Customer Experience a Key Theme at Shop.org 2014

More than 5400 digital innovators from across the globe converged at the Shop.org Summit in Seattle this week. SiteSpect was pleased to participate again this year as an exhibitor to meet with companies and share insights on digital optimization.

Importance of customer experience

Executives from Birchbox, eBay, lululemon, Orvis, Rebecca Minkoff, REI, Target, and zulily (among others) noted that the most important strategy is to engage the consumer and get them involved in your experience. Whether online or in the store, every touch point should tell your story and help the customer’s decision making.

Successful retailers know that engaging the consumer involves A/B testing everything to see what resonates with them, and A/B testing often in order to adapt to changing needs. By providing data and insight on consumer behavior, optimization teams continue to elevate their strategic role in organizations.

Move over omnichannel: it’s digital and store convergence

Key concerns expressed by speakers at the conference included the shift in mobile, desktop, and in-store conversions, and how to attribute sales to different marketing channels. Nearly everyone agreed that the word omnichannel needs to be replaced with a better term because customers don’t care about channels – they just want to make a purchase. Alan Wizemann, Target’s VP of Target.com and Mobile Product, told attendees that omnichannel doesn’t mean being a retailer that sells in multiple channels, but instead it means the convergence of digital and physical stores. This convergence prompted lululemon athletica to create the one guest experience, both online and in stores. With 73% of its ecommerce sales coming from an area where it has a store, lululemon is clearly succeeding in converging the customer experience.

Big thanks and what’s next

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the SiteSpect booth. We’re now heading to the eMetrics Summit on October 6-9 in Boston, MA – come see us in booth #335. The eMetrics Summit is the leading conference covering the impact of data and technology on marketing. Make sure to visit us at the Lightning Round session on Monday, October 6, at 4:20 p.m.!

To learn more about SiteSpect, visit our website.