With online sales continuing to boom with the undeniable shift to ecommerce seen during the pandemic, post-purchase experiences are becoming increasingly important in ensuring retailers not only convert a sale, but close the loyalty loop so that shopper returns, improving loyalty and driving up customer life-time value.

The latest report from the leading operations experience platform, parcelLab, delivers unique and original insight from extensive, in-depth research conducted among the UK’s top 150 retail brands.

Combines over 10,000 data points, it explores and benchmarks how the leading retailers perform across check-out, delivery and returns, and offers best practice and advice for retailers and brands on how they can understand, review and learn to leverage the largest untapped revenue channel.  It explores:

1. Checkout: What is the standard for a good checkout experience? Do brands offer customers flexibility with payment methods, shipping options, guest checkout or free delivery?
2. Delivery: How do retailers communicate with their customers during delivery? What messages do they send, and when does contact stop? Are they promoting any sustainability measures?
3. Returns: Do retailers communicate proactively during returns? We investigated the returns processes of the UK’s top retailers, paying attention to how well they communicated and how quickly remittance was received.

Download the full report: here

Year-on-year the eCommerce channel has seen online shopping and revenue increase its portion of revenue when compared to bricks-and-mortar—a trend that’s only been compounded after the emergence of COVID-19.  Yet, while more and more shoppers are turning their attention to the digital sphere, the same can be said of retailer, leading to an over-saturation across the web.

To combat this, it’s best move your focus away from pricey, competition-dependent channels like paid search and display. Instead, retailers should look inward to what they can own, control, and action on—their owned channel marketing efforts.

Marketing experts from Wunderkind (formerly BounceX), Attraqt & We are Crank have authored a new report to help brands and retailers understand:

• How to use your data to determine where your leaks are in your onsite conversion funnel
• How to better connect all elements of your onsite shopping experience to influence more purchases
• How to optimise your onsite identification in order to send more personalised one-to-one messages to users who don’t initially convert

Download the full report: here

Promotions are a creative tool for exciting and rewarding your customer, driving loyalty and increasing lifetime value.

However, success is dependent on understanding customers’ shopping behaviours and preferences and having the ability to create and execute promotions quickly to engage an increasingly demanding and connected shopper.

Download Promotions at the speed of customer demand – the latest report from cross-channel promotions specialists, XCCommerce, to gain insights into consumers attitudes to promotions and learn more about how technology can enable you to deliver consistent, timely and targeted omni-channel promotions, that promote customer loyalty whilst protecting margins.

Download the full report: here

Retailers are at war to win market share and protect margins.  But are they properly equipped for the fight?

In response to digital disruption, aggressive competition, and price aware shoppers, Revionics’, an Aptos Company‘s latest report helps retailers to improve their competitive position.

Introducing the concept of demand sensing across the product life

cycle, the report shows how price is now one of the most powerful weapons available to deal quickly with even the most aggressive competitor.

And in a time of massive disruption, how will Artificial Intelligence add to retailers’ armouries?

What you will learn:

1. How to ensure your products generate the best possible returns in terms of margin and volume
2. How to make your prices both attractive and profitable by accurately predicting consumer demand
3. How advanced analytics can change the way category managers operate

Download the full report, here

Email has historically been the primary owned-channel for retail. This is because brands who did attempt SMS years ago didn’t have the ubiquity of internet enabled smartphones. They were doomed to fail on the channel.

However, the cautionary tale of SMS marketing is a thing of the past as user behaviour has officially caught up.

This doesn’t mean, though, that all SMS programs are created equally. The winning retailers have built SMS strategies that drive incremental revenue for their company without cannibalising their email efforts—not something easily done on your own.

In this guide from Wunderkind, formerly BounceX, the leading one-to-one performance marketing engine that delivers tailored experiences to individuals at scale, you’ll discover:

• The advantages to SMS marketing that many retailers haven’t been taking advantage of
• How owned-channel marketing can help you drive more conversions at lower costs than display or social media
• Why SMS works – for retailers and shoppers
• How Case-Mate was able to drive nearly 20% of their digital revenue through SMS and triggered email combined

Download the report here

The fashion industry has been rocked by the unprecedented events of 2020 that have left brands having to deal with unpredictability and complexity.

