Many consumers divided over Thanksgiving and Black Friday bargains

This year, many retailers are planning on opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day, and they have been improving their store operations, working to streamline their point of sale systems and otherwise striving to create a seamless experience for what will be the the biggest sales period of the year. The success of this decision will be tested soon enough and in light of the shortened window for the holiday sales season this year, it is an understandable choice. However, market research company Lab42 found that seven out of 10 customers think that stores should be closed on that date, when only 60 percent held similar beliefs in 2012. Despite their protests, though, 22 percent of these respondents still plan on shopping on Thanksgiving. 

Meanwhile, Black Friday's move toward a Thursday schedule is not convincing all consumers to shop early. Many customers will save their trips to the store until December, as they believe similar bargains will still be available after the initial sales rush. 

The expanding role of ecommerce
Even as some shoppers turn away from Black Friday bargains, many are looking to ecommerce to fulfill their gift-buying needs this year. Lab42 found that half of holiday shoppers plan to spend more online this year in comparison to 2012, and the firm suggested that this may be motivated by skepticism about deals on Black Friday. While 30 percent of customers in 2012 felt like they could get similar deals to Black Friday online, 38 percent believe so now. Economic improvement and increases in disposable income are also encouraging greater amounts of spending this year. 

Many still interested in Black Friday bargains
But while many consumers think retail stores should be closed on Thanksgiving, more than half of the survey's respondents who plan on shopping on Black Friday will do so before 3 a.m., and 26 percent may take advantage of the additional Thanksgiving hours. Promotions are a strong driver for drawing customers into stores, and while email used to be the best way for shoppers to discover the latest promotions, more people will be turning to social media this year to inform their purchasing habits. 

Although consumers may be divided about shopping on Black Friday, overall spending will be up, and merchants should be ready to manage an increased volume of customers in both their brick-and-mortar locations and on their websites. With consumer confidence and spending up, retailers could see considerable success by meeting the shoppers' needs. 

Omnichannel efforts boosting retail success

Omnichannel has become standard practice for some retailers of late, as the strategy allows merchants to meet customers no matter how or where they shop. The versatility of the sales method requires retail software that is capable of working across all levels of an organization, but at the same time provides considerable convenience to shoppers, which in turn drives purchases. 

Based on OpinionLab's Holiday Preview Customer Feedback Index, companies that offer versatile omnichannel options outperform strictly ecommerce-related businesses. OpinionLab compared omnichannel retail against e-retail on seven different metrics that measured customers' preferences and the quality of their experiences, and found that online-only retailers beat out other stores based on the information available about products and within user accounts. 

Conversely, omnichannel retailers provide a better experience through their service and support, as well as during checkout – both key factors in a business' success. 

Multichannel Merchant noted that these findings disprove some of the predictions made about brick-and-mortar retail made in the past year, as the information highlights the importance of physical locations for consumers. Returning items at a store is generally easier for consumers than shipping delivered items back to the merchant, and multiple purchase and pickup options at the point of sale can also win customers over. 

In-store pickup an increasingly important retail option

Creating a true omnichannel shopping experience requires integrating all aspects of a business and having retail software in place that can follow an item regardless of whether it was sold in-store or online. For some customers, this is an expectation of how the industry works: if they decide to return an item they bought on the Internet, they will likely seek out a brick-and-mortar location to complete the process. This is more convenient for them than shipping it back, after all. 

While allowing customers to refund an item no matter where it was bought is important, some merchants also see the advantages of giving shoppers the choice of in-store delivery. This has the potential to save on shipping costs, particularly if an item is already available at the store. According to Internet Retailing, many New Look shoppers are fond of this option, with 25 percent of its ecommerce customers choosing to pick their purchases up from brick-and-mortar stores. With its Web sales up by 52.9 percent during the first half of 2013, this represents a key option for the fashion retailer. 

To achieve this, though, merchants will have to have transparency and connectivity between all levels of their business. This can be accomplished through robust retail inventory management tools. 

Price matching a prominent ecommerce strategy this holiday season

Attracting the greatest amount of online customers relies on a number of factors, from allowing easy product browsing to a readily understandable point of sale. The more transparency that ecommerce merchants offer into their pricing, discounts, shipping and payment options, the better the chance that they can win a sale based on those benefits. 

According to Internet Retailer, the home page of 37 of the Top 1000 online merchants feature price-matching policies. While Best Buy's offer is only visible through a bottom page banner ad, the No. 2 ranked Top 500 Guide online retailer, Staples, is using a pop-up overlay to attract viewers' attention. 

