Read Part 1, Covid-19: Overcoming the Challenge of Fashion and Lifestyle E-Commerce, here
For fashion and lifestyle players (including clothing, footwear and accessories) in evolved markets, omnichannel is like a skin of the moment. This is how consumers interact with brands and stores. Consider this: “Buy-online-return-in-store” (BORIS) is presented in more than 40% of stores in the United States. More than 60% of U.S. consumers use the “Click Collect” option presented in stores.
Closer to home in India, this adoption is less pronounced. With the exception of a handful of actors, omnichannel remains a brilliant concept in the role with little to show about implementation and results. This is partly due to the fact that some elements (BORIS, CC, self-pay) are not as applicable in the Indian context (due to the low cost of labor for sales and delivery staff, as well as to scruples around theft.). However, much has to do with the membership, roles, and deployment challenges of your organization.
But consumers are looking for more, as the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to increase the proportion of transactions that pass through virtual and physical channels on the consumer journey. For example, a significant portion of consumers who only use offline services will start shopping in e-commerce as long as they are not yet able to use their ‘offline loyalty points’. At the same time, the desire for a retail deal and to “touch and feel” related to the offline channel will not go away. However, consumers may wish to minimize the option of an unproductive scale in by confirming the availability of products on shelves through a real-time view of store stocks on the brand/retailer website.
With this in mind, it is imperative to identify the key omnichannel elements that will be applicable after Covid-19, in the context of Indian retail. The 3 maximums are:
Integrated promotions/loyalty programs As consumers log in online, it’s almost a matter of hygiene to allow cross-channel promotions and consumer loyalty systems. There are apparent benefits in doing so, for example, Pottery Barn’s cross-channel loyalty program has noticed that members spend 3 times as much and shop twice as often.
In India, several established actors (brands and distributors) have implemented this element, however, a large-scale adoption remains to be observed. In addition, given the dominance of markets in the online space, players want to think about how consumers can simply link to in-market purchases and continue to accumulate loyalty issues with the brand.
In a post-Covid world, offline retail outlets may be more spacious to allow for a comfortable distance. At the same time, the desire to increase profitability will restrict the length of the points of sale. Combine those two, and this means that less stock will be kept on site. Even consumers may prefer to check the length of some well-disinfected products with a restricted physical collection, and the rest is virtually presented. Get in the endless corridors. These virtual products can be found in nearby retail stores or e-commerce stores, and consumers can block your purchase through a tab or equivalent, the product is then shipped to your home or can be picked up at the store in seconds. hours or days.
The endless corridors experienced superior adoption in India, compared to other omnichannel elements. They have demonstrated advantages: a mass-market store that has installed endless aisles at some retail outlets can simply multiply “available stocks” by 2.5 times, and eventually expand in-store conversions by about 15%.
Send from the store
Activating an online view of store-stored stock, as well as placing orders and shipments from the store, can have many advantages. A pair of shoes delivered to a visitor in Jaipur from a regional warehouse in Gurugram can charge more than 100 rupees. Carrying this order at a local store may charge 50% or more. In addition, the delivery time can be especially d, from a few days to a few hours. The desire for faster deliveries/same-day deliveries can increase after Covid, as consumers paint from home and seek to reflect the joy of instant gratification (touch, feel, look and buy) at home.
Some Indian players have begun to accentuate this element, with apparent advantages. A main clothing player, for example, saw a roughly 20 increase in in store sales after allied some online stores, with a shipment from the store. Small-scale gifts for this item are “view store inventory” and “book a schedule in the store” (see above).
While “what you want to do” is quite clear, a more complicated issue is “how.” Brands and retailers want to be aware of the functions that are desired to effectively execute the omnichannel. Some critical aspects:
Technology and systems are essential. Shipping from a store, for example, requires an exclusive view of stocks at points of sale and warehouses, with a minimum of maturity. Even an hour’s delay in updating records can result in a product being booked with the promise of poor delivery time or, worse, a cancellation imaginable.
Training and improving workers are also critical. Store staff must be trained in the use of online stores/endless aisles, and the field around stock upgrade should be instilled as soon as a product is sold offline (in case point-of-sale systems are not connected to the omnichannel portal).
Another attention is organizational functionality measures. Store and store staff KPIs must be adjusted to join omnichannel operations. For example, look beyond square footage sales, steps, etc. to integrate store paper as a delight area that leads to grocery shopping online (through endless corridors) or as a distribution location.
In short, it is imperative to have the right omnichannel elements and run them well. Indian brands and stores want to move and act temporarily to make the long-standing omnichannel dream come true.
Siddharth Jain is a partner, Deepak Maloo is a director and Prabhu Dhev R is director at Kearney
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