Project Research

The Power of Omnichannel Retail: The Opportunities it Presents in Terms of Personalisation for Consumers in the Female Millennial Demographic.

Lucy Barker - 14002747 - DE0929 - Project Research BA (Hons) Fashion Communication Northumbria University 4,138 words

Contents

Introduction

Methodology

Introduction................................................................................................................................................3 Methodology...............................................................................................................................................4 Chapter 1: Examination of existing market research supporting the need for omnichannel retail..........5-7 Chapter 2: Investigation of Rebecca Minkoff.........................................................................................8-11 Chapter 3: The future of omnichannel retail........................................................................................12-18 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................19 References..........................................................................................................................................21-25 Image references.....................................................................................................................................26 Bibliography.........................................................................................................................................27-29

Omnichannel is a term that was first introduced in 2010 and became a ‘buzzword’ for marketers by 2013 (Louie, 2015). It has been defined as a “seamless experience as you sell to, communicate and interact with customers through integrated online, mobile and in-store experiences, devices and systems” (Lightspeed, 2016, p. 5). The method implements true integration between these multiple channels while focusing on customer centricity, thus aiming to provide a personalised, unique and seamless service. Traditional methods of mass-marketing are no longer sufficient at engaging the constantly switched on demographic which form the “biggest UK generation with rising spending power” (Mintel, 2016). The millennials, which are defined as the “generation of people born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s” (Main, 2013).

This research document will analyse existing market research in order to discover if there is a necessity for change in retail for the female millennial demographic and whether the omnichannel approach holds power in providing opportunities for a personalised service in retail. It will closely examine retailer, Rebecca Minkoff, who is a pioneer of this approach by utilising innovative technology to do so. This leads on to the future of omnichannel in retail and how further developments will continue to revolutionise the personalised service consumers will both receive and expect. This will be supported by primary research conducted in the female millennial sector.

Primary research includes a focus group with 5 female millennials discussing in depth how retailers provide a personalised service using omnichannel methods (appendices 3); an online survey targeted at female millennials to investigate personalised service in retail using the omnichannel approach (appendices 4); a SWOT analysis of Rebecca Minkoff’s marketing strategies (appendices 5).

Secondary research includes the exploration of academic journals, books, relevant articles and market research reports from Mintel.

This research report has been carried out ethically, no participant has been exposed to harm and all the persons and data have been treated with relevant respect (appendices 1&2).

Overall this research will outline the power that omnichannel holds in the retail world when it comes to delivering a personalised service to female millennial consumers as “it is the creative orchestration of a number of customer touchpoints that will ultimately create a climate of personal connection to the customer” (Ten, 2016).

“It is the creative orchestration of a number of customer touchpoints that will ultimately create a climate of personal connection to the customer” (Ten, 2016)

Fig.1 Rebecca Minkoff’s interactive wall

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Chapter 1 Examination of Existing Market Research Supporting the need for Omnichannel Retail According to Smilansky, it is paramount that retailers stop “talking at the target demographics” (Smilansky, 2012) as this lacks engagement and instead utilise omnichannel to offer a personal experience. The paradigm of lateral brain function demonstrates that experience affects the right hand side of the brain, which is “responsible for generating and affecting emotionally charged feelings and intuition” (Smilansky, 2012). This enables a relationship to be formed between the brand and consumer, as it becomes intuitive for them to think of the certain brand that engaged with them. This is experiential marketing which, “focuses on experience as a way to create connection between a brand and its audience” (Posner, 2011) and aids omnichannel to deliver a personalised service. These emotive connections ultimately result in brand loyalty, intimacy and a lifelong valuable consumer.

Chapter 2 Consumers are aspiring to the lifestyles their favourite retailers represent. Omnichannel enables consumers to become a part of the brand by adopting the lifestyle and its associations it promotes. As a result, consumers develop into quality brand advocates and even brand evangelists who give personal recommendations via word-of-mouth (Smilansky, 2012).

Successful brands like Burberry and LuluLemon place experience at the heart of their marketing strategies, which enables them to holistically represent their core brand values across all channels.

