Customer service is still king, but Canadian retailers are looking for new ways to increase sales by investing in technology, according to the fourth annual Canadian Retail Insights Report by American Express.
The study, commissioned by American Express Canada and conducted by Nielsen, included 380 Canadian decision makers in the gas, grocery, restaurant, fast food and general retail sectors.
On the ecommerce front, three quarters of respondents agree that online shopping is helping their company attract new types of customers and 63% say it’s helping them increase their total sales and revenue. The retail sector reported that they nearly doubled their international presence where they don’t have stores, which was attributed to an increase in online shopping (45% 2016 vs. 27% 2015).
Still, many retailers remain dedicated to traditional sales drivers, such as customer service and experience (85%), reaching new customers (83%) and providing new product offerings (73%).
Across industries, retailers indicated that consumers are demanding new technology and ecommerce, with, 77% of respondents reporting that their customers are driving their need to adopt mobile technologies.
“The study confirms how impactful technology is on the retail landscape. To remain competitive it’s imperative to stay attuned to not only what consumers are adopting today, but what they’ll be adopting tomorrow,” said Kerri-Ann Santaguida, VP and general manager, merchant services, American Express Canada, in a release.
“Customer service and new product offerings are always important, but in today’s market, embracing new technology to meet customer needs is setting businesses apart from the competition.”
In the next 12 months, retailers said they plan to improve or invest in mobile payment options (45%); contactless payment options (38%); and creating/updating a mobile app (35%).
While only a third (33%) of retailers are seeing increased sales from app or online purchases, they’re still considering these technologies as a way to remain competitive (75%) and attract new customers (64%). For those in the fast-food industry, 80% said they’re looking to invest and improve mobile or online purchasing options for consumers.
One quarter (27%) of merchants added new payment technology in the past 12 months, with adoption being driven by the fast-food sector (47%). Among those that have not adopted new payment technologies in the past 12 months, one third are planning to within the next five years.
Nearly half of respondents (46%) said they plan to focus more on expanding their product offerings. They also plan to focus more on marketing and advertising (37%), hiring (37%) and e-commerce (21%). Among those in general retail, 38% said they plan to focus more on e-commerce.
When it comes to loyalty, investing in customer service is the top tactic used to promote customer loyalty. This is followed by offering sales, promotions or discounts (82%), using social media (73%), expanded product offering or services (68%) and investing in more advertising or marketing (62%).
The report also showed that more than half of Canadian businesses experienced steady growth over the past 12 months. Positive sales were attributed to a number of factors, with investment in technology emerging as a driver of sales growth across industries (31%).
