How Seamless are You? Accenture went on a journey to understand consumer preferences to shop seamlessly across channels and the ability of retailers to deliver that seamless experience.

1. How Seamless are You?
Accenture went on a journey to understand consumer preferences to shop seamlessly across channels
and the ability of retailers to deliver that seamless experience.
Seamless Retail Global
Benchmarking:
60 global retailers evaluated
across 80 questions and 6
capabilities.
How We Measured it:
Seamless Retail Global Customer Survey:
6,000 people surveyed in 8 countries: United
States, U.K., Germany, France, Sweden,
Japan, China and Brazil.
Results analyzed by demographic, retail
segment and country.
What We Measured:
Consistent Experience
Customers are able to enjoy an easy, brand consistent
shopping experience regardless of channel
Connected Shopping
The end-to-end shopping experience
feels connected across channels
Flexible Fulfillment / Returns
Retailers offer multiple fulfillment and return
options convenient to the customer
Personalized Interaction
Personalized customer promotions and loyalty
rewards across channels
Better, Faster, and Memorable
Retailers are testing new technology and engagement
methods to enrich the customer experience
Integrated Merchandising
Assortment and pricing integrated across channels
meet customer expectations

2. Like to Shop Online (Apparel) 52% 53% 70%
Like to Shop via Mobile Device (Apparel) 11% 13% 24%
Like to Shop in Physical Store (Apparel) 86% 83% 80%
Showroomed at Least 1x in the Last 6 Months 73% 77% 85%
Flexibility to Pay Anytime / Anywhere (cash, credit, other)–
Important / Very Important
77% 73% 65%
Same Day Delivery –
Important / Very Important
24% 42% 38%
Think “Integrating Stores / Online / Mobile” is Where
Retailers Need to Improve Shopping Experience Most
49% 48% 38%
The Seamless Consumer is a Global Phenomenon
At the geography level, there are many similarities and some differentiation
in consumer expectations of a retailer’s seamless capabilities.
North America EALA APAC

3. The 25 and 55-Year Old Seamless Consumers
have More in Common Than You Think
Millennials appear to be defining new behaviors that are quickly spreading to other age groups.
MILLENNIALS
(1980 - 2000)
GEN X
(1964 – 1980)
BOOMERS
(1946 - 1964)
Percentage Who
Would Use Real-
Time Product
Availability to
Influence How
They Shop
Returns –
Percentage
Who Will
Go with
“Cheapest
Option”
Regardless
Percentage
Who are
Showrooming
More Than
They Did 1
Year Ago
Percentage of
Consumers
Who Would
Shop Online
or Via Mobile
if They Want a
Product Outside
of Business
Hours from Their
Favorite Retailer
In Common...
Where There’s Divergence...
Millennials are 1.5x more likely to
increase their mobile purchases
going forward
Millennials are 3x more
likely to be influenced
by social media
1.5x 3x
48%
54%
62%
93% 90%
84%
44%
39% 41%
37% 37%
34%

4. Price Still Rules in a Seamless World
At the end of the day, price is still the greatest determining factor in a consumer’s purchasing decisions.
What
Influences
You Most
Where / How
You Shop?
3%
Price
Location (I only shop
stores that are nearby)
Product brand name
Knowledgeable in-store associates
Retailer’s overall brand image
Customer reviews
In-store product demos
Virtual / video product demos
What my friends or family have
bought or want to buy
None of the above
32%
18%
11%
10%
9%
7%
6%
3%
2%
When Purchasing
Online or via Mobile
Device, What
Influences Your
Purchase Decisions?
Best price
Shipping costs
Quick and easy payments
Easy to navigate site or app
Best products
Access to customer reviews
Filtering my search based on
features that matter most to me
Simple view, especially
on small screens
Web chat customer support
Interactive video product
demonstrations
Remote QR code ordering
72%
59%
41%
38%
36%
30%
22%
19%
10%
9%
4%
$ (Multiple Responses)

5. Consumers Increasingly Expect Integration of
the Big Three (Product, Promotion, and Price)
Beyond just seeing a consistent brand across channels, consumers expect a fully integrated and connected shopping experience.
Expect it to be the
same or less In-Store
Consumers who report having one account
for use In-Store, Online, and Mobile Device to
make check out easy and faster.
Consumers who report having an account
completely connected between purchases and
loyalty points both Online and In-Store.
In-Store Online Mobile Device
Promotions
(discounts, sales)
Price
(including tax
and delivery)
Product
Assortment
51% 81%
49% 45%
63% 83%
Expect it to be the
same across channels
Expect it to be the
same across channels
Expect it to be sometimes
different across channels
Expect it to be the
same across channels
Expect it to be the
same or more In-Store
45% 43%