For example, LuluLemon provides cohesive and brand relevant experiences enabling consumers to participate in exclusive yoga classes around the globe (Fig.2). Building a LuluLemon community and growing relationships. This has resulted in a rise in revenue by 16.9% in the fourth quarter of 2015 earnings (Weinswig, 2016). This supporting evidence shows that by taking a holistic approach to marketing whilst incorporating relationship building, positions the brand well in terms of sales.

Josh Dykstra of Fast Company states that a product or service is powerful because of how it connects people to something or someone. He believes that there are three clear motivators for why millennials purchase. These are what they can do with the product, what they can tell others about the product or what having the product says about them (Morgan, 2015). Complementary brand experiences for products has impact and gives consumers something to tell others about. This is supported by analysis of a 2008 experiential marketing study conducted by Continental Research, which found that 67% of people go on to tell someone about the experience and an additional increase of spontaneous brand mention by 71% was also concluded (Roberts, 2014).

More recent supportive evidence comes from a 2013 Global Neilson Study, where 84% of participants rated personal recommendations from people they know as the most trustworthy source of advertising. This has risen from the 2007 study by 6% (Nielson, 2013). This shows that consumers are looking past mass-marketing and instead need a more niche and personal marketing style which omnichannel provides.

This demonstrates the growing necessity and relevance for experiential marketing and omnichannel retail on a global scale. Further support comes from the Harris study which found 72% of respondents were planning to improve their expenditures on experience in the coming years (Morgan, 2015). This has pushed the significance for focus on experiential marketing.

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Investigation of Rebecca Minkoff

Fig.3 graph from online survey with female millennials

Personalisation has become a central focus in omnichannel marketing and retail due to the desires of the millennial generation. This is supported by Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores who found a 122% increase in store visits as a result of using personal marketing methods (Krueger, 2015), affirming the triumph of omnichannel. Primary research found that 78.57% of female millennials find it important to be treated as an individual by retailers (appendices 4). Other successful retailers such as ‘Rebecca Minkoff’ are adopting this personalised approach by creating “shopping experiences that satisfy their need for trustworthy information and personalisation” (Barnes, 2013) and has been noted as the pioneer in omnichannel retail (Holmes, 2014).

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In the early 2000s during development of the brand it was seen as a taboo for designers to directly engage with consumers, however Rebecca Minkoff made this the philosophy that drives their brand goals and product development. This is customer centricity and is a key element for successful omnichannel retail. The brand evolves with their consumer’s desires by engaging with them throughout every touch point. Minkoff states “consumer engagement is a huge part of our marketing strategy and one of the reasons why we have such a loyal following” (Freiser, 2015). This suggests omnichannel has a positive effect on sustaining a loyal consumer base.

An example of Minkoff adapting to consumer needs was during the recession in 2008. This included reducing prices by 15-20% which ultimately resulted in a 546% growth during this period (Maltby, 2012). This reflects the brands deep understanding of their consumer’s financial constraints and its flexibility to ensure the consumer is always at the centre of the brands strategy (appendices 5). Therefore, supporting that by respecting customer’s individual needs and displaying their importance to the brand it has a phenomenal impact on sales.

In 2013 eBay was the leading online fashion retailer for female millennials (Fig.4) making them the perfect company for Rebecca Minkoff to partner with. As Minkoff stated in an interview that as a brand they “always want to pioneer and never wait to see what other people do” (Freiser, 2015) and eBay gave them the leverage to do so. Emily Culp SVP of omnichannel & E-commerce at Rebecca Minkoff said the partnership in 2014 allowed them as a brand to “incorporate the best things we know from online world into the offline world” (Think with Google, 2015).

Fig.2 LuluLemon yoga class

Personalisation and customer segmentation were placed in the top three retail innovations planned for 2015 (Loechner, 2014) and branded as a key trend for 2016 with 73% of consumers favouring brands that personalise their shopping experiences (Lacoste, 2015).

Primary research also found that 78.57% of female millennials find it important to be treated as an individual by retailers (Fig.3). Omnichannel retail, enables brands to utilise data accumulated in order to get ahead in the extremely competitive mass-market of retail through enabling, retailers to specifically tailor their products or services to consumer desires.

