Omnichannel

Everything you do, everything you say, everything you are — and I mean everything — is a direct reflection of your brand. All of these things need to be managed and controlled, but in a way that doesn't seem managed and controlled. Sound difficult? It is. That's why so few brands actually do it well.

The overlaying of digital data on the real world is here, and it's a valuable tool for merchants. Here are three reasons why augmented reality is important for retailers’ commerce efforts:

A new report by Jones Lang LaSalle found that with 92 percent of retailers selling online, 68 percent maintaining brick-and-mortar stores and 64 percent utilizing catalogs, retailers are embracing a multichannel approach to meet buyer expectations and battle for market share.

Online spending may be increasing, but the venerable catalog is doing anything but fading away. In fact, it's still an important part of business for retailers. “It’s basically a marketing tool,” said retail analyst Eric Beder, a managing director at Brean Murray, Carret & Co. “The beauty of a catalog is that you don’t have to go online to see it, so you can use it anywhere.” More than 12.5 billion catalogs were mailed out to homes in the U.S. last year, according to the Direct Marketing Association, the largest global association for the marketing community.

Ikea's new kiosk-based loyalty program IKEA FAMILY has already attracted more than 1.6 million members since its launch a few months ago. IKEA FAMILY offers special offers and benefits to customers, as well as program-branded merchandise and promotional events, Diane Zoll, manager of IKEA FAMILY US, said in a company press release. "Not only are there now millions of members, but members are highly engaged and spend more when they visit Ikea," Zoll said. The membership journey begins in-store at the FAMILY Shop, which features unique FAMILY-branded merchandise that members can use every day, from backpacks to bathrobes, with members-only prices.

American Eagle’s latest campaign for its aerie label is a great example of using mobile to drive traffic to the brand’s social presence. To celebrate reaching 1 million “Likes” on Facebook, aerie sent a text message with a free shipping offer to encourage even more consumers to become fans of the brand on Facebook.

To help guide online retailers on their quest to make meaningful metrics less elusive, we've put together "A Merchant's Metrics Playbook" to guide the development of a forward-thinking strategy that takes into account the right metrics and methodologies for running your business.

Limited Brands, parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, will pilot cross-channel returns beginning this fall. Customers who buy an item via the retailer's online or catalog channel will receive credit and be able to complete a store transaction in September, with plans for a more complete rollout in spring 2013. "We are focused on really putting the power of our $2 billion internet and catalog business and the store together, actually taking returns in-store," said Victoria's Secret megabrand and intimate apparel CEO Sharen Turney during a recent conference call. 

The use of smartphones is proliferating at a rapid pace. In turn, showrooming — i.e., the practice of researching merchandise in a retail store then purchasing it elsewhere — is also increasingly common. It is, understandably, a thorn in a retailer's side. Whereas the internet has engendered huge shifts in the way media is consumed, mobile technology is causing big changes in retail shopping behavior.

Retailers are using multiple channels to establish more direct connections with consumers, according to the findings of a recent survey from global cloud commerce solutions provider Digital River. Consistent with the shift to multichannel strategies, the survey indicated respondents are increasingly connecting with customers via multiple touchpoints. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they were currently using transactional websites, followed by social commerce (55 percent), app stores (50 percent), in-product commerce (50 percent), subscription sales (48 percent) and mobile commerce (48 percent).