Retailers Demonstrate Progress in Mobile Commerce, Social Sharing and Consistent Marketing Promotions, According to CrossView Study

56 percent of retailers studied offer mobile apps, 92 percent have sharing functions; call centers fall behind, only 8 percent of service reps tried to up-sell callers who phoned to purchase an item

Research Triangle Park, NC — August 29, 2012 — CrossView, Inc., a cross-channel commerce solutions and services provider, released the results of its 2012 Cross-Channel Readiness survey that looked at retailers across a variety of categories, gauging improvements and declines in enabling customers to shop in-store, online, in call centers and via mobile with a consistent brand experience. This year’s study showed improvement in several key areas from last year, particularly in mobile commerce, social sharing and consistency in marketing promotions.

In an analysis of four touchpoints— online, in-store, call center and mobile—retailers could score up to 280 points, and those surveyed had a combined average of 177 points with Best Buy achieving a perfect score.

Other findings highlighted in a detailed report on the survey include:

  • 92 percent of retailers enabled social sharing in their web stores – up from 88 percent in 2011.

  • 79 percent of retailers offered the same marketing promotion across all touchpoint in 2012 – up from 65 percent in 2011.

  • 72 percent of retailers offered ratings and reviews in their web stores – a 39 percent rise year over year.

The most pronounced move was in the area of mobile commerce. In 2011, only 12 percent of retailers offered shoppers a mobile application for the smartphone. This jumped to 56 percent in 2012.

“This year’s survey shows a steady beat of progress,” said Mark Fodor, chief executive officer, CrossView. “While the needle didn’t move terribly far, it registers in the right direction in a few key areas. What’s clear to us in our work with leading brands is that no touchpoint is viewed as a separate entity by consumers – each is an extension of the same brand. So, consistency is critical, fitting hand in glove with an effective cross-channel strategy.

Each retailer was evaluated via a mystery shopping approach. A variety of criteria were used, including consistency of pricing and promotions, access to customer profile information, merchandising, and, to the extent possible, overall parity of experience between touchpoints.

Click here to download the results.



About CrossView:
CrossView is a premier provider of cross-channel commerce solutions and services that enable a smarter, more personalized shopping experience. Our multi-platform solutions and services unify the Web, stores, call centers, mobile devices, and other channels on a single, flexible platform. To learn more about CrossView, visit www.crossview.com.

Media Contact:
Catherine Seeds
Ketner Group (for CrossView), 512.794.8876
catherine@ketnergroup.com