Store Best Practice Adoption Increases; Generative AI Adoption in Retail in Nascent Phase, Study Reveals

OSF Digital releases the 9^th Annual 2024 Omnichannel Retail Index

Quebec City, Canada (July 11, 2024) OSF Digital, an award-winning global provider of digital transformation services worldwide, announced the release of the 2024 Omnichannel Retail Index (the Index), an annual report that tracks and analyzes the adoption of digital and omnichannel best practices by retailers and brands. The annual report reveals today’s must-have shopping capabilities, up-and-coming features, and opportunities to improve customer experiences.

“The Omnichannel Retail Index offers a multitude of benefits to organizations seeking to accelerate their digital transformation,” said Gerard Szatvanyi, CEO of OSF Digital. “By leveraging the insights provided by the Index, retail executives can make more informed decisions about resource allocation and investments, propelling their brands forward and driving impactful sales growth.”

Key Highlights from the 2024 ORI Include:

• Most organizations fall short of delivering the frictionless shopping experiences that customers expect. The highest-ranking company in the 2024 Index has implemented 83% of digital and omnichannel best-practice capabilities, while the lowest score was only 32%. This widening gap emphasizes the urgency for organizations to prioritize their digital transformation efforts.
• Generative AI is underutilized, with only about 1 in 10 brands leveraging it. However, the adoption of algorithmic AI technology continues to expand, powering product recommendations and merchandising solutions.
• The gathering of shopper preferences and data remains an untapped opportunity for retailers, with only 58% of retailers allowing users to manage areas of interest in their accounts. Loyalty programs also remain a focus, with 70% of benchmarked companies offering some type of loyalty program.
• The adoption of online best practices remained the same from 2023, while mobile and cross-channel best practices saw growth of only 1%. The Athletic/Sporting Goods vertical led the way in mobile criteria. The slight improvement in cross-channel best practices was driven by retailers providing more in-store access to customers’ personal information.
• The adoption of store best practices saw the largest increase, rebounding to 63% in 2024 from 53% in 2023. This growth resulted from retailers offering options such as email receipts and utilizing tablets or mobile devices for checkout.

To provide a glimpse into your standing against the core Omnichannel Retail Index benchmarks, OSF Digital is offering a complimentary “Micro-ORI” to qualified prospects. The Micro-ORI includes a concise evaluation of a brand’s omnichannel performance, benchmarks against industry leaders, and expert advice to prioritize efforts for impactful sales growth. It serves as a door opener for organizations to experience the value of the Omnichannel Retail Index firsthand. Claim your free Micro-ORI here: https://insights.osf.digital/lp/osf-digital-omnichannel-retail-index-2024-micro-ori/

OSF Digital’s strategy consultants analyzed 106 U.S. retailers across 15 verticals for the Omnichannel Retail Index. This year, the Club and Discount categories were added, while Auto/Motorcycle was removed due to significant differences in shopping experience and functionality. Through extensive mystery shopping, key omnichannel capabilities were measured and tracked across the customer journey, analyzing retailers’ performance against 150+ criteria on web, mobile, and in-store shopping experiences. The criteria evolve slightly each year, with new additions for the 2024 Index, including generative AI, site performance, SEO optimization, fulfillment, loyalty, and communications.