The results of the iQmetrix 2021 Trends in Telecom Retail survey were extremely revealing. We learned that today’s retail operator is agile and responsive; robust and optimistic; innovative and adaptable. We discovered that the coronavirus pandemic radically changed the retail landscape—temporarily for the worse, perhaps, but arguably for the better in the long term.
Plans that were already in the pipeline for buy/reserve online pick up in-store (BOPIS/ROPIS), curbside pickup, store appointment scheduling, and digital queue management were iterated virtually overnight, creating an omnichannel retail experience that was both convenient and safe for the customer. For more than 80% of our survey respondents, omnichannel strategies were cited as important to their retail operations—with more than half of all respondents choosing “extremely important.” And more than two-thirds said that the pandemic accelerated their omnichannel implementation plans, with nearly half of those describing this as “rapid.”
In a post-COVID reality, customers expect this seamless purchasing journey to be the new normal. Retailers are responding to this expectation, with two-thirds of survey respondents saying they had already decided to keep their omnichannel offerings in place beyond the pandemic, and a quarter still considering their options.
Investing in new strategies
It is inarguable that multi-channel purchasing strategies are essential to every retail vertical, and telecom is no exception. As sophisticated retailers get their omnichannel flows established, they are freed up to explore new ways to sell anywhere, and are investing heavily in new strategies.
When asked how they planned to improve the online shopping experience, a whopping 87% said that they have increased, or plan to increase, investment in social media engagement strategies. This was followed by investment in improving e-commerce flows, at over 83%, followed by BOPIS/ROPIS investment, at nearly 82%.In a question on the role of e-commerce over the next five years, respondents most often predicted growth in BOPIS/ROPIS, an increase in online/e-commerce purchasing in general, and growth in AI/machine learning and data analytics to improve customer personalization. These survey results align closely with what our clients are telling us—particularly the bigger players in the retail space, who are investing heavily in these areas.
Future purchasing channels
Looking at some blue-sky thinking, in terms of likely purchasing channels in the next five years, the top answer selected by a massive 88% of respondents was a “greater focus on customer loyalty, subscription programs, and rewards programs to upsell and increase consumer spend.” While this area is seeing huge growth in retail generally, the telecom sector has a way to catch up to other retail verticals. Where it will likely play out is in the growth of smart home and Internet-of-Things-connected devices, which could result in more bundling and upselling. Taking smart devices a step further, it’s possible that our phones themselves will be telling us when it’s time for an upgrade, and automatically order the latest device. Essentially, a phone could simply replace itself.
In terms of future purchasing channels, at nearly 83% of respondents, the second most popular answer was “increased focus on brand channel integration, creating greater customer visibility into inventory availability.”This is an area in which iQmetrix is investing heavily, in response to the need of our larger clients. The seamless integration of multiple retail channels and inventory visibility are foundational to enabling all those e-commerce and omnichannel strategies that have been put in place—it’s not possible to effectively serve the customer without that transparency.
Growth in other purchasing channels such as experiential stores, social and search platforms, mobile kiosks, pop-up stores, and branded mobile trucks was also seen as “likely” by most respondents, to varying degrees. One wireless retailer respondent told us, “We’re figuring out how to start our customer journey on Facebook, and through short videos on YouTube, on Instagram, which takes them through to the e-commerce site. So with search and social, it’s less about the actual purchasing, more all about the beginning of the customer journey.”
A buy-anywhere reality
Today, we at iQmetrix are having increasing conversations with our clients about how they can bring their products to customers out in the world via other channels. One key trend resurgence we are seeing is pop-up stores and kiosks at arenas, events, street corners, malls, and condo buildings, using our mobile point-of-sale solutions, inventory management systems, and omnichannel technologies.
More than anything else, both our survey responses and our daily conversations with clients show that the future of telecom retail is in meeting the customer where they are. Retail operators are investing in innovative ways to sell anywhere, so that their customers can buy anywhere. In-store, online, via mobile, via social, via search, at big-boxstore kiosks, from mobile trucks, in pop-up stores, and anywhere else.
