Meeting customer expectations for a successful 2024 retail holiday season will depend on providing a seamless shopping experience across online stores, physical locations, and mobile platforms.

As the holiday season approaches, the pressure on retailers to meet sales targets intensifies. In a recent episode of the Insights Unlocked podcast, industry veteran Brian Walker, Co-Founder & Principal at StrategyēM, emphasized that while sophisticated strategies can be beneficial, the key to success often lies in mastering the basics of digital commerce.

 "It really comes down to seeing it through the customer's eyes." — Brian Walker, Co-Founder & Principal at StrategyēM

The Critical Importance of Getting the Basics Right

In June, UserTesting released its 2024 Retail Benchmark Report, where we looked at the digital experience quality of the top 25 U.S. retailers. The obstacles that shoppers encountered during some basic e-commerce flows, like finding a product, guest checkout, others, were significant. The top obstacles included pages not loading properly, irrelevant search results, and filtering options that weren’t intuitive. 

"At the end of the day, it comes down to sales—have you hit your sales goals?" Brian explained in his interview with UserTesting’s Bobby Meixner, Senior Director of Industry Solutions.

Brian pointed out that while many factors influence these outcomes, a retailer’s ability to control the basics, like site speed and product discovery, is crucial. It’s easy to get caught up in the latest tech trends, but without a solid foundation, even the most advanced strategies can fall flat.

Achieving your sales goals and metrics involves many factors, some of which are outside the control of the digital team, Brian said. 

"But there are many things within the digital team's control, and it really comes down to a lot of basics. Do you have a high-performing solution for search and product discovery? Have you tuned it to ensure that all the various synonyms and characteristics of the products are easily discovered? Are you on top of the key trends and really mapping those into the products? And naturally, is your checkout page, your product detail pages, and other elements tuned to meet the needs of the customer and enable them to buy with confidence?"

In a season where consumer expectations are sky-high, retailers can’t afford to overlook the essentials. This means ensuring that your website’s search functionality is optimized, your product descriptions are clear and accurate, and your checkout process is seamless. Customers expect a frictionless experience, and anything less could cost you sales.

Overcoming Digital Obstacles: Why Even the Big Players Struggle

Even the largest retailers are not immune to digital hurdles. Brian highlights that many top U.S. retailers still face significant obstacles in their e-commerce flows, such as irrelevant search results and non-intuitive filtering options.

"There's a natural bias... teams working within the experience almost can't see the challenges," Brian points out. "It really comes down to seeing it through the customer's eyes."

"The reality is that digital is the front door to every business, and whether a customer converts online or in other channels, you have to make sure that the digital experience is intuitive and easy to use." — Brian Walker, Co-Founder & Principal at StrategyēM

This is where tools like UserTesting come into play, he said, allowing retailers to gather real-time feedback from users. By seeing your website through the eyes of your customers, you can identify and fix pain points that might otherwise go unnoticed.

"The reality is that digital is the front door to every business, and whether a customer converts online or in other channels, you have to make sure that the digital experience is intuitive and easy to use," Brian said. 

The Growing Impact of Retail Media on the Customer Experience

Retail media, particularly sponsored content within search results, is becoming a double-edged sword. While it represents a significant revenue stream, it can also degrade the user experience if not managed carefully.

"But within the experience itself, if the customer is annoyed by irrelevant things you're pushing on them, they will be frustrated. Anecdotally, as well as in the data, we hear this all the time now," Brian said. "I'm worried that the proliferation of retail media will have a significant impact overall because it's an easy button for increasing monetization, but it impacts the relevancy of the experience for the customer, often leaving them frustrated and making them work to find what they're looking for."

Retailers must strike a delicate balance between monetizing their platforms and maintaining a positive customer experience. Testing different layouts and placements can help find that sweet spot where both revenue goals and user satisfaction are met.

"There's probably no one right way to do it, but that's why tools like UserTesting enable you to test and find that happy medium where customers aren't frustrated, and it's not getting in the way of what they're trying to accomplish," Brian said, "While still giving the ad team what they're looking for in terms of ad slots."

The Omnichannel Challenge: Bridging the Online and Offline Worlds

As consumers continue to blend their online and offline shopping behaviors, the pressure is on for retailers to create seamless omnichannel experiences. However, many are still struggling to fully integrate these channels.

"Many organizations are still, in a sense, stuck in a channel-centric world," Brian observes. "The customer doesn’t perceive it that way at all and hasn’t for a while."

For retailers, this means rethinking their approach to inventory management, in-store pickup options, and how they track customer interactions across different touchpoints. Brian suggests that retailers need to prioritize investments in order orchestration and management solutions to better navigate the complexities of omnichannel fulfillment.

Looking Ahead: Post-Holiday Priorities for Retailers

As retailers look forward to 2024, Brian advises that future investments in 2025 and beyond should focus on personalization and the integration of marketing and digital experiences.

"Coming out of this holiday, there will be a continued focus on margin and efficiency—taking cost out of the business," he said. 

"Personalization has been a key topic for 25 years... where marketers and merchants will start to pay closer attention is the intersection between their marketing and the digital experiences they’re delivering," Brian said.

This goes beyond just recommending products on a website. Retailers need to ensure that every interaction, from email marketing to in-store experiences, feels personalized and relevant to the customer. Leveraging data-driven tools and AI can help retailers better understand and meet customer needs, ensuring they stay ahead of the competition.

Final Thoughts

In a world where consumer expectations are constantly evolving, staying ahead in retail requires both a return to basics and a willingness to adapt to new challenges. As Brian emphasizes, focusing on fundamentals, optimizing the customer experience, and carefully integrating new technologies are all crucial steps for retailers aiming to succeed this holiday season and beyond. By leveraging these insights, you can ensure your retail strategy not only meets but exceeds customer expectations, leading to a more profitable and successful year.

Episode links:

• Top eCommerce UX Tips for the Holiday Season: This page offers valuable insights into optimizing eCommerce sites during peak shopping periods, focusing on site speed, performance, and user experience—all critical during the holiday season.

• A Guide to Digital Customer Experience Strategy: This page covers the importance of creating a cohesive omnichannel experience and personalizing customer interactions, which were key points in the podcast.

• Improve eCommerce Experiences: This resource discusses how to enhance digital shopping experiences by understanding customer needs and optimizing the online buying journey, which directly relates to Brian's emphasis on getting the basics right in digital commerce.

• Risky Personalization Tactics That Can Make or Break Your CX: This page highlights the delicate balance required when personalizing customer experiences, echoing Brian’s concerns about overdoing retail media and sponsored content.

• What is Digital Personalization?: This glossary entry defines digital personalization and discusses its importance and best practices, reinforcing the podcast's focus on the necessity of personalized customer experiences.

• Cocktails and Commerce: Brian mentioned his newsletter and podcast, which can be found on Substack.