Leading Retailers and Brands Step Up Omnichannel Investments, But Majority Still Fall Short, New Study Reveals

OSF Digital releases its 2022 Omnichannel Retail Index with insights for retailers and brands to accelerate growth

Quebec City, Canada (June 7, 2022) OSF Digital, an award-winning provider of digital transformation services to companies worldwide, announced the release of its 2022 Omnichannel Retail Index (Index) findings. Launched in 2015 by FitForCommerce (now OSF Digital’s strategic consulting division) in partnership with The National Retail Federation (NRF), the Index is widely recognized as the industry’s most comprehensive omnichannel and digital best practice benchmark study.

The 7^th annual study found that top-scoring retailers and brands are aggressively increasing adoption rates of omnichannel and digital capabilities, such as optimized content, frictionless checkout, and cross-channel capabilities, to meet rising shopper demands. Despite this, most companies in the Index have implemented less than 61% of best-practice capabilities, sometimes struggling to deliver seamless shopping experiences.

The highest-ranking company in the Index had implemented 85% of the Index’s designated best practices, which is a significant jump from 2021, when the highest score was 72%. This increase is a sign that digital investments are paying off. Another sign that retailers and brands are prioritizing omnichannel and digital investments is that this year, 12 companies have outperformed last year's leader with scores ranging from 73%- to 85%.

The Omnichannel Retail Index interactive digital report outlines key findings on the state of omnichannel and digital best practices, offering insights on investment trends and customer demands. Some of the key findings include:

• The implementation of Buy Online Pick-Up In-Store (BOPIS) curbside pickup has increased significantly, accelerated by the pandemic. BOPIS has become table stakes, offered by 84%; however, the cross-channel experience leaves much to be desired. The adoption of supporting functionalities that enable frictionless experiences has mainly remained flat in the past years, including the ability to schedule pickup times, filter by store availability, etc.
• 74% of the loyalty programs are based on a typical "earn & burn" approach. Only 49% allow shoppers to redeem points for product discounts, and even fewer allow shoppers to redeem points for "experiences.”
• From fast fashion to home improvement, sustainability is in focus. 67% promote sustainable products or sustainability programs.

“Retailers and brands have quickly adopted new capabilities driven by the pandemic, but the necessary customer experience continues to evolve,” said Bernardine Wu, Executive Managing Director of Digital Strategy at OSF Digital. “The latest Omnichannel Retail Index provides meaningful and actionable insights to help retailers and brands prioritize investment decisions and focus staff and capital on growth accelerators.”

“The Omnichannel Retail Index is a critical tool to help retailers and brands navigate the market volatility they face today,” said Gerard (Gerry) Szatvanyi, CEO of OSF Digital. “This year’s report shows an enormous opportunity for the industry to meet customer demands and provide a seamless and memorable customer experience. OSF Digital is committed to providing this comprehensive study to serve the industry best.“

The Omnichannel Retail Index takes the pulse of digital commerce and omnichannel retail. The Index examines how 100+ leading U.S. and global retailers and brands perform against 250+ criteria across web, mobile, and in-store capabilities. The Index examines how these companies deliver on the omnichannel promise through detailed and extensive mystery shopping conducted by OSF Digital’s strategy consultants. For the first time, this year’s report also shares consumer research and data by GfK to understand where retailers and brands are delivering or falling short of consumer expectations. Gfk is a consulting service and always-on, AI-powered intelligence platform for the global consumer products industry. Also new this year is the analysis of these companies’ sustainability practices and programs.

To view the full findings, please visit: https://omnichannelretailindex.com/

For more information about the Omnichannel Retail Index criteria and to learn how your company stacks up, please contact [email protected].