Total Retail: Customer Trends that are Changing Business Models – Report by PwC
Presented by: Ms. Rachna Nath, Head of the Consumer Products Practice – PwC
- There was a clear difference between how the retailer looked at customer experience and what the shopper wanted.
- To bridge this gap, it’s important for retailers to break the silos and create a unified experience.
Technology has raised the bar and a unified brand story across all channels that promises a consistently superior customer experience which ensured that the marketing department is integrated with the back office supply chain facilitated by agile and innovative technology–together which constitutes the building blocks of the next retail business model.
Key Trends Found in the Study
- My favourite retailer: The customer is still deciding
- Buying pattern: Leveraging the best of both worlds
- Why do customers buy online or in-store? It’s not price. It’s trust.
- The ‘social’ usage of social media
- Smartphones and tablets: The game-changers
Key Trends Found in the Study
The key trends will drive the business model for the ‘total retailer’ and blur the lines between online and in-store.
This phase of change will be led by the customer, and it might make business sense for the retailer to co-create their business model with them.
Conclusions
Retailers will need to manage the physical as well as the online store as a portfolio of stores.
On the customer service side, managing online customers requires additional rigor; as compared to managing those who walk into the stores.
The online customer today is more proactive in sharing his or her overall shopping experience on social networking sites
Customer analytics is a key area of focus for all retailers.
Retailers who are successful in differentiating themselves in the market are the ones who are agile to change, can build a flexible as well as scalable business model that seamlessly integrates the front and back-end processes in order to meet customer expectations and build trust.
Total Retail: Customer Trends that are Changing Business Models – Report by PwC Presented by: Ms. Rachna Nath, Head of the Consumer Products Practice – PwC