Rebecca Minkoff, was founded in New York in 2001 by Rebecca Minkoff herself. It is a company specialising in manufacturing handbags, accessories and apparel for women (Bloomberg, 2016). Their target consumer is a millennial woman who lives seamlessly with technology, “it is not something she has to do, it is how she operates” (Magneto, 2016) and therefore, it was paramount to Minkoff that bricks and mortar stores are driven by technology that is inherently intuitive to millennials.

Fig.4 eBay as female millennials leading online retailer

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Chapter 3 Their stores have since been described as “showcases for how to use technology to create a highly personalized and engaging shopping experience in a physical space” (Wilson, 2015), and co-founder Uri Minkoff said “We’re always that step ahead, because our goal is to provide a commentary on the near future of the millennials” (DiNitto, 2016). This shows the sheer success of adopting the omnichannel approach.

The 2013 Mintel trade report on millennials found that over half of respondents (56%), prefer shopping online as they find it easier to locate what they are looking for (Mintel, 2013) suggesting that it is becoming the default channel for shopping. However, primary research in 2016 has shown that 64% of female millennials prefer shopping in store (appendices 4), which suggests the need to develop the in store environment to conquer this pain point. Minkoff and eBay did this by installing an interactive wall in store and by developing their app (Nika, 2014). Consumers can log onto their account in store via the screen and request a beverage, browse look books and select clothes they would like to try on. They will then be notified via text message when the garments are in the fitting room.

Alternatively, consumers can use the app prior to their visit in store and request products they would like to try on so that when they arrive in store the products will be waiting for them (Magneto, 2016). Consumers logging onto a system allows their personal preferences to be stored such as past purchases and their favourite beverage, enabling sales assistants to effortlessly provide a personalised service to each customer. Primary research found that 100% of participants in an online survey would find this helpful (appendices 3), supporting the need for omnichannel service.

Additionally, interactive mirrors installed in the fitting rooms use RFID technology which automatically identifies products taken into the dressing room and offers suggestions on what to pair the products with (RFID Journal, 2014). Minkoff found that 75% of consumers immediately interact with this tool and another 25-30% ask for one of those suggested items to be brought to their fitting room (Magneto, 2016), showing that operating as an omnichannel retailer has a positive impact on sales. The mirror also assigns consumers a personal assistant and allows them to request other products or sizes without having to leave the fitting room along with showing how long it will take (Fig.5). Lighting can be altered (Fig.6) to fit the consumers personal use for the product so that they can gain confidence in what it will look like in its end use environment (Fast Company, 2015), therefore, catering to customers personally by operating across all channels.

Queuing is an area where retailers lose out sales with millennial consumers (appendices 3), but by adopting the omnichannel approach like Rebecca Minkoff the traditional checkout procedure can also be eliminated as they can instantly checkout electronically using their phone or the mirror (Holmes, 2014). Minkoff says “You can come in here and be completely anonymous, or you can get VIP treatment” (Nika, 2014) and similarly Emily Culp articulated that the new definition of luxury is the consumer feeling “empowered to select the service level that she wants, when she wants, on the device that she wants” (Think with Google, 2015). This employment of the omnichannel approach allows consumers to select the level of service they personally wish to receive effortlessly.

The 2013 Mintel report also found 95% of respondents, research products online prior to purchase in store (Mintel, 2013). Minkoff made this possible in store by utilising RFID technology with the interactive mirrors to show reviews from other consumers instantly like online retail (Trotter, 2016). This reflects the success in bridging the gap between online and offline retail for consumers to see if products suit their personal needs.

‘Underlying the new technology is a premise of e-commerce known as the funnel formula, where lots of shoppers enter at the top and narrow in number to the few who purchase something. “There are critical moments where they are going to buy something, or they are going to leave,” says Healey Cypher, head of retail innovation at eBay Inc. “We’re applying that exact same logic to the physical world.”’ (Holmes, 2014). This shows how data collected from these advances in technology can benefit sales and consumer satisfaction. For example, the mirrors track what shoppers buy and what they leave behind (Wilson, 2015), leaving retailers with valuable data.

The stores are also equipped with cameras and infrared sensors that track individual shoppers anonymously, allowing managers to observe behaviours and tweak the layout and pricing accordingly (Wohlsen, 2014). This mimics A/B testing which is used online to compare two different web pages to see which one performs better (VWO, 2016).

