To assess their preparedness, Digital Commerce 360 looked at 15 retailers across a range of categories from the shopper point-of-view. I looked at the following top retailers:

• Amazon.com Inc.
• Best Buy Co. Inc.
• Crate&Barrel
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Kay.com
• Kohl’s Corp.
• Lululemon Athleta Inc.
• Macy’s Inc.
• Nordstrom
• Sephora
• Target Corp.
• Ulta Beauty
• Urban Outfitters Inc.
• Walmart Inc.
• Williams-Sonoma Inc.

I assessed each retailer across three areas. First, we wanted to see how promotional each retailer presented itself via the website. Secondly, we wanted to gauge the festive holiday experience. Lastly, we were looking to see if retailers integrated omnichannel into the shopping so that we could have choices in channels and determine which delivery options would best serve our needs. Of course, we were wondering if they would encourage us to buy early, whether they had free shipping and then ideally if they would let us return gift purchases into January to truly deliver from the customer service perspective.

Pre-holiday review of online retailer experience

I conducted my review in early November and results were as follows. Kohl’s, Macy’s and Kay each topped the scoring receiving a 17 out of 21 points while Best Buy and Target both hit 16.

Promotions: Early Black Friday starts even earlier this year from retailers Macy’s and Walmart Inc., No. 2 in the Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000, as both are touting early access. In fact, 60% of retailers from the 15 retailers I analyzed are encouraging early buying in one form or another.

In some instances, loyalty program members have the advantage, as is the case with Walmart. Its members get a 4-hour head start on all Black Friday deals. Undoubtedly, it is hoping to acquire many more members in anticipation of Black Friday spending and it is heavily promoting special access as Walmart prompt shoppers to become members.

For Macy’s, when visiting its homepage, the Black Friday Early Access messaging clicks through to a page that touts more than 70,000 products. It is available for shoppers to peruse with some styles ending as early as that same day. It suggests that you shop early and be sure to periodically check back.

At Best Buy Co. Inc., No. 5 in the Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000, Black Friday prices are guaranteed when you are signed up for a Totaltech or My Best Buy Membership. This high reward, low risk proposition is sure to appeal to shoppers.

Lastly, Crate&Barrel highlights their Black Friday gifting event. Shoppers are encouraged to shop early with a link to expedited shipping cutoffs to ensure products are delivered in time. Its Holiday Inspiration Lookbook is also presented to put shoppers in a merry mood.

In Digital Commerce 360/Bizrate Insights October Pre-holiday survey of 1000 online shoppers, when asked about their 2021 holiday behavior, 34% indicated they would shop earlier knowing that delivery times may be longer, while 32% would do so as they expected more products might be out-of-stock.

In the same survey, when asked specifically about the timing of their holiday shopping, 68% said they had or would be shopping earlier (before Thanksgiving).

Omnichannel efforts essential to holiday success for store-based retailers

As we expect this to be an omnichannel Christmas, it’s important to have exemplary capabilities from order pickup times to in-store and curbside convenience. At the same time, it is also imperative to let shoppers know what those options are and how they work.

I measured omnichannel visibility based on how integrated omnichannel merchandising was in the site experience with particular interest paid to the homepage. Five retailers were given the top score of 5 and those included Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and Target while the average among the retailers (excluding Amazon) was 3.28.

Omnichannel activity will be an important part of upcoming holiday activity, according to Digital Commerce 360/Bizrate Insights Pre-holiday survey, with the following findings worth keeping in mind:
• 33% of online shoppers will be checking online for product availability at a nearby store
• 24% of online shoppers will be placing an online order for pickup at a store
• 17% of online shoppers will be ordering online and using a retailer’s curbside pickup

We asked retailers what changed for online shoppers year over year in our Digital Commerce 360 October 2021 pre-holiday retailer survey. Here, 100 retailers emphasized that omnichannel rose near the top as 52% suggested that buy online, pickup in store and/or curbside pickup of orders will continue to increase since consumers became more comfortable with omnichannel features during the pandemic.

