Insights Into Total Retail's Top 100 Omnichannel Retailers

The article below is an excerpt from Total Retail’s inaugural "Top 100 Omnichannel Retailers" report. DSW, UGG, Urban Outfitters and Zumiez tied for the No. 1 ranking on the list. 

Consumers have raised the bar when it comes to the seamless omnichannel experiences they expect from retailers and brands. In Total Retail's "Top 100 Omnichannel Retailers" report, retailers were judged on the following seven omnichannel criteria: does it offer buy online, pick up in-store; does it offer the ability to search for in-store products on its website; does it offer a shared cart across sales channels (e.g., mobile to desktop); are loyalty points able to earned and redeemed across channels; are products able to be returned across channels (e.g., return online purchases in-store); does it offer customer service in three or more channels; and is product pricing consistent across channels. The research was compiled in the forth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017. Below is a just a snapshot of our findings.

Of the 100 retailers studied (the list was based on Total Retail's Top 100 Fastest-Growing Retailers for 2014-2015), 50 percent provide online shoppers visibility into products’ in-store stock counts.

Surprisingly, 63 percent of the fastest-growing retailers don't offer customers the option to buy products online and then pick them up in-store. While most consumers still prefer shipping the item directly to their homes, many like to avoid shipping and handling fees by picking up their purchases in-store.

Retailers preformed the best in this category, with 83 percent offering a shared cart across all platforms. With the growing popularity of mobile shopping, having a shared cart between mobile and desktop has essentially become table stakes for retailers.