Report reveals continued multi-channel retailing initiatives

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Report reveals continued multi-channel retailing initiatives.

Cegid, an international provider of enterprise management solutions, has released the latest multi-channel research in association with leading technology research company, Aberdeen Group.

Aberdeen Group interviewed 120 retail organisations between December 2008 and January 2009 to determine the current state of multi-channel retailing, and the future implementation of the digital and mobile channels. The report reveals that 58% of retailers surveyed have had a multi-channel initiative in place for at least one year. Best-in-Class companies are 1.5 times as likely as Industry Average and Laggard companies to have implemented these initiatives in that time.

The report shows that continued evolution in customer content consumption habits and channel affinity is dictating new digital and multi-channel retail initiatives. The high-touch and high-involvement shopping environments such as consumer electronics, apparel, luxury, department stores, and other specialty segments are ideal entrants in this shift towards a digital customer.

The multi-channel retailing experience continues to grow as consumers needs and wants change. Last year's multi-channel report indicated that the top pressure facing retailers was the need to increase cross-channel shopping. This year, there has been a shift in pressures, with the number one pressure being the need to address rapid changes in customer needs and preferences for sales channels. While this pressure is uniform across all retailers, 61% of Best-in-Class retailers are feeling the pressure more so.

The top strategic action being undertaken by Best-in-Class retailers for multi-channel deployment is to create product offers and services for all channels of operations (52%). These companies are 50% more likely than Industry Average and Laggards to create these offers and services across all channels. This enables the multi-channel brand to acquire a unified look, feel, and experience for customers.

In 2008, Best-in-Class retailers were 1.5 times more likely than Laggards to adopt company hosted blogs with reviews, rich media product presentations, social media monitoring, social networking tools, customer feedback, and user-generated content. The rapid evolution in customer buying behaviour has meant that retailers are compelled to make adjustments of content, pricing, marketing, and media spend, says Sahir Anand, Research Director, Retail, Aberdeen Group.

We produced this report in partnership with Cegid as our data shows that they continue to develop their solutions and services portfolio to meet the needs of todays multi-channel retailer, including store, concessions, franchises, mail order, e-commerce and wholesale applications, says Anand. Cegid provides solutions and services based on the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. This model enables Cegids customers to achieve effective multi-channel retailing without the initial capital investment usually associated with the more traditional methods of deployment, concludes Anand.

Cegid are currently working with a number of retailers to help them drive their performance across single or multiple channels. Cegids 1,000 customer base includes GANT, Hamleys, Past Times, Myla, Marie Chantal, Jon Richard, Quiksilver, Johnstons of Elgin, James Purdey & Sons and Habitat.

A complimentary copy of the full report is available at www.vcstimeless.com