Unified commerce key as omnichannel retailers navigate coronavirus
Retailers’ failure to sell across online and offline channels is costing the UK sector up to £22 billion, according to research by Adyen.
Anonymised transaction data across the company’s global payments platform found that half of retailers adopting a unified commerce or omnichannel approach saw their total number of transactions remain consistent during the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, consumers who have traditionally shopped with a retailer in-store spent 40% more when purchasing online during the outbreak. At the same time, however, research conducted by Opinium as part of Adyen’s study shows that half of Brits still prefer shopping in physical stores, and 48% are looking forward to doing so for pleasure following the pandemic.
Analysis commissioned by Adyen and conducted by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) found that the proportion of retailers selling online via their own website or app averaged just 27% across Europe, but that increasing this proportion even slightly could have a significant positive economic impact.
CEBR used the United Nations’ UNCTAD index to assess European countries’ unified commerce readiness. When controlling for the stringency of country lockdowns, it found that a five point increase on the index was associated with 2.6% better retail sector performance during the pandemic. This equates to a £22.2 billion improvement in the UK’s turnover.
Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Officer at Adyen, comments: “Consumers today don’t want to be boxed; they want to shop in a way that works for them – and this might change depending on where they are, how they feel or many other factors.”
“Those retailers prepared to cater to today’s consumers were the ones that won out through the first wave of the pandemic. They were the ones agile enough to cope with the constantly changing environment, and with the infrastructure in place to continue meeting consumer demands throughout this period.”
“While something as seismic as the coronavirus may only occur once in a lifetime, the retail sector has been consistently shaken by digitalisation and changing consumer habits. If it’s to survive further shifts, which will inevitably come, retailers need to make sure they’re ready – and adopting a holistic, omnichannel approach will be key to this,” he concludes.
