182 PART 2 . SITUATION ANALYSIS full-line stores; it allows customers to make purchases from better deliver your retail proposition to drive stronger affinity their personal stylist or sales associate using text messages. and share with the shopper? How could your vendors help? Questions Evaluate Your Ecosystem 1. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: "It's no Once you have a good understanding of shoppers' needs and key longer bricks-and-mortar versus E-commerce-omnichan- drivers, you must assess your own ecosystem. Do you have the nel is the path to success." Explain your answer. technology, logistics, data, and organizational resources to operate 2. How has Walmart evolved over the years to address against a unified view of shoppers and their activity across chan- changing consumer desires, new technologies, and new nels? What are the gaps in your systems that impede delivering competitors? the quality of experiences that will drive the desired level of shop- 3. What are keys to succeeding with an omnichannel strategy? per loyalty and conversion? What frustrations are shoppers com- 4. What could other retailers learn from Nordstrom's current municating to your customer service teams or via social channels? omnichannel strategy? Experiment to Find What Works Case 4 Omnichannel Food Retailing Still Needs At this point, you can then engage in the hard work of determin- Work* ing which things to experiment against, where to invest, and Grocery buying is changing due to the emergence of omnichan- how to restructure your organization to deliver. It can't be done nel retailing. Consumers want options, and grocers need to be all at once, but each step needs to be able to deliver meaningful ready to provide them. Thus, experts say retailers will have to value for shoppers and make it easier for them to accomplish deal with selling price, venue, payment, and customer experi- their shopping goals with you. ence in all transactional channels. Doing so effectively is easier As with any major new initiative, obstacles stand in the said than done, however. way of smooth implementation. Wisner, Muhammad, and oth- One who understands that well is Jim Wisner, formerly a ers point to organizational silos in different departments as one VP at Jewel Food Stores and Shaw's Supermarkets. He states challenge to overcome. "There are operational, organizational, that omnichannel retailing is being able to operate, in any fash- and experiential issues to resolve," affirms Channie Mize, gen- ion, when and where the customer wants to interact. That can eral manager for the retail sector for Periscope, a Mckinsey involve customer service via social media, online chat, E-mail, or solution. "It's easier to do multichannel, but that creates silos phone; browsing or shopping in-store or online; receiving prod- and doesn't extend to customer service. Also, branding may not ucts via home delivery or in-store pickup, or old-fashioned aisle be consistent across the channels with a multichannel versus browsing; or making coupons or discounts similar across chan- omnichannel approach. nels. "As much as the ultimate goal needs to be a complete inte- 'In more traditional multichannel environments," Mize gration of 'all things at all times," says Wisner, now president of continues, "the chief merchant officer controls the merchan- Wisner Marketing, "it is important to make sure that each indi- dising in the physical stores, while the CIO, or 'head of online,' vidual piece can operate functionally and effectively on its own. controls the offering in the online stores. They each have differ- Pasting an online shopping portal to a Web site that hasn't been ent agendas tied to different or misaligned incentive structures. redesigned in years or mobile-optimized won't attract shoppers." This can cause the same retailer to cannibalize itself across DyShaun Muhammad, VP of consultancy Catapult, offers channels, which inherently provides for less than optimal these three key steps for retailers: results for the customer." Educate Yourself Questions Get to know shoppers, especially those who are most valu- 1. Why is omnichannel retailing a bigger challenge for. food able. What really drives a shopper to actually buy a particular retailers than general merchandise retailers? category from you? What are the barriers to his or her doing 2. Apply DyShaun Muhammad's three key steps to your more transactions with you? Where do tools like mobile apps, favorite supermarket. flexible fulfillment, digital couponing, and more traditional 3. Comment on this statement: "It's easier to do multichan- merchandising tools fit in his or her path to purchase for your nel, but that creates silos and doesn't extend to customer priority categories? How could you best deploy these tactics to service. Also, branding may not be consistent across the channels with a multichannel versus omnichannel Source: Based on material in John Karolefski, "Omnichannel Retail- approach." ng: A Work in Progress," Progressive Grocer, January 2016, pp. 91-95. 4. What are your top five recommendations as to how to best perform as an omnichannel retailer