Retailers are failing
to meet customer
expectations, study
shows
Retailers are failing to meet customer expectations and often miss the mark when it comes
to delivery, convenience, and the in-store
experience, according to a study from business
technology provider Oracle Retail.
The company surveyed 15,800 consumers
and 210 retailers globally for its “Setting the
Bar” study on the retail environment. The
researchers found that retailers and customers
don’t see eye to eye on many aspects of the
shopping experience—an especially troubling
finding at a time when the lines between
online and in-store shopping are blurring.
“No matter if they’re enjoying the convenience of ridesharing, browsing through a
seamless in-app experience, or walking into
a brick-and-mortar storefront, customers
expect the same caliber of service in all interactions, upping the stakes for retailers as they
compete with rival brands and new business
models,” Mike Webster, senior vice president
and general manager, Oracle Retail, said in a
statement.
As for the “disconnects” between retailers
and customers, the study found that:
The study also found that faster, more con-
venient delivery continues to reign supreme
in the retail environment. More than 90% of
consumers said they want free one-day deliv-
ery by whatever means is fastest, including
drone, driverless car, or messenger. This is
more than double (43%) the share of consum-
ers who felt these delivery mechanisms would
be “awesome” when asked about them just
last year. n
go figure …
6
The number of days by which the 2019 peak holiday shopping season will be shorter than last year’s, thanks to a late
Thanksgiving.
Users want better communication
from warehouse robotics vendors,
MHI panelists say
Retailers and manufacturers are calling for more open and
honest communication from vendors of warehouse automation
products, in their ongoing efforts to use robotics to cope with
the warehouse labor crunch, according to participants in a panel
discussion at the recent MHI Annual Conference.
Finding qualified labor for warehouse work is a persistent
problem, driving employers to look to automation for ways to
augment—not replace—their workers, panelist Brian Poveromo,
senior facility and maintenance manager for American Eagle
Outfitters, said in the session. He spoke on a panel called
“Unlocking the Supply Chain
With Robotics” during MHI’s
conference in La Quinta,
California.
Despite that pressing need,
end-users often struggle
to apply robotic solutions
because many vendors are
afraid to share bad news with
their clients when projects slip
behind schedule, the panelists
said. “Number one, don’t lie
to me,” Poveromo said, when asked to name the challenges that
users face during implementation. “Overpromising and under-
performing is the biggest problem.”
Another way for solution providers to improve the customer
experience is by helping guide their clients through the cultural
change of installing robots in a warehouse, since many workers
are afraid they’ll be replaced by machines, he said.
“Just tell me the truth, be honest about it,” panelist Alan
McDonald, vice president for continuous improvement at Geodis,
said in the session. He noted that his company had dealt with
these fears by introducing employees to the robots early in the
process and offering them training for the transition to new job
responsibilities.
The other panelists included Meredith Westafer, senior industrial engineer at Tesla Motors, and Christian Wurll, professor
of electrical engineering and automation at the University of
Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe, Germany. n
