NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - January 13, 2009) - Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Inc (
NYSE:
T)
company, today announced the results of its third annual consumer survey
focused on how consumers want to interact with retailers across channels.
The survey found that consumers' cross-channel expectations continue to
rise, even in tough economic times, and that earning consumer loyalty can
play a role in increasing sales. Retailers who can deliver a seamless
experience across channels are best positioned to gain increased customer
loyalty and revenue per customer.
Sterling Commerce shared the findings of the survey, which polled 1,017
adults between January 2 and 4, 2009 on their shopping habits over the past
three months, at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Annual Convention and
Expo in New York this week. Sterling Commerce is located at booth #2219,
and more information on the company and survey is available at
http://www.virtualpressoffice.com/public/kit/sterlingcommerce.
The survey found that 58 percent say that, considering recent economic
conditions, in the past three months they have made a conscious effort to
limit shopping to retailers where they felt a sense of loyalty. A sense of
retailer loyalty was most prevalent among shoppers in the 55 to 64 year-old
age range (65 percent) and in households with incomes of $50,000 to $74,000
(67 percent). The recent economic conditions also affected other shopping
trends:
-- Nearly two-thirds of consumers (65 percent) report they recently held
off on making purchases, waiting for sale prices. Among the most careful
were consumers with children (71 percent).
-- 40 percent of all consumers said they made a conscious effort to hold
off buying something online because it didn't offer free shipping.
-- A fourth of consumers (27 percent) have made a conscious effort in the
past three months to avoid retailers where they were worried about
potential security breaches.
"As economic conditions worsen, retailers must make it as easy as possible
for consumers to shop, regardless of how many touchpoints they have with
the retailer," said Jim Bengier, global retail industry executive for
Sterling Commerce. "As this survey shows, consumers are demanding new
levels of convenience only found when retailers effectively bridge their
cross-channel
environments."
The survey shows that consumers want a seamless experience across channels
and their expectations are rising. Increasingly, consumers want to
channel-hop to complete their purchases, making integration across channels
essential to retail success. For example:
-- 57 percent of consumers feel it is very important to be able to return
merchandise to a store even if it was purchased via telephone or online, up
from 41 percent last year.
-- 35 percent of consumers feel it is very important to be able to pick
up merchandise at a store after ordering online, double last year's number
(17 percent last year).
-- In addition to wanting to pick up at and return items to the store,
most consumers also want both call center and store personnel to have a
record of what you've purchased from that retailer in the past, regardless
of whether it was in a store, online, or via a call center. Overall, 33
percent consider this to be very important.
Across the board, more consumers are channel-hopping to complete their
sales. However, similar to last year, the survey found that
"high-value" consumer groups --
higher-income consumers and college graduates -- continue to place higher
value in the cross-channel experience. The survey found:
-- Three-fifths of in-store shoppers (60 percent) have gone online to do
research or look at an item before purchasing it in a store (up from 57
percent). For consumers with household incomes above $75,000, the number
rose to 80 percent and college graduates were 77 percent.
-- Thirty percent have taken an online coupon or rebate offer to the
store (up from 24 percent), and for consumers with household incomes above
$75,000, the number was 46 percent and college graduates were 42 percent.
-- Research also is going mobile, with one in eleven consumers (9
percent) reporting that they have accessed information about an item via
their cell phone. For consumers, with household incomes above $75,000, the
number rose to 11 percent.
Sterling Commerce solutions for retailers include the
Sterling Selling and Fulfillment Suite, a comprehensive solution for
the entire inquiry-to-cash process. The latest version, launched at NRF,
boasts broadened e-commerce capabilities for the store and call center to
enhance the cross-channel shopping experience, and new inventory management
capabilities to drive operational efficiency and reduce costs. [See
related release, "
Sterling
Commerce Delivers New e-Commerce and Warehouse Management
Capabilities."] Sterling Commerce integration solutions for
managed file
transfer and
business-to-business (B2B) connectivity and collaboration maximize
efficiency by providing secure connectivity to any partner in any way,
controlling community management, and monitoring supplier/carrier
performance.
Survey Methodology
The findings are based on a nationwide telephone survey conducted by
Opinion Research Corporation as part of its CARAVAN® omnibus survey
service. 1,017 adults comprising 502 men and 515 women 18 years of age and
older, living in private households in the continental United States. The
survey has a sampling error of +/-3 percentage points for answers close to
50 percent.
About Sterling Commerce
Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Inc (
NYSE:
T) company, helps customers thrive in
a global economy by connecting their business communities, processes,
people and technology. More than 30,000 customers worldwide use Sterling
Commerce solutions for
business
process integration,
multi-channel
selling, and
supply chain
fulfillment, and
payments
management to optimize business performance inside and outside their
enterprise. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Sterling Commerce has offices
in 24 countries around the world. More information can be found at
www.sterlingcommerce.com.