While many more retailers chose not to provide price matching, many are including free shipping options. Staples' own minimum purchase order dropped from $45 to $19.99 and it is joined by 622 other merchants from the Top 1000 list with a similar holiday offer. Of these, 255 will not charge for delivery regardless of the order's size, while the threshold for the remaining businesses averages out to a $94 order. 

But while any of these bargains may be the difference between completing a sale or not, they will only work if customers are aware of them. Drawing consumer attention to their existence is at least as important as the promotion itself. 

Omnichannel a winning strategy for department stores

Although omnichannel sales are important to the retail industry, achieving the organization-wide integration and communication necessary for it requires a considerable degree of cooperation throughout all levels of the business. This can be done with versatile retail software that can follow inventory and the point of sale regardless of whether an item is sold in person or online. 

The actual advantages of omnichannel are not always as visible, however, and even merchants who are ready to make the move may doubt the decision. As a relatively recent trend, practical results may not be available, at least not among all types of retail. 

Achieving omnichannel integration
Macy's recent success with the omnichannel trend may shed some light on its effectiveness. According to The Wall Street Journal, the retailer has been experiencing notable sales growth that is strongly attributed to its omnichannel strategy. Through its "My Macy's" initiative, it has integrated Internet, in-store and warehouse operations into a seamless unit that can provide customers with wanted items in a swift period of time. Using its approach, Macy's believes it could be a leader in same-day delivery. All told, the company's fourth-quarter profits were up 7 percent year-over-year, with online, same-store sales proving a considerable part of its gains. 

"We continue to see significant upside opportunity ahead in those strategies that have worked so well since we reorganized the company in 2009," CEO Terry Lundgren told the source. 

Standing out from other retailers
Other companies operating in a similar retail market have not seen the boost that Macy's has. MSN noted that Sears has run into trouble of late, suggesting that Macy's management plays strongly into its recent accomplishments. 

However, omnichannel may not be the sole source of its success. The Wall Street Journal also noted that Macy's has focused on the millennial market, which could be a key part of its achievements. 

As more businesses grow to understand the intricacies and obstacles of omnichannel retail and how to overcome them, providing the service will be even more critical for merchants. For now, those that can bypass the challenges related to the strategy have the potential to lead in their respective markets. Doing this will require retail management software that covers all aspects of a company's sales and inventory, regardless of whether shoppers are using online channels, in-store delivery or the other options open to them. 

USPS announces shipping costs will rise by 2.4 percent

In the world of ecommerce, delivery is one of the most critical aspects of the business. Without free shipping offered at the point of sale, some customers might abandon their carts and find another merchant to fulfill their online shopping needs. The feature does not need to be offered for any purchase, but after a certain spending threshold, many consumers expect that they can forgo the charge. 

Because of this, retail industry professionals should be aware that the United States Postal Service recently announced that shipping prices may increase by 2.4 percent starting on Jan. 26, 2014. Notably, the announcement is not yet official. First the change must be reviewed and approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission. However, merchants may want to look over their current free delivery thresholds and prepare for the change. 

Fortunately, even ecommerce giant Amazon has recognized the need to revise its shipping policy, and its spending minimum for free delivery rose from $25 to $35 in October, according to CNN. Balancing the cost of transporting goods against the benefits of online sales can be difficult, but with versatile retail software in place, merchants can get a better overview of their companies and have an understanding of when free delivery becomes viable. 

E-retail up 14.6 percent as mobile commerce rises

Powerful ecommerce software is more important than ever as customers are increasingly shopping online. Recent comScore findings for the third quarter revealed that desktop spending on e-retail rose by 13 percent from the $41.9 billion earned last year. ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni noted that this represents a minor deceleration from the last quarter, but he suggested that the increase in major purchases such as homes and automobiles may have reduced discretionary budgets. 

"Nonetheless, we are confident that the growth rate in online spending will once again far exceed that in bricks and mortar stores, reflecting the ongoing channel shift to ecommerce," said Fulgoni. 

Meanwhile, mobile commerce helped spur some year-over-year growth, with Internet Retailer noting that it now accounts for 10.9 percent of all Web sales, up from 9.9 percent last year. The total was split between smartphones (62 percent) and tablets (38 percent) and amounted to $5.8 billion in expenditures. 

Because of changes in the ecommerce market, retailers should deploy the latest retail software and emphasize mobile compatibility. Desktop sales remain important, but market trends suggest a gradual shift to other devices. 

