NFR, Forrester survey shows that omnichannel commerce is growing

Traditional and online retailing are increasingly intertwined as customers seamlessly shop across touchpoints and the industry uses both platforms to better serve them, according to the annual State of Retail Online studyreleased today by the National Retail Federation and Forrester.

 “This report shows more than ever that retail is retail regardless of where a sale is made or how the product is delivered,” NRF Vice President for Research Development and Industry Analysis Mark Mathews said. “Products ordered online are increasingly picked up in-store or shipped from a nearby store, and digital technology being used at bricks-and-mortar locations lets retailers help customers find what they want or make the sale even if the product is out of stock. Traditional retailers have seen the opportunities of online selling for years now, and those selling online increasingly see that stores are part of the key to success.”

Of the companies surveyed, 32% were “pureplay” online retailers while 57% were multichannel retailers, including traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers that also sell online.

Most retailers are optimistic about store opening in 2018, as more than 43% of store-based retailers surveyed expect to see a growth in the number of stores they operate, while only 16% expect a net reduction, compared to 2017. 

Additionally, retailers are proactively working on their real estate assets, whether testing new store formats such as opening some type of pop-up store (24%) and opening new warehouses or distribution centers (12%).

New physical locations are important because 42% of retailers surveyed say that faster delivery of online orders is their top customer-facing priority, and many plan to use stores to achieve that goal.

 Omnichannel services such as buy online, pick up in-store are an in-store priority for 21%, along with 15% that cite ship-from-store as a fulfillment priority.

Personalising the shopping experience was another top priority, cited by 15% of store-based retailers and many retailers are interested in using technology that can help store assistants better interact with customers. 

Digital continues to contribute significantly to retail overall, both directly and as it influences sales in stores. Almost 70% of retailers surveyed noted that online conversion rates – the number of people browsing an item online who actually follow through and make a purchase online – increased in 2017. 

While online sales coming from desktop computers currently double those of mobile browsers, mobile sales are growing 36% per year versus 8% on desktop. Mobile app sales are growing at an annual rate of 16%. To capitalise on this trend, 89%of retailers plan to increase investments in mobile initiatives.