Industry Leaders on What's Top of Mind for Omnichannel Shopping in 2015

So much has been happening in the retail world lately, it's hard to keep up! Every
day, our social media newsfeeds are full of articles and announcements about
new technology that is significantly changing the shopper landscape.

So, we asked the top leaders in the industry to share what's
top of mind for them regarding omnichannel
shopping this year.

Here is what they said:

Dan Pink, Author: That
in our efforts to sell, sell, sell in a mobile world that we'll start doing
creepy, invasive things that make customers distrust us and ultimately defeat
our own interests.

Christine Trodella,
Facebook: Measurement is top of mind as omnichannel shopping becomes the
norm. According to Forrester, the Web will influence 51 percent of offline
sales by the end of 2015. The speed of this shift is creating a measurement gap
for Retailers. Many existing measurement solutions don't offer a complete
picture of how different marketing channels perform and it's hard to know which
channels are actually driving additional business. Lift measurement can help
marketers understand how digital channels like Facebook drive incremental
in-store sales. With Facebook, these Lift measurement studies are grounded in
real people ' not cookies ' allowing Retail marketers to measure the true
impact of Facebook ads across channels and devices.

Joe Davis, The
Coca-Cola Company: I feel like we are really starting to visualize what
omnichannel shopping means, but I'm not sure we understand how to project our
brand identities and equities in this environment in a consistent way. It
still seems very fragmented ' both the communication of the product/service
offering as well as the understanding of the shopper's behaviors. It
feels like when we think of online/digital, we turn on one side of our brain '
and then switch to the other side when we think of in-store. My goal is
to help my organization think about it like the shopper ' a desire for a
seamless offering that fits my shopping occasion and adds value to my overall
experience with the brand.

Dan Mudd, The Clorox
Company: Reach & Relevancy - ensuring that our brands are offered
everywhere the category is sold and also making sure our communication at every
stop in the shopper's journey toward purchase is single minded, value-added
& differentiated vs. competition.

Mike Klein, Post
Foods: Manufacturers need to change behavior to adapt to the changing
ominchannel marketplace. This adaption is top of mind, specifically how to
'stay one step ahead' of the rapidly changing path to purchase. Within this is
understanding how to best capture Millennials, as their purchase behaviors are
different from the generations prior. They are more influenced by digital, less
likely to be influenced by traditional marketing/sales tactics.

Jonathan MacDonald,
Thought Expansion Network: I view onmichannel shopping with an added dimension.
It isn't just about multiple channels of access, it's about multi-way
relationships between people and companies. Because a digital connected public
are as capable as organizations there is less of a hierarchy today. Companies
that will win are those that value and respect the involvement of people. Those
that hold on tight to the hierarchies of old will find a public who are
increasingly disenfranchised with the value exchange.

Jim Cusson, Theory
House: I see 2015 as a 'flushing out' period where consumers will ignore
and discard a great number of apps and online shopping sites as they zero in on
a handful of shopping destinations that are working for them. At our retail
marketing agency we've watched sites like Fab.com fail and up and comers like
Zulily start with a bang and find themselves reinventing their models. Shopper
acceptance is going to require more than just price, variety or convenience.
The retailers who find the perfect balance between these 3 attributes will find
success.

Kristian Aloma,
Brandtrust: As a student of psychology, it is perhaps too obvious to say
I'm thinking most about the psychology of it all. Consumers are not only
sharing stories as mentioned above, but they're looking for stories to consume
as well. More than a decade ago when I first took some courses in Integrated
Marketing Communications, we focused so much on making sure that every
experience with the organization was consistent. At that time, it was all about
making sure the in-store experience was delivered by the customer service
employees and that was consistent with the catalog and mailers sent out via
post.

Today, the management of these channels is much more
complex. From the Web to mobile to in-store and more, there is a great need to
make sure that the narrative being created by each channel is consistent and
complimentary. This isn't only good marketing, it's healthy behavior. Consumers
want that consistent narrative because it helps create resolution in the mind
about what that brand stands for. Consider our relationships with people. If
your significant other looked and sounded different every morning you woke up,
you'd become so distressed by your inability to predict his or her moods,
behaviors and personality that you'd ultimately have to leave them. The same
holds true for brands. If every interactions feels like it's managed by a different
department, is telling a different narrative, and leaves the consumer with a
different feeling, the only story they may tell about your brand is how
schizophrenic it truly is.

James Sorensen,
Kantar Retail: It is fascinating to watch how pure play retailers are
offering solutions to address their weaknesses. Ecommerce sites have some
clear advantages by being able to provide auto replenishment, interactive
information and reviews and personalization. But brick retailers are able
to offer immediacy, customer service/advice and a more hands on, tactile
experience. Each channel is then beginning to offer solutions that
address their weaknesses versus the other. Ecommerce sites are
experimenting with expedited delivery (i.e. Amazon locker), offering more
consultative services (i.e. Stitch Fix) and even experimenting with open bricks
stores. And bricks retailers are reducing store size and getting closer
to their customers, providing interactive kiosks and personalized services
through beacons and other in-store technology. In short, as this
convergence progresses, the retailer who offers the seamless solution across
all touch points will win.

Like what you've
read? Hear all of the above industry leaders speak at The OmniShopper 2015 Conference in
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