Fig.6 light altering fitting room feature

Forrester Research analyst, Sucharita Mulpuru who stated “A lot of this data already existed in some format and it has existed for years. The best retailers know who their best customers are, how frequently they shop and what they buy” (Sherman, 2014). However, data collected by Minkoff only strengthens their knowledge of the female millennial consumer and gives the brand the power to take this and solve a consumer pain point.

Thus, allowing the company to always stay ahead, by adapting and evolving to fulfil their consumer’s desires. This approach has consequently been dubbed the future of retail.

Fig.5 Minkoff’s fitting room

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The Future of Omnichannel Retail As one of the fastest evolving and dynamic industries, retail is currently undergoing a huge revolutionary change. Merchants are no longer in charge as the industry is now driven by changing consumer demands and personal shopper’s expectations. Forbes contributor Walter Loeb states that, “accepting the influence of technology is critical for the retail industry to remain vibrant” (Loeb, 2016), and those retailers that have embraced technology have seen sales thrive, thus reaching retail optimisation.

Technology, is transforming shopping into a personal and convenient experience, which is necessary for reaching millennial consumers. They are constantly switched on and instant gratification is now expected from retailers rather than being a unique selling point (Dover, 2016). Online retailers are mimicking the contactless payment method used in store due to the success in sales soaring by 164%” in 2015 (Smithers, 2016). For example, Amazon Dash and Apple Pay allow consumers to skip the checkout procedure and make purchases by clicking a button.

This expectation has caused further technological advancements to make the checkout experience unique for each customer in store. RFID tags can be connected to online bank accounts and a stores database, which allows customers to instantly purchase goods just by simply leaving the store due to their tracking feature. This will reduce logistic costs for retailers such as replacing some cashiers with this automated system (Krafft and Mantrala, 2010, pp.355), which will result in a higher availability in sales assistants to deliver a personalised service to consumers while some will still operate at the cashier desk. Instant purchases in-store have “an advantage over online competitors in their capacity to encourage impulse buying” (Niemeier, Zocchi, and Catena, 2013, pp.118), so this will further drive sales by appealing to millennials. This level of purchase should be integrated into stores in the future as it enhances areas for both the retailer and consumer.

This is supported by the 2016 focus group of female millennials (appendices 3), which discovered participants often disregarded items they wished to purchase if there was a queue. However, contrasting this, one participant was wary of this innovation due to overspending, thus supporting the need for personal selection of the level of service delivered in store.

Even though the internet is currently in its fasted growth phase with 50.1% of the world population utilising it during September 2016 (Internet World Stats, 2016), bricks and mortar retailers are still highly desirable. With 64% of female millennials still shopping instore (appendices 4) and it is notable that Gen Z, the post millennial generation (Wallop, 2014) are in agreement, with 58% still wanting to shop instore (Loeb, 2016). This supports the need for physical stores, despite the convenience offered online. Furthermore, “The penetration of online sales is expected to be limited owing the inherent advantages offered by in-store shopping” (Krafft and Mantrala, 2010, pp.371), influencing the move online retailers are taking to become omnichannel, by operating as bricks and mortar in addition to online facilities.

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According to a 2016 Mintel report (Dover, 2016), Czech republican retail technology company, ZOOT, opened their first Try & Buy store in 2012 (Fig.7) after previously only operating as an online retailer. The concept “allows customers to browse more than 350 brands, order multiple products without pre-payment” (Dover, 2016). This has significantly reduced return rates for the company, which previously were as high as 50% of all purchases, while also catering to consumer personal demands by uniquely utilising the omnichannel approach. This is an example of how instant gratification online can then bridge the gap between e-commerce and bricks and mortar, by delivering items “within 24 hours with some items delivered as quickly as three hours” (Dover, 2016). Due to increasing customer demand, it is expected that this trend for instant gratification and efficient operations will evolve the retail world.

Virtual reality (VR), is the latest trend that is tackling the issues of returns and not being able to physically interact with products before purchasing them (Fig.8). With 94% of female millennials agreeing that not being able to try on items prior to purchase is the main issue with online retailers (appendices 4). Therefore, there is an extreme need for innovation to in order to combat this. Retailers are partnering with a third party to gain leverage to excel and develop this technology. Converse, partnered with the Sampler mobile app (Banks, 2016), to give consumers a unique and personal experience without having to physically try on the footwear. Consumers achieve this visual reference by pointing an iPhone camera at their leg and subsequently see the footwear on their own foot. A simple development like this can transform the shopping experience, making it more convenient and reduce return rates.

