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Wednesday
- August 30, 2000
Multichannel Shoppers Buy
More Online and Offline
Multichannel shoppers—those
who interact with all retail channels available to them,
including traditional stores,
Web sites, and print catalogs-appear to purchase more than
their single-channel counterparts do, yet 76 percent of
multichannel retailers remain unable to track customers'
behavior across
those channels, according to a report from Jupiter Communications,
Inc., the worldwide authority on Internet commerce. Without
an understanding of the behavior of these customers and
the ability to track it, retailers risk ceding online market
share to those retailers that foster multichannel purchasing
actively.
According to the report, retailers
who still struggle with the basics of online selling-including
pick- pack-and-ship fulfillment services or timely responses
to customer service questions-must work quickly to secure
the basics and then create an experience for customers
that serves them as they move across channels. Jupiter
analysts determined that though many retailers lack the
ability to measure multichannel purchasing, those who can
enjoy increased spending by their multichannel customers
of 30 percent more than their single-channel counterparts
do.
"As customers increase
their use of the Internet channel, retailers must understand
that multichannel buyers form a valuable segment," said
Michele Rosenshein, an analyst with Jupiter and the author
of the Multichannel Retailing report. Rosenshein explained
that businesses must leverage the rich off-line data about
customers in order to anticipate their needs in all channels. "Failure
to anticipate their consumers' needs and create a cohesive
experience across all channels will waste not only marketing
dollars, but also alienate the company's best customers.
Retailers must learn to leverage the strengths of each
channel to serve a given customer," she added.
In a recent Jupiter report,
analysts found that in 2005, US online consumers will spend
in excess of $632 billion in off-line channels as a direct
result of research that they conduct on the Web; the amount
dwarfs that of the $199 billion that consumers will spend
on the Internet. In addition, a Jupiter Consumer Survey,
found that 68 percent of online shoppers surveyed said
they use the Web not only to purchase online, but also
to research purchases made at a physical store; 54 percent
select products in a store and later purchase them online.
Companies with multiple sales channels will see improvements
in their direct-response programs by tracking cross-channel
customers throughout sales, marketing, and customer service
contact points.
Jupiter's research indicates
that retailers that lack tracking capabilities are unable
to view and serve valuable customers to determine the impact
of each retailing segment on shopping behavior. Rosenshein
advises that businesses engage in tracking cross-channel
customers, spur shifting behavior to less expensive channels,
and increase total customer spending by encouraging multichannel
purchasing.
Retailers must provide a seamless
multichannel experience for their customers, but specific
channel integration strategies differ for various product
categories. Rosenshein said that retailers must consider
a variety of factors-urgency, the need to touch and try,
breadth of inventory, and degree of consideration prior
to purchase, ability to deliver and current remote buying
habits-to prioritize their integration initiatives. In
addition, many retailers will have to work to gain internal
trust so they can share information across business lines.
Rosenshein suggests that businesses
implement the following strategies (based upon product
category) to reach their goal of multichannel integration:
- Accept returns in store
for items purchased on the Web;
- Integrate loyalty and
registry programs in all channels;
- Permit store inventory
visibility on the Web for products with high purchase
urgency or that require live trial;
- Feature Web inventory
visibility in physical stores for product categories
with broad inventory;
- Centralize customer information;
and
- Include customers of traditional
store in online direct marketing efforts.
Online Auctions Top Fraud List
According to CNN:
"Online auctions are the
No. 1 source of fraud on the Internet, according to a nationwide
FBI tally.
The information is based on
consumer complaints lodged with the Internet Fraud Complaint
Center (IFCC), a joint project of the Department of Justice
and the FBI.
The Center has received some
10,000 complaints since it began operations on May 8.
Of that number, auction fraud
was the most frequently reported complaint, at 48.8%. Non-delivery
of goods purchased was reported 19.2% of the time, with
securities and commodities fraud a close third at 16.9%..."
Click
here for the full story.
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