In this whitepaper, created in partnership with Oracle and on the basis of intensive industry research and surveying, we set out to discover the importance that retailers are putting on customer-centricity, how it is affecting their businesses, the challenges and how those are being overcome. Retailers themselves told us in an attitudinal survey that technology, staff skills, organisational structure and brand communications are all being tested by customer-centricity.
The findings are backed up with research from InternetRetailing’s Top500 highlighting the practice of the best as we benchmark the performance of the UK Elite and Leading retailers. Case studies from Shop Direct, JTF, Steinhoff Retail and Mothercare also highlight how retailers are rising to the pressure of customer centricity.
Key findings include;
- 28% of retailers say that customer-centricity is “extremely testing” on staff skills
- 30% are being held back by organisational structure and company culture
- 43% believe technology will give them the most progress in this area
- Technology, skills and organisational structure are all being challenged by the notion of customer-centricity
