Set for release in the UK on 2 September and available for pre-order through Kogan Page, the second edition of Omnichannel Retail: How to Build Winning Stores in a Digital World arrives just in time for the run-up to the holiday retail season. The updated version of this popular business book addresses what has changed within the retail industry since the original version was published in 2019, explores new issues facing retailers in 2023 and offers practical advice for retailers, brands and customer-facing businesses that wish to remain competitive in today’s digitally driven marketplace. Omnichannel Retail is co-authored by two retail experts, Eagle Eye CEO and 30+ year retail industry veteran, Tim Mason, and his colleague, Sarah Jarvis, a seasoned marketing professional specialising in assisting retail and FMCG brands with customer analytics, loyalty and CRM. The book is a retail insider’s guide based on their collective careers helping companies to better connect with customers, including Mason’s experience as the CMO and deputy CEO of Tesco, one of the largest multinational grocery and general merchandise retailers in the world.
“Retailers today are faced with increased pressure and competition on multiple fronts; including rising costs, changing consumer expectations, and technological advancements,” said Tim Mason, Eagle Eye CEO and Omnichannel Retail co-author. “We wanted to create a completely updated guide for retail marketers navigating an increasingly complex marketplace, and in particular, how they can use these shifts to their competitive advantage.”
Key insights informing the updated guide include:
· The digital imperative has only increased since the original version of Omnichannel Retail was published. While many retailers have successfully established ‘.com’ as a significant channel for consumer interaction and sales, they have failed to recognise the vital importance of creating a frictionless, unified experience across all facets of the business – online, in-store, in-app, etc.
· With one-third of consumers reporting ‘often’ shopping both in-store and online during the same purchase occasion (according to Deloitte Digital), digitally augmenting physical stores to create more intelligent, experiential retail spaces will be critical moving forward and the importance of mobile in this process will continue to grow.
· The need to deliver a good customer experience hasn’t changed, but the tools for doing so have. Successful brands have historically demonstrated an ongoing obsession with their customers, and the importance of this mindset remains. However, today’s consumer increasingly expects and highly personalised communications and tailored service. One-to-one, real-time connections are the future of retail marketing, and brands must adjust their strategy accordingly if they wish to improve overall customer experience and satisfaction.
Based on the latest industry intelligence around consumer shopping behaviour and retail attitudes, Mason and Jarvis present clear advice and real-world examples around creating a unified digital strategy that provides consumers with more convenient, personalised and seamless shopping experiences wherever, whenever and however they choose to engage.
The increasing value of loyalty programmes and the importance of leveraging data to boost sales and reduce costs is also explored throughout the book, which includes new chapters on The Fundamentals of Loyalty, The Power of Personalization, Marketing in the Moment and Monetizing the Customer Connection.
Featuring new customer stories and case studies from omnichannel leaders – including Asda, Loblaws, Woolworths Australia, Tesco, Pret A Manager, Target and more – the updated edition of Omnichannel Retail provides fellow industry innovators and savvy marketers with a complete set of tools and frameworks to deliver best-in-class omnichannel marketing solutions.
At a time when, according to Forrester, 60% of all sales are now digitally influenced (up from 49% pre-pandemic), brands and retailers will find this updated guide to be particularly relevant and helpful. The second edition of Omnichannel Retail is now available for pre-order here.
