Enhancing the consumer experience

A recent IDC MarketScape study found that aggressive product development and company acquisitions by vendors have resulted in rapid maturing of the e-commerce software platform market. Among the software vendors analysed, Oracle, IBM, and hybris (an SAP company) can be considered leaders. Over the past five years, behaviour has evolved in terms of how consumers expect to engage with retailers that operate physical and/or online stores. IDC believes that consumers are engaging retailers based on five attributes: customers instrumented (through mobile devices), informed (through 'always on' internet access), interconnected (through social communities), in-place (in-store, in public, or at home to shop), and immediate (in their ability to take action). These attributes are driving consumers to expect a seamless experience - commonly referred to as omnichannel.

Insights from the IDC study, however, indicate that many retailers that have both physical and online stores face challenges in connecting the parts of their businesses together to deliver an omnichannel experience.