Sustainability, which only months ago was a top focus for consumers and seemed to be a major strategic objective for brands, is suddenly way down the list of priorities.

But can we really draw that conclusion?

It seems better to take this time to re-evaluate and move the industry to a place where it can embrace new opportunities that are emerging, act positively and even accelerate the changes that were already in play.

The reality is that, whatever investment brands are planning to make in sustainability today, now they are having to rethink fundamental elements such as, where do I manufacture my products; in short, sustainability is now a matter of good corporate governance.

The latest report from Dedagroup Stealth showcases the changing face of fashion and the sustainability movement.

It highlights how technology can supporting fashion brands in creating new production and distribution processes, to create a more sustainable future and develop a shared value.

Download the report, here

Consumer have been getting used to taking control of their retail processes and experiences – more so during lockdown – so retailers need to embrace this self-service revolution.

Mobile holds the key to unlocking the self-sufficient buying journeys consumers now want.

This latest report from Cegid – Mobile POS: Redefining the in-store experience – looks at the growing trend for mobile-empowered shopping experiences.

It provides retailers and brands with actionable take-aways on how to embed mobile into their omnichannel operations to enhance CX, drive conversions and win loyalty.

In the report, you’ll find:

• Insight on mobile for e-reservation, Click & Collect, Ship-from-Store and Endless Aisle
• What contactless delivery looks like after Covid-19 and how mobile helps
• How customers will interact with you through their own mobile devices
• Top tips for your own mobile roll-out

Download the report: here

Peak trading has always been important for retailers, with many generating 50-60% of their revenues for the entire year in just one single Golden Quarter.

But the pressure to perform in peak 2020 has been magnified by the pandemic, as many try to make up for ground from lost lockdown sales.

Getting Christmas right this year could be make or break in not just the success but the survival of many retail businesses’.

But the 2020 peak trading pressure-cooker comes with opportunity – especially online.

Ecommerce sales boomed during lockdown, and have remained bouyed, even as shops have reopened.

Covid-19 accelerated the shift to digital across all categories and sectors, cementing the buying behaviours of online-natives and bringing new cohorts of shoppers who hadn’t embraced ecommerce before online.

And this makes ecommerce readiness even more critical when it comes to peak.

Tackling the Twin Peaks

In this report, Validify interviewed retailers to find out what contingencies they are putting into place to ready themselves for peak.

It then highlighted some of the best solutions, including Tribe’s load testing capabilities, which are available to retailers and can be deployed rapidly – in less than two weeks – to ensure they are ready to make the most of the peak trading opportunity.

Download the full report HERE

 

A lack of training has left frontline retail associates underprepared to perform during the pandemic, research from the latest report from Axonify, the modern training and communication solution for frontline associates, has revealed.

Original research of over 2,000 frontline workers in its ‘The State of Frontline Employee Training 2020’ report showed that while 87% of UK retail store associates have confidence in their own ability to do their job effectively, over a third (35%) said they felt underprepared to perform their role in the current environment – rising to 40% among grocery staff and supermarket workers – and nearly a fifth (19%) said they hadn’t received the proper training on the changes impacting their job during the pandemic.

This report explores retail employees training needs, in light of the pandemic, and provides retail businesses with actionable take-aways on building, engaging and maintaining a resilient frontline workforce that’s ready to take on any challenge.

“The frontline workforce has felt the full force of the impact of the global pandemic, and it’s shown that training and support is needed now more than ever, if we’re to unite and tackle the challenges we face.  But any training provided needs to be carefully considered – the requirements of the retail workforce have evolved, and retail businesses must adapt to ensure their cultures continue to empower their most valuable asset – their frontline staff.”

“Now is the time for retail businesses to nurture and support the frontline and ensure they have the skills to do their best work.  By making sure every frontline employee recognises the role they play in supporting the business and the customers and communities it serves, the greater the chance of survival.”

Carol Leaman, CEO and Co-Founder of Axonify

Download the report: https://explore.axonify.com/20-brd-1236-state-of-frontline-training-uk