Total Retail announced the 2019 top 100 Omnichannel Retailers ranking that reveals the list of publicly traded retailers and brands at the forefront of delivering the seamless cross-channel shopping experiences that consumers have come to expect.
The top performers according to the report were Department Stores, with an average score of 7.35 for the brands within the category, followed by Sporting Goods (7.25 average score) and Home Improvement (7.06 average score). At the bottom of the category rankings was the largest of the segments, Apparel and Accessories, with an average score of 5.60 for the brands within that group.
In addition, Total Retail identified the following omnichannel industry trends that I summarize here:
- The continued adoption of buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) programs.
- Cross-channel shopping journey: An increased focus by retailers to enable customers to have a shared cart across channels (laptop, desktop, smartphone).
- Cross-chanell returns: Retailers are catering to customers increasing penchant for wanting to return online purchases in-store.
2019 Top 10 Omnichannel Apparel and Accessories Retailers
2019 Top 10 Omnichannel Footwear Retailers
Regarding Department Stores, the top 5 omnichannel companies are Bloomingdale´s, J.C.Penney, Belk, Macy´s and Kohl´s.
What are the variables used to build the omnichannel retail ranking?
- Search in-store products online
- Buy online, pick up in-store
- Shared Cart
- Loyalty points earned/ redeemed across channels
- Return product across channels
- Ship from store/ endless aisle
- Pricing consistency across channels
I would include a couple omnichannel capabilities on the list.
- RFID as a way to have visibility from a customer journey perspective. Check in store availability is a service provided by Zara since 2016. Just a few retailers have implemented RFID and the benefits are huge as seen when interviewing the responsible of implementing RFID at Brownie, a womenswear brand.
Checking in-store availablity at Zara.com – Floral Print Dress in size Medium
2. Another omnichannel capability is Assortment Optimization (optimizing the merchandise) at store level using offline and online data. This is something commented on Nike Curated Stores.
Nike by Melrose, LA
At Nike by Melrose, the assortment is based on data from what consumers in surrounding zip codes have purchased. The store is so-called Live Store because its product mix is not static and changes according online and offline selling trends.