NEW WORLD ORDER: RETAILING Invisible connections: Consumers now want even more from their shopping experience
One-stop In order to thrive, retailers should prioritise providing their customers with instant gratification in every possible avenue, says Andrew Mitchell from JCB
If commerce was under pressure pre-COVID, things are even tougher now as retailers, both off- and increasingly online, strive to win the consumer buck. Many high streets are now devoid of once-mighty department stores whose owners were late in realising the enormity of the e-commerce boom. But it is not only traditional bricks-and-mortar merchants that are struggling. One particular UK fashion brand, only recently a market darling, plunged into administration in late May owing millions of pounds to its clothing suppliers, as a well-known rival turned up the dial by being able to sell cheaper and faster, by manufacturing its own products. So, what’s the answer in an increasingly complex, omnichannel world where innovation and change have been supercharged by the COVID-19 pandemic? In a new white paper, Unified Commerce – Reaching For A Seamless Customer
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ThePaytechMagazine | Issue 12
Experience, global payment network provider and card issuer JCB argues that the guiding principle for all businesses, going forward, should be a constant focus on customer experience, particularly on how to meet and exceed their needs. And to successfully do this, JCB encourages all players in the payment and merchant ecosystem to consider a new concept that it is calling ‘unified commerce’ (UC). It’s, effectively, a one-stop-shop approach to purchasing. The white paper argues that the current omnichannel approach often doesn’t allow the integration of channel sales, transaction data or inventory in one place and, therefore, fails to provide the ‘single source of truth’ that retailers need to connect and analyse processes for operational gaps; to develop frictionless customer experiences that drive conversions and profitability.
360-DEGREE INSIGHT UC, it suggests, brings all the retailers’ channels, payment systems and products together into a centralised platform, linking back-end systems with customer-facing elements. The rich data created then allows merchants to build crucial insights into their customers and their behaviours across all touchpoints.
That previously unobtainable information can then be used to help improve both customer and team member experiences, as well as strengthening any operational weaknesses, leading to increased profitability and loyalty. The importance of being able to do so is starkly underscored by three facts cited in JCB’s white paper. Namely, it is estimated that the global e-commerce market will total $6.169trillion by 2023; the average online cart abandonment rate runs at a staggering 70 per cent; and e-commerce is experiencing a steep rise in returns – currently 30 per cent of all purchases and it is still growing. Andrew Mitchell, VP of development and infrastructure for JCB International (Europe), insists that UC creates a ‘win win’ for retailers and customers. Spelling out the benefits, he says: “Perhaps a customer may buy a product and then have to return it online, or they may buy something in a bricks-and-mortar store and have to return that online, and they will be able to do so in a very smooth and seamless way. “Producing this seamless experience for the consumer means that the retailer is more able to service the customer and assess how the transactional traffic is flowing in a more concrete way. I think everybody is used to the concept of UX or ffnews.com
