Evolving omnichannel: what role does the physical store play for retailers?

1. What are the main priorities for your organisation when it comes to providing a successful omnichannel journey for customers? [select top three]

Investing more in stores
Providing a consistent experience across all sales channels
Rolling out a unified commerce platform
Investing more in e-commerce
Implementing advanced technologies i.e. GenAI, LLMs, metaverse
Achieving seamless last mile deliveries
A simple returns process
Using data to track consumer behaviour
Personalisation

2. How important is the role of the store in your organisation's omnichannel strategy? [select one option]

Very important
Important
Somewhat important but we're more focussed on e-commerce
Not important at all

3. How far advanced is your organisation in introducing a unified commerce strategy? [select one option]

We are in the early stages of rolling out a unified commerce platform
We have not yet rolled out unified commerce platform but have plans to in the near future
We have a fully operational unified commerce platform in place
We do not have a unified commerce platform and have no plans to introduce this type of strategy

4. What are the main barriers to implementing a unified commerce strategy in your organisation? [select top three]

Budget / cost restraints
Data siloes
Lack of focus on in-store experience / over-indexing on e-commerce
Departmental siloes
Data governance / security concerns
Time length to roll out
Lack of resources / training / in-house skills
Lack of knowledge about unified commerce
Unclear what our unified commerce strategy should be

5. Which of the following are currently a top priority for your organisation's physical store strategy? [select top three]

Customer acquisition
Enabling frontline workers
Customer experience
Real-time inventory / fulfilment
In-store returns
Personalisation
Meeting ESG targets
Loyalty / subscription programmes
Experiential retail
Point of sale
Mobile enablement for staff and / or customers

6. Which of these technologies is your organisation currently rolling out in-store? [select all that apply]

RFID
Self-checkout
'Just walk out' technology
Mobile POS
Real-time inventory / stock management
In-store app
QR codes
Advanced technologies i.e. AI, LLMs, robotics
In-store beacons
Augmented reality / virtual reality

7. Which of the following store models is your organisation currently using? [select all that apply]

Pop up stores
Showroom / products delivered to store only
Convenience stores
Flagship stores
High Street branches
Retail park stores
Shopping centre stores
Immersive / experiential retail stores

8. Where would AI most benefit your organisation within the physical store? [select top three]

Personalisation (including product recommendations)
Experiential retail i.e. immersive and interactive experiences including touch screens and smart mirrors, VR and AR
Tracking orders and locating items in-store
Security / safety
In-store stock and inventory management
Improving productivity for store associates / shopfloor staff
Boosting productivity for store managers
Supporting staff to provide better customer experience
Predictive analytics
Store navigation apps for customers

9. To what extent is your organisation incorporating AI into its in-store strategy? [select one option]

AI is paramount to the operation of our stores, we use it in the vast majority of our customer-facing and back end processes
We use some AI in our stores for both customer-facing and back-end processes but there are still areas in which we dont use the technology
We only use AI for some customer-facing processes in-store
We only use AI for some back-end in-store processes
We use a very limited level of AI in our stores
We don't yet currently use AI in our stores but have plans to introduce the technology in the near future
We do not use AI in stores and have no plans to

10. What are your organisation's top investment priorities for its physical stores over the coming 18 months? [select top three]

Real-time inventory management / fulfilment
In-store returns
Personalisation
Experiential retail
Self-checkout
Point of sale
Rolling out unified commerce technology
Implementing advanced technology i.e. AI, LLMs
Automation / robotics
Mobile enablement for staff and / or customers

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