Seamless, multiscreen shopping experience will be important this holiday season

Retail software that functions across multiple devices, from the desktop to the tablet, is an increasingly important consideration for merchants. Real-time reporting on store operations is enhanced by a mobile workforce who can perform their tasks and monitor events without one job interrupting the other. Similarly, a versatile point of sale system is critical for shoppers, who will also be buying items from numerous devices. Even brick-and-mortar locations will see an uptick in mobile payments as NFC technology and other innovations become more widespread among consumers and retailers, while customers already access ecommerce from smartphones, laptops and other devices. 

The diversity of ways that patrons can research and purchase items will be even more important this upcoming holiday season, with a recent Google study discovering that 80 percent of customers will shop on more than one device in November and December. The search engine giant suggested that retailers should have a multiscreen business strategy in place to meet consumers at every step of their purchase. 

More consumers shopping on smartphones
The overall role of technology in retail will also increase, with Google anticipating a 21 percent year-over-year jump in the number of smartphone owners buying items through their devices. Meanwhile, 76 percent of these shoppers will browse products on their phones – 17 percent more than last year. 

These numbers rise even more significantly among younger shoppers, with millennials more likely to research products and then purchase them on their smartphones. This group will also frequent storefronts earlier than other customers, with 88 percent planning to shop on Thanksgiving weekend, in comparison to only 67 percent of overall adults. However, Google noted that there is a general trend for most consumers to visit stores early this season, even though many (25 percent) won't finish buying gifts until the last day possible. 

Consumers' device-focused nature is also suggested by the 100 percent increase since January in online searches for wearable devices. While the technology has yet to become commonplace, it may represent another shift in shopping come 2014. 

Rather than creating a separate strategy for consumers using smartphones, tablets and desktops, merchants should implement a holistic plan that acknowledges the role of omnichannel shopping habits. The mobile customer is now the norm, and new devices will likely add to the way they research and buy products, rather than supplanting past technology altogether. 

Most baby boomers are online shoppers

When thinking of ecommerce and mcommerce, many retail industry professionals may immediately imagine millennials and Generation X as the channels' top users. As these two groups were born into a world heavily invested in technology, it makes sense that they would use it while shopping. But eMarketer recently revealed that baby boomers are also an important demographic for online sales

Among the generation, nearly nine out of 10 consider themselves tech-savvy and have also purchased an item through the Web. According to a McAfee study, most of these consumers spend about 5 hours online per day, only one hour less than individuals age 10 to 23. Additionally, 97 percent of boomers use the Internet daily and 80 percent of them are members of social networks. 

Emarketer also noted that eight in 10 baby boomers engage in Internet-based banking and pay their bills online. Despite perceptions to the contrary, baby boomers are highly connected and can be reached across multiple channels. 

Connected, but still traditional in tech use
While baby boomers will buy products online, their device preferences still skew toward traditional methods. The generation spends most of their time on the Web through desktops (73 percent) and laptops (58 percent), while they access digital content through their smartphones (28 percent) and tablets (22 percent) much less. However, most consumers still don't own tablets and many have not purchased a smartphone. Ownership among all demographics is on the rise, though. So while the technology has not yet filtered to the majority of boomers, this may change as overall adoption of the devices increases. 

With consumers of all ages turning to the Internet for their purchases, merchants should deploy robust ecommerce software solutions that cater to a mostly untapped market. Ecommerce still makes up only a small percentage of total online sales, so retailers should only expect further growth in the coming years, and they should not discount any age group as they try to reach a larger consumer base.

Merchants should also recognize that the industry is becoming increasingly omnichannel and adapt accordingly. As more people grow accustomed to financial transactions online, which many boomers already are, retailers should have key delivery options, inventory management and other strategies in place that work within the Web-based sales environment. Promotions directed through social media also have a high chance of reaching all consumers. These should factor into ongoing strategies. 

Virtual fitting rooms can reduce return rates

Returned items are a problem for most retailers, but they are even more complicated for ecommerce merchants. Effective ecommerce software can eliminate some of the difficulties related to entering the item back into the system, but the whole process of having a product shipped back and received can feel arduous. Yet many customers expect the option, particularly for segments like apparel. An garment might not fit, or the consumer may not like how it looks once worn. 

Clothing retailers Henri Lloyd and Fits.me both experienced problems with clothing returns, according to Internet Retailing. Once they added a virtual fitting room, however, the problem decreased considerably. This feature allows shoppers to see how the clothes will fit based on the measurements entered into the system. Fits.me reported that since adding this capability to its website, its return rate dropped from 15.3 percent to 4.5 percent. 

Fits.me added that it was able to notice the decline because of its point of sale system, which could cross-reference returns with the original purchase. The more information merchants have available to them, the better they can understand the effects of their decisions on their operations.