Trends Report

Multichannel Is Still A Myth For Retailers

Companies Continue To Struggle With Cross-Channel Contact Strategies

June 29th, 2009
Sucharita Kodali, VP, Principal Analyst
Sucharita Kodali VP, Principal Analyst

Summary

Retailers have been striving to provide seamless multichannel shopping experiences in order both to stay ahead of the market in an increasingly interconnected world and to align themselves with consumer multichannel behavior. In a recent report, Forrester used its Cross-Channel Review methodology to provide insight into the current state of consumers' cross-channel experiences across four industries. This was accomplished through an evaluation of the Web site, interactive voice response (IVR), phone, and email experiences as well as the transitions across those channels. The four discount retailers fell below the other industries evaluated with an average score of -9.8, compared with a total average score of -2.3. In order to improve on their firms' cross-channel design, retail eBusiness professionals are encouraged to use these particular examples from the industry together with examples of consumer multichannel shopping preferences.

Want to read the full report?

Contact us to become a client

This report is available for individual purchase ($1495).

Forrester helps business and technology leaders use customer obsession to accelerate growth. That means empowering you to put the customer at the center of everything you do: your leadership strategy, and operations. Becoming a customer-obsessed organization requires change — it requires being bold. We give business and technology leaders the confidence to put bold into action, shaping and guiding how to navigate today's unprecedented change in order to succeed.