Channel Integration and Benchmarks in the Retail Industry
One of the hottest and most challenging areas in retail these days is multichannel retailing, as most merchants are still struggling with the what and the how of cross-channel integration. As such, a couple of interesting reports have been published recently on this subject.
First, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) released their "Channel Integration and Benchmarks in the Retail Industry" report (covered by the Center for Media Research) whichconcludes that " to
be successful, retailers need to merge and synchronize all channels in
terms of consistent brand message, timing, creativity of promotions,
loyalty programs, and fulfillment. To achieve such a level of integration, organizational support and restructuring might be necessary.”
"The first retailers to accomplish this structural change successfully will achieve a competitive advantage and will quickly be followed by other companies looking to duplicate that accomplishment. It may take another generation of retail leaders, however, before companies are able to best capitalize on the strengths of multiple channels from streamlining their organizational structure."
Posted by Universal Ad
First, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) released their "Channel Integration and Benchmarks in the Retail Industry" report (covered by the Center for Media Research) which
The report’s key findings include:
- The absence of a brick-and-mortar store is becoming prevalent among retailers (41% don’t have a physical store.)
- The website is the most consistently used direct marketing channel, followed by email and direct mail.
- 66% gather customer information from direct mail and 65% gather it from the Internet.
-
83% segment their customers based on
demographics, 77% base it on purchasing frequency, and 76% on products purchased.
- Only 33% provide cross-channel order fulfillment.
- Discounts remain the most popular loyalty program, with 80% using them.
- Brick-and-mortar stores (20%) and websites (22%) produced the highest level of revenue in 2007.
"The first retailers to accomplish this structural change successfully will achieve a competitive advantage and will quickly be followed by other companies looking to duplicate that accomplishment. It may take another generation of retail leaders, however, before companies are able to best capitalize on the strengths of multiple channels from streamlining their organizational structure."
Posted by Universal Ad
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