How to dive in to cross-channel integration in 2014

With Black Friday just over three weeks away, merchants are focused on the immediate challenge of surviving the holidays. But as they hit their stride and navigate the successes and setbacks of the peak season, it’s likely they’ll also begin to formulate new priorities for 2014. New research suggests that one area stands out for renewed focus: personalized cross-channel integration.

By 2017, fully 60% of all retail purchases will either be transacted directly online or influenced by online research, according to new research from technology researcher Forrester — a 30% jump from 2012, when 46% of purchases involved the Web. With online offerings set to play a role in more than half of all transactions, merchants must integrate touchpoints so that shoppers have a unified view of the brand and its products as they switch devices and channels.

If the sheer size of the opportunity weren’t enough, there’s also evidence that shoppers’ expectations are growing ever higher for responsive, context-aware interactions with brands. Connecting to the Internet multiple times per day via multiple devices in multiple locations is quickly becoming the norm, with 37% of U.S. consumers doing so in 2011 and 42% in 2012 — and Forrester predicts the percentage will top 50% by year’s end. This “always-addressable” audience, as Forrester calls it, which can tap the Internet wherever and whenever a shopping need arises, is ill-served by campaigns that assume a linear path to purchase from a single interaction point; to demonstrate relevance, brands must personalize and adapt offerings to fit the individual situation.

But surprisingly given this increasingly urgent mandate, many merchants have yet to prioritize multi-touchpoint commerce. While many merchants stated they wish to “enhance the customer experience across channels or touchpoints,” investments are still geared toward mass campaigns. For example, just 29% will boost 2014 investment in behavioral or CRM-based web site targeting, while fully 58% plan to increase spending in untargeted mass advertising, according to research from Forrester commissioned by marketing services firm Responsys.

While reordering investments to reflect the need for cross-touchpoint cohesion may seem a massive and therefore daunting undertaking, it’s important for merchants to start now building the connections between touchpoints that will make for a seamless brand experience down the road. Among the starting points to consider:

Forging strong connections between online and offline interactions. Merchants with physical store locations must do their utmost to connect shoppers as they move among touchpoints. Tactics to consider:

• Embrace “showrooming” with prominent links to comprehensive online content. As we’ve discussed previously, store shoppers who consult online information via smartphone are actually more likely to make purchases — not less. So merchants should supply these researchers and comparison shoppers with in-depth product content and buying guides that store shelf talkers simply can’t accommodate.

• Connect store customers with online resources post-purchase. Creation of a unified customer record to link activities across touchpoints is the holy grail of cross-channel marketing for many merchants — but it’s also a formidable task. Merchants can focus their initial efforts on engaging those shoppers who’ve proven themselves potential brand enthusiasts by completing purchases, using the point-of-sale interaction in physical stores to make the link. By collecting an email address, merchants can begin a dialog with customers that includes:

  • Sending an e-receipt

  • Providing post-purchase product information, such as how-to manuals, user guides, maintenance reminders and, if necessary, recall alerts.

  • Inviting the customer to submit an online review.

All of these post-transaction interactions should entice customers to subscribe to email marketing updates, friend and follow the brand on social networks, and re-engage offline through store events.

Old Navy’s e-receipt features links to social outposts, as well as promotional slots for sister brands and global navigation to entice offline shoppers to browse the eCommerce site.

Make mobile the connector hub for all other touchpoints. With smartphones serving consumers shopping information on the go and tablets increasingly dominating at-home leisure browsing, merchants must cater to a wide array of behaviors on their mobile sites. In addition to providing the link between online research and in-store trying and buying, mobile offerings must also support purchasing, post-purchase order management, perusal of email campaigns and social connections. To focus the task list, merchants should consider prioritizing:

• Persistent cart functionality between device and desktop. While sales from smartphone and tablet shopping are on the rise, fully 85% of eCommerce revenue is still driven from desktop browsers, according to the MarketLive Performance Index. Therefore, it’s crucial to provide technology that enables shoppers to pick up where they left off and access via the desktop browser the products they’ve already selected when browsing on mobile devices.

• Make social interactions mobile-friendly. With 71% of mobile users connecting to social networks via their devices, merchants should optimize social content offerings for viewing on smartphones and tablets. While they can’t control how Facebook or Instagram’s apps operate, merchants can ensure that the content they post is mobile friendly — from images that are still comprehensible in downsized mobile formats to links that take social followers to mobile-optimized pages.

How are you tackling the integration challenge?