Kohl’s has both options and more importantly lets shoppers know they can get their orders in an hour or less. With Kohls’ curbside pickup options and parking spaces reserved for shoppers, it has omnichannel covered.

Dick’s Sporting Goods, No. 29 in the Digital Commerce 360 lays out a crystal-clear set of options. Its executions of omnichannel seems second to none at this point. Online, when accessing its order pickup, shoppers also see a one-hour curbside or in-store pickup option. But it is the retail chain’s new need to return curbside option that catches my attention. Hard to beat and only Nordstrom Inc., No. 20 in the Digital Commerce also makes it available.
And of course, we all know that customers want to have it their way when shopping for themselves and gifting. Sephora reinforces many shopper favorites including pickup in store, pickup curbside, same-day delivery and free shipping as part of their holiday and gifting messaging.

Gift gift givers the tools they need

From the gifting vantage point, I evaluated how festive the experience seems to be, and I particularly focused on homepage integration and the gift guides/gift center destination. Retailers made significant investments in this area scoring an average of 4.4 out of 5 points. Those that hit the 5-point mark included Best Buy, Crate&Barrel, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kay, Kohl’s, Lululemon, Macy’s and Urban Outfitters.

Catching a shopper’s attention in a world that bombards shoppers with too many incoming messages is no small feat. I did however find my imagination stirred several times as I was shopping. Given the times we are living it, it was wonderful to see Apple’s heartfelt expression, “Let the holidays be for everyone.” I found myself immediately thinking about who I might buy for, especially focused on my daughter and her tech needs. Though not measured as part of the Top-15, I couldn’t help but include this beautiful example.

As most of us find ourselves on information overload, it was great to arrive at Ulta’s homepage where shoppers are presented with one simple question, “Are you looking for a gift?” When selecting yes, it subsequently defaults to the ideas that include top gifts, gifts sets and exclusives along with categories and price points so shoppers can then follow its lead.

I too loved Urban Outfitters, which brings a wonderful aesthetic to its online and in-store experience for its younger target audience. Free shipping, despite being for a limited-time only seals the deal and was the No. 1 answer among 66% of online shoppers in our pre-holiday survey about how retailers will be selected for holiday shopping.

Amazon touts its wishlist and encourages visitors to build one in order to give buyers the best hints. Our Digital Commerce 360 research shows that 13% will create, shop or share a wishlist but I believe that number is probably much higher. Many of us do not create formal lists but just today, I texted my daughter to share what was on her wishlist, so informal may be more of a standard.

Williams-Sonoma Inc., No. 23 in the Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000, reminds us that the merchant is there to help. Whether it be virtual events that they make available, an opportunity to receive text recipes or its Thanksgiving workbook, shoppers should be grateful for the resources they make available. Plus, while Williams-Sonoma has the shopper’s attention, it pushes its BOPIS capabilities.

Customer service matters more than ever

There’s an adage in retail that shoppers may remember the service longer than they remember the products. 34% of online shoppers suggested that quality customer service was important when it came to selecting retailers.

In fact, it is Lululemon’s “stress free season” that inspired this post. For some that might mean free shipping, although for the evaluated 15 retailers, just 27% of them are full of generosity. Of course, this may shift throughout the season as retailers often will do limited-time only free shipping promotions.

And when it comes to extended returns, just knowing you have the freedom to return products whenever you like is welcome and 40% of these 15 retailers have that as part of their offering. While I don’t have a prior year measurement, from a gut check point-of-view this seems high. My assumption is that retailers know it is high on the shopping list as 39% of survey respondents said free return shipping would be a factor in merchant selection over the holidays. When hunting around, I even noticed that Urban Outfitters has extended this option until Feb. 28, so kudos to them.

It’s game time

This is game time and retailers should be ready. While some may have put extensive promotions on the field others will take a full-price approach to their business. But when it comes to the gifting experience creativity is critical and affords retailers a chance to guide shoppers to make the right selections. And for any store-based retailers omnichannel has never played a greater role. The ability to get products at home or in store fast tops the list of shoppers and should be in place for retailers as well. The season is now to score and share in the spoils that are expected to doled out this holiday.