By Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief
Even though acronyms like IoT and AI may create excitement and draw crowds at trade show booths, the real thrill in retail is winning sales and delighting loyal customers by getting the basics right. Many of the conversations and demos at the recent IRCE event centered around those key business goals for retailers looking to improve the online and mobile experience.
With technology upgrades and advancements, retailers can more effectively satisfy consumers who are demanding ultimate satisfaction at every step of the shopper journey.
Advertisement
Here are a few examples from retailers I spoke with during IRCE:
- Sigma Beauty has seen a 36% conversion lift, 42% mobile sales increase and 22% boost in time on the e-Commerce site, following the implementing of a cloud commerce platform from Mozu. By centralizing business processes in a user-friendly platform, the retailer is now able to react to market conditions quickly and easily launch new features. “We no longer have to wait for big quarterly releases” from different solution providers to be implemented in the IT department’s time frame, noted Dan Amundsen, Web Development Manager at Sigma Beauty. With Mozu in place, Sigma has been able to introduce dynamic pricing and personalized gifts with purchase.
- Home Depot is partnering with UserTesting to help streamline the online checkout process and overcome other customer experience challenges. Previously shoppers had to navigate through three different screens before completing a mobile purchase. “Now we have a scroll-less one-page checkout,” said Jonathan Serebrin, User Experience Researcher. With the UserTesting solution in place, Home Depot is able to continuously conduct user experience (UX) research and share results with the entire company. “It’s important to include everyone in your UX research process and make it part of your company’s DNA,” Serebrin noted. To that end, Home Depot offers a public repository of testing results; conducts training sessions to teach in-house teams about research methodologies; and shares success stories and lessons learned.
- MeUndies has created an innovative niche in the underwear segment. The retailer is removing the confusion and friction of underwear buying with a monthly subscription service for both men and women. “Men simply don’t know how to buy their own underwear,” said Brian Lalezarian, CEO, in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. Along with their monthly order, subscribers receive a style-of-the-month selection, which they can skip or change. “Less than 10% skip,” Lalezarian noted. But not all shoppers want a regularly scheduled underwear delivery, so MeUndies expanded to include a traditional selling option online. “Today about 30% of sales are subscription-based,” and many of the purchases are men and women buying matching items, he said. And the next step for MeUndies is opening brick-and-mortar stores, following a successful pop-up shop, where 25% of visitors made a purchase. MeUndies works with RJMetrics to help understand and respond to consumer insights.