Igloo, a French retailer has taken consumer needs and transformed their delivery service enabling consumers to try their purchases on, while the delivery driver waits outside, to instantly return any unwanted items (Dover, 2016). This service treats each consumer as an individual and also shows that they are valued, by trying to make the process as convenient for them as possible. Waiting to be reimbursed for unwanted purchases is a pain point millennials want to change in online retail (appendices 3), The Mintel report also found that 25% of women in the UK want to see a better range of delivery options when shopping online for apparel (Dover, 2016). This supports the need for these new services that work on an omnichannel basis and the need for similar development across other retailers, in order to sustain and excel consumer satisfaction.

GoInStore are a company that are bringing the personal shopping experience to life, by creating a “direct communication channel between online shoppers and in-store product experts by leveraging wearable technology or other mobile devices” (Ingham, 2016). This essentially means that the sales assistant will wear a camera and will be directed around the store by the consumer at home. Consumers will be given the personalised service they would receive in store, such as being able to ask experts their advice via a technological omnichannel approach, whilst offering the convenience of 24hr shopping online.

McCabe and Nowlis found “that in the case of products with material properties, such as clothing, consumers’ preferences in online environments increase when the product features are described in terms of their touch properties more than their visual properties” (McCormick et al., 2014). This shows the desire consumers have to physically connect with products online and supports the relevancy of Shop Direct’s current investigation into the development of a special tactile glove (Shah,2016). This innovation enables consumers to feel products while shopping online which will revolutionise omnichannel by allowing consumers to feel connect to retailers while on the go.

This combined with the advances in VR/AR could result in consumers no longer feeling the need to physically visit stores. Therefore, in the future the role of bricks and mortar stores could shift. Millennials have said that they feel disconnected from current high-street stores (appendices 3), so if the volume of consumers shopping in store reduce in the future due to these technological advancements, it could mean that stores are used as more of an experience that connects shoppers to the brand and thus creating loyal brand advocates.

83.3% of female millennials said that an instore experience would make them feel more connected to a retailer (appendices 4) and therefore this is an area for retailers to keep focusing on in the future.

Fig.8 virtual fitting room

Fig.7 Zoot’s try & buy concept store

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VR has progressed into augmented reality (AR) and the technology is now available for consumers to have a virtual dressing room experience by seeing a projection of themselves in the products from the comfort of their own home (Shopifyplus, 2015). This level of AR is shaping the future of retail. FaceCake Marketing Technologies are pioneers in this field, by combining patented technologies with user interfaces. Their “innovations in Try-On allow consumers to virtually try individual or multiple products on their own images in real time, while instantly providing relevant product recommendations within each user session for superior personalization” (Tillman, 2016). This has given online retailers a bricks and mortar advantage which could continue to progress and become an expectation in online retail.

However, this requires more development to make it less costly and more accessible for the everyday consumer. In the near future retailers operating online, should look to introducing images of models wearing the product in various sizes, which would enable consumers to visualise the product on their own body type, without the need to actually try them on.

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Fig.9 collage of Missguided’s concept store

This could result in more conceptual stores, such as Missguided (Fig.9) whose first standalone store launched earlier this year in London (Roberts, 2016). In the female millennial focus group, participants were shown a video of the new store. Hannah, a participant stated “It would be such a good way for brands to show more personality” and she went on to say that is something she thinks the high-street lacks and that current stores “are not engaging” (appendices 3). This evidence supports the need for retailers to offer an experience in store. Another participant, Sophia expressed “It is exactly what I expected their store to look like” (appendices 3) proposing that the experience offered in store, must represent the retailers brand ethos and DNA. Further support for the rise of in-store experience comes from retail giant Lotte Department store’s research team.

They believe in the near future “there will be more initiatives designed to build brand image rather than sell product” and that “the key would be how successfully retailers provide new shopping experiences while catering to the increasingly segmented needs of consumers.” (Halliday, 2016).

