SUMMARY 1
Catalyst 1
Ovum View 1
Key Messages 2
Retailers need to focus on the fundamental drivers of customer centricity 2
Having the right products in stock at the right time is crucial for achieving customer satisfaction 2
Consumers expect to be able to shop with minimal time and effort involved 2
Creating a customer service culture requires staff engagement 3
THE CHALLENGING Retail environment means that truly enhancing customer loyalty is critical for success 4
Falling shopping frequency and conversion rates mean increasing wallet share from loyal customers is increasingly crucial 4
Cautious consumers are spending less often 4
Few retail segments have seen conversion rate increases in 2010 4
Developing customer loyalty is not just about implementing loyalty schemes 5
LOYALTY COMES FROM DELIVERING THE fundamentals OF CUSTOMER SERVICE 7
Having the right products in stock in the right store at the right time is crucial 7
The range must meet the needs of the loyal customer demographic 7
Retailers' pursuit to reduce costs can lead to out-of-stocks, resulting in customer deflection 7
When products are not in stock, retailers should look to offer alternative options 8
Inventory management and optimization can be used to reduce out-of-stocks 8
The internet provides the opportunity to offer a wider selection 9
Retailers need to increase shopping convenience through provision, and integration, of channel breadth 9
Online shopping growth is fuelled by the customer desire for greater convenience when shopping 9
Consumers are growing to expect superior delivery options 10
The mobile channel is increasing the demand for services offering on-the-spot convenience 11
Convenience-led consumers are adopting multichannel services 11
Consumers expect cross-channel returns but only 50% of UK retailers offer the service 12
Only 15% of UK retailers offer click & collect or reserve & collect services 12
Retailers offering multichannel services require a single view of business data 13
Creating a customer service culture to increase loyalty requires staff engagement 14
Outsourcing can ease the pain of recruiting so that retailers can focus on customer service, but does not necessarily lead to hiring the right customer-centric staff 14
HCM can help retailers improve customer service levels 15
Give store staff the power to provide a superior customer service 16
Employee incentives should be customer service aligned 17
RECOMMENDATIONS 18
Recommendations 18
APPENDIX 19
Methodology 19
Ask the analyst 20
Definitions 20
Further reading 20
Disclaimer 20
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conversion of visitors to main users by UK retail sector, 2009 vs 2010 5
Figure 2: Drivers of UK consumer loyalty in 2010 6
Figure 3: 70% of UK consumers think that shopping online is more convenient 10
Figure 4: Only 50% of multichannel retailers in the UK have a cross-channel returns policy 12
Figure 5: MDM is a priority for investment in UK retail 2010 14
Figure 6: Only 5% of UK retailers outsource human resources 15
Figure 7: Less than half of UK retailers use workforce or human capital management 16
Figure 8: Drivers of loyalty assessment points 19
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