Omnichannel

When CI&T first launched The Connected Retail Report in 2020, retailers were forced to enact omnichannel strategies to accommodate consumers’ urgent inabilities and fears regarding shopping in stores. The results of last year’s evaluation reflected that sense of urgency — with retailers offering omnichannel experiences, but failing to tie them all together in ways that…

The pandemic accelerated e-commerce by 10 years in a matter of months and ushered in new consumer behaviors, not the least of which was the trend of switching brands because of availability (in-store and online), convenience and value. These three factors will play outsized roles far past today’s supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainty. Consumers…

For years, there has been speculation around the demise of brick-and-mortar retail. The culprit — needless to say — is none other than online shopping. Consumers enjoy the convenience of this digital retail experience, and e-commerce offers brands a lower cost of entry than investing in the space, inventory, upkeep and staff necessary to run…

As more and more people are buying products online, e-commerce businesses are looking for creative ways to differentiate themselves from competitors and to engage shoppers. At the forefront of these approaches is “phygital,” an omnichannel mode of retail shopping that presents an opportunity to create a more immersive, engaging and interactive customer experience. Retailers from…

The past year has been one of adaptation, survival and rapid digital transformation for retailers both online and in-store. Innovation in retail has always been driven by the needs and expectations of consumers, but if the customer’s influence was ever in doubt, the pandemic has put it safely beyond question. Today’s customers are looking to…

Customers rarely walk into stores and buy new products anymore — and especially with higher-ticket items. Instead, they transition through a retail experience journey that takes them from stage to stage and channel to channel. They might go through 10 touchpoints before tapping their card against a reader or hitting the “submit order” button. As…

Post-COVID retail sales are showing definite signs of rebound across the globe. The U.S. Census Bureau has indicated that total retail sales in the third quarter of 2021 increased by 13.2 percent from the third quarter of 2020. For the holiday season, Deloitte predicted that retail sales would jump by 7 percent to 9 percent year-over-year (YoY) overall, with e-commerce projected…

Brand consistency is fundamental to sustaining a successful and dynamic e-commerce ecosystem. However, its true meaning, in practice, is often forgotten. It means much more than the consistency of appearance across all channels, but the consistency of messaging, interaction and seamless interlinking from one customer touchpoint to the next. This consistency is essential in fostering…

In order to delight customers in a post-pandemic world, retailers must optimize an increasingly delicate balance between technology and a human touch. The bar for personalized experiences continues to rise, with 95 percent of shoppers adamant that they don't want to talk to a robot, and 84 percent say being “treated like a person and…

Statistically speaking, the pandemic has had a profound impact on how consumers are making decisions, as well as on the factors that lead to customer love or customer dissatisfaction. In addition to the uptick in online shopping and direct delivery, we’ve also seen consumers embracing new options on everything from where to source their food…