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Conclusion High-street stores could connect with consumers in this way by combining the benefits of E-commerce in-store, while utilising less costly technology. For example, an app that allows consumers to browse clothes via either their phone or a tablet in store, instantly granting access to other customer’s reviews and styling suggestions by scanning the items QR code (Fig.10). 84% of female millennials said that they would find this helpful (appendices 4) but Apadami, a mobile research company discovered that 59% of UK consumers avoid downloading retail apps “because they feel that they fail to complement or match up the in-store and website shopping experience” (Jones, 2016). This suggests that omnichannel development is necessary in this area for retailers to seamlessly deliver a consistent service across all channels. However, this is contrasted by the female millennial focus group conducted in November 2016 (appendices 3) which found that if the app was developed and incorporated features which enhance the personal shopping experience, millennials would utilise it. These findings are further supported by a Forrester Research report that expects an “89% increase in retailers that integrate mobile technology in-store” (Louie, 2015). This shows that in the near future this trend may continue to develop, enabling customers to receive a personalised and seamless service.

However, it may be criticised that consumers can tell the difference between personalisation and automated personalisation which is generated from this computer technology. When millennials were proposed with this criticism in the female millennial focus group (appendices 3), they found it acceptable that their preferences were automated by the data system as this enhanced their shopping experience by making it more personal and tailored to their needs, whilst saving sales assistants and themselves time in discovering this data.

Another criticism regarding data collection is a potential breach in security and privacy for consumers. (Krafft and Mantrala, 2010 pp.365) found that some are “concerned about retailers violating their privacy when they collect this data”. However, the female millennial focus group provided current data that conclusively found that millennials would trust reputable retailers with their details, if it benefited the service they received (appendices 3). This suggests, that millennial consumers will willingly share their data and in the future this will enable retailers to continue to develop these strategies to effectively suit their needs.

Significant change has occurred in the retail world due to the introduction of the omnichannel approach. As it stands, customer centricity is crucial to retail success and true integration from retailers across all platforms is essential in reaching the female millennial consumer. This is because traditional mass-marketing methods are no longer successful in engaging this demographic. The omnichannel approach gives retailers the leverage to do this while providing the personalised service that they expect Rebecca Minkoff is the protagonist of omnichannel retail and in turn successfully delivers a personalised service to all consumers by utilising technological innovations. Research has shown that her adoption of this approach has presented a mass of opportunities for the brand to treat each consumer as an individual.

They have been successful in doing so and have sparked a revolution in the retail industry with many other retailers following in their footsteps.

Over the next decade advances in retail are set to soar with the introduction of concept stores, augmented reality and tactile technology which all present opportunities for retailers to appeal to consumer’s personal preferences by operating on an omnichannel scale. Data collected from these innovations allows retailers to gain a rich understanding of their consumers and in turn means that they can treat them as individuals. Although, it was criticised that the heavy reliance of technology makes the service less personal, this was discredited by research Further research also showed that this is an intuitive method in which female millennials operate and therefore it is necessary for meeting their needs.

Advances in retail space increases the sources that retailers have available in order to pull and analyse data to provide an advanced personalised service to consumers.

For example, by consumers utilising an app that they log into when they are in store, it enables their personal preferences to be stored. This gives retailers the ability to quantify this data to gain a greater understanding of their target consumer on a mass scale, or more uniquely to be able to treat each consumer as an individual. Shop Direct group ecommerce director Jonathan Wall stated in an interview with Retail Week that, “personalisation is only as good as what you know about your customers. The future is to develop and unearth richer and richer data and continuously improve how we analyse it” (Shah, 2016), suggesting that it is imperative for retailers to use data collected to assist advancements in personalisation to be advantageous over competitors. Further support is offered for the necessity of this data collection and observation in order to optimise the personalisation of service by (Krafft and Mantrala, 2010 pp.231), “Existing and new channels and store formats must undergo continuous observation and evaluation to allow recognition of future trends under a retailer’s own roof”. Therefore, for future development of retailer’s data analysis is crucial for delivering the desired personal service.

In conclusion, the omnichannel approach holds an immense power in the retail industry and is effective in providing opportunities for personalisation for the female millennial demographic.

Fig.9 example of QR code

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