6. Seamless Means Personalization at
Every Touchpoint, and That’s OK
Consumers desire personalized experiences through every engagement channel – tailored to their needs and preferences.
Percentage of consumers who report
desiring the following personalization
from retailers, across all channels:
Percentage of consumers who report
the following currently influence or
may influence in the future:
I can receive unique pricing,
automatic discounts, free
returns, or pre-sales based on
my loyalty / purchase history
I can earn and use my loyalty
rewards In-store, Online or
on a Mobile Device
My account is completely
connected between
purchases and loyalty points
both Online and In-Store
I may have one account to
use In-Store, Online, and
on Mobile Devices to make
check out easy and fast
In-Store Offer
E-mail Coupons
Text Offers
Mobile Banner Ads
Online Pop-Up
53+47
45+55
55+4555%
53%
45%
43+5743%
90+10
59+41
90+10
50+50
45+55
90%
90%
59%
50%
45%

7. Retailers Have Focused on the Easier Capabilities –
Now It’s Time to Address the Tougher Ones
Our research shows that retailers have underinvested in 4 out of the 6 dimensions that consumers are demanding.
Foundational Leading Edge
Consistent
Experience
Department
Grocery/Drug
Hardgoods
Hyper/Mass
Softgoods
Flexible
Fulfillment/Returns
✚ Highly Advanced
Personalized
Interactions
● Absent ■ Underdeveloped ★ Developed ◆ Advanced
Better, Faster
and Memorable
◆ ■ ■ ■ ★ ■
◆ ● ● ■ ★ ●
◆ ■ ■ ■ ★ ■
◆ ■ ■ ■ ★ ●
◆ ■ ■ ■ ★ ■
Most important based on
consumer feedback
Connected
Shopping
Integrated
Merchandising
Where retailers have
invested the most

8. Retail Segment Matters
When Investing in Seamless Capabilities
Not only do retailers’ seamless capabilities differ by segment, but so do consumer expectations.
Relationship Between Consumer Online Channel
Preference and Seamless Capabilities
Percentage of Consumers Who Prefer Online Shopping
2.0
1.0
0% 50% 100%
Insights...
Retailers that
are ahead of the
curve stand to
benefit the most by
differentiating from
their competition
and positioning
themselves to
build the highest
customer loyalty.
DEPARTMENT
STORES
SPECIALTY–
HARDLINES
SPECIALTY–
SOFTLINES
DISCOUNT/
MASS
MERCHANT
GROCERY/
CHAIN DRUG
SeamlessCapabilityScore
As consumers
migrate their
seamless shopping
habits across
retail formats, the
question is who will
be ready for them?

9. Becoming Seamless Isn’t an “Either / Or”
to a Sound Value Proposition
Seamless capabilities are critical for a Retailer’s success, but the fundamentals still matter.
Looking ahead, retailers should be excited yet pragmatic about what seamless means for their business.
BUSINESS STRATEGY
#1#1
#1
#1#1 #1
UNDERLYING CUSTOMER
VALUE PROPOSITION
BRAND
+ +

10. Seamless Will Lead to Collaboration across Retailers
and with Existing and Emerging 3rd Parties
Retailers will need to seek out strategic partnerships to build better, faster, and memorable emerging capabilities.
When the Consumer Says…
“81% of us rate as Important
or Very Important the flexibility
to pay for product anytime and
anywhere, using cash, credit, or
other payment types
(e.g., mobile wallet)”
“80% of us rate as
Important or Very
Important the ability to
pick up or arrange for
delivery of our purchase
regardless of how we paid”
…It Means These Non-Core
Capabilities Take Added Importance…
Mobile Wallet
Payment Processing
Integration of Banks/
Creditors/Loyalty/Apps/
Smartphones/POS
Ability to Schedule
Assets/Labor Around
Variable Demand
Customer Order
Management
Delivery Assets/
Delivery Routing
...And This Type of Cooperation
Becomes the Future
TRACK
YOUR
ORDER

11. The Efficient Innovators Will Win the Seamless Game
Consumers are quick to change their priorities and expectations of retailer capabilities.
Which of These Would You Use if Offered on Your Mobile Device While In-Store?
Gather loyalty
points or savings
as you shop
based on current
promotions
Offer real-time
promotions you
might be eligible for
(e.g., buy 2 get 1
free, coupons)
Order out-of-stock
items in-store for home
delivery, or store items
into your wish list
Shopping list and
find items in the
store (item locator
and navigation)
Scan products as
you put them into
your shopping cart
View other
customer’s
ratings and
reviews
Order whatever
products you need from
a single retailer, even if
they are not normally
carried by the retailer
Suggest complementary
products based on what I
already scanned into my
basket / shopping cartProvide product
suggestions to
manufacturers
Pay with
your
phone at
checkout
Tell me if I scanned something that I
should NOT buy based on dietary or
religious restrictions, etc.
Post what you like to Facebook or Twitter
(pictures of products, special offers, new
products, etc.)
88%
88%
82% 79%
77%
74%
71%
63%
62%61%
43%
38%