3 Ways to Avoid the Retail Naughty List This Holiday Season

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are quickly approaching and more than ever this holiday season, retailers need to cater to shoppers wherever they are as they research and purchase products. A recent survey of 3,000 global, multigenerational consumers found that 90 percent expect their customer experience to be consistent this holiday season regardless of how they shop — online or in-store.

While this is no small feat, if retail brands keep the following priorities top of mind, they'll be ready to meet customer demands this Black Friday and Cyber Monday:

1. Embrace webrooming and showrooming. Customers are shopping in stores and buying online, and doing the same in reverse. In fact, a recent report from BI Intelligence found that reverse showrooming, or "webrooming," is becoming as popular as showrooming.

Similarly, SDL found that six in 10 holiday shoppers reported showrooming, and almost half of holiday shoppers said that they plan to use their mobile devices to research possible gifts before purchasing them in-store. The device of choice varies by generation. Generation X prefers tablets, while millennials choose to use their smartphones. Therefore, offering a consistent customer experience across all devices is critical to the success of any holiday retail strategy.

2. Market products the same online and in-store. While showrooming has been viewed as a risk to brick-and-mortar shopping, savvy retailers have survived in spite of this customer behavior. Forrester recently reported that this behavior change is here to stay and retailers will need to incorporate mobile into their in-store marketing strategies to succeed.

In order to do this successfully, retailers must market products the same online and in-store. Furthermore, the top two reasons shoppers told SDL that they're loyal to their favorite brands are consistent, predictable customer service and consistent experiences across all devices they use to interact with the brand. Forty-seven percent of holiday shoppers told SDL that different impressions in-store from online have left them frustrated. Furthermore, 40 percent noticed a disconnect between the information available online vs. in-store.

3. Maintain mastery of the basics. Technology is changing the way people shop, but great customer service remains critical for building loyalty to brands. Two-thirds of respondents told SDL that they would pay more for products from brands that offer better customer service this holiday season.

While this is fundamental to the retail experience, it can be enhanced by offering customers convenient services including "click and collect" shopping or other personalized services beyond picking up and paying for products in-store, reports IDC. Consumers think about great customer service from an omnichannel perspective today, therefore retailers that combine digital and physical customer experiences this Black Friday and Cyber Monday will stand out well beyond the holiday season.

Holiday shoppers will demand consistent experiences as they make purchases online and in-store interchangeably on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and throughout the season. Retailers that meet this demand, support modern browsing and buying habits, all while providing excellent customer service are sure to stand out and stay ahead of the competition.

Paige O'Neill is the chief marketing officer of SDL, a customer experience management company.