High-street retailers are shutting up shop left, right, and centre. Mothercare, Maplin, Toys R Us, Carpetright, Poundworld, to name a few - and that's this year alone. In fact, nearly 650 shops and restaurants have shut down since the start of the year, or are at risk of closure – and this downward trend doesn't appear to be abating.
Cost implications like the minimum wage and rising business rates, bad strategic planning and lack of foresight at board level, and not capitalising on the ecommerce retail revolution quickly enough, have all been posited as reasons for high-street failures.
Whatever the reason, it is certain that times have changed in the world of retail and ecommerce.
Convenience and personal experience are at the forefront of customers’ minds.
Online shopping vs. the high street
From a consumer point-of-view, there are pros and cons to both online shopping and shopping on the high street, but more and more of us are turning to online shopping – especially millennials, who make 54% of their purchases online (Source: UPS).
For retailers with high-street stores and an online presence, delivering a rounded, timely, satisfying, and memorable customer experience takes a lot more than a smile and a thank you – it takes a lot of planning and you need to have the right systems and technology in place.
The delivery of a connected experience can only occur when systems are working in harmony behind the scenes.
Sitecore Experience Commerce
Sitecore Experience Commerce 9 has all the tools retail brands need to deliver a personalised, connected shopping experience.
Sitecore’s robust infrastructure allows for complex integration with numerous third party systems, including CRM, warehouse management, payment gateways, and more. Just take a look at Sitecore xConnect to see what’s possible.
Robust systems integration is the springboard to offering customers a seamless, connected experience.
Sitecore Experience Commerce comes with core features designed to meet the demanding needs of both consumers and brands:
- Catalogue
- Merchandising
- Inventory
- Pricing
- Promotions
- Orders
- Customers
- Shopping cart
- Payment
- Checkout
- Fulfilment
Sitecore's 360-degree customer view also provides retailers with valuable customer insights.
Customer journeys can be optimised and personalised across all touch-points – desktop, mobile, tablet, and in-store – leading to increased basket sizes, and improved conversions.
Want to learn more?
A personalised, connected shopping experience can only occur when the right systems are working in harmony behind the scenes - and Sitecore Experience Commerce can help.
