respondents named price, product and choice as the key benefits of shopping in the global marketplace and most regions were prepared to source goods internationally to obtain the best price and product and most extensive choice. Amazon was overwhelmingly listed as the favorite retailer, emphasising that the retailer’s strategy and knowledge of its customers works globally, and our research indicates that consumers are ready and waiting for its growth across the world.

Retailers need to broaden their understanding of the channels to the concept of complete commerce to give a connected and holistic approach to customer demand. Experience retailing is appropriate, personal, convenient and local. It means aligning your entire business to deliver products and services that are appropriate to your customers at every interaction.