Conversion Rate Optimization has been revolutionary for marketing. It is a good time to apply these practices to retail. Basically, it gives retailers the ability to monitor what they are doing, tweak it and see if it improves conversion. It takes a scientific approach to retail. That means the omnichannel promise, that 58 percent of in-store pickups result in more sales, can be even further optimized with this figure rising.

The biggest conversion rate killers today are long checkout lines, the lack of knowledge of staff on product/inventory and the unwillingness to go truly help customers. I am confident that CRO will shine a spotlight on some of these challenges. That’s the first step in getting them fixed!

CRO analysis and improvement for brick-and-mortar retailers is a must and they can definitely improve results with this focus. This should be a part of a wider “digital transformation” strategy in which retailers use technology to improve in-store operations. As said before, one of the key advantages of physical retailers over online retailers is the human factor. By improving human interaction and empowering store staff to use technology to identify shoppers, see their purchase history and personalize offers or provide better and faster answers to their product-related inquiries, conversion will increase and, no less important, with cross selling opportunities baskets size will grow as well.

Conversion rate optimization should join traffic count and basket size as key metrics for retail. Retailers need to work hard to convert every visitor into a customer. To me, the biggest CRO killers at retail are out-of-stocks, inability to quickly locate desired items and category SKU creep. Retailers need to make it easier for customers to shop their stores.

The new de-branding is to not respect the gift of a store visit by shoppers. Every visit should include discovery and the satisfaction of needs and wants, with each visit fueling the desire for future visits. Information about new products, inventory visibility and promotions about how the features and benefits of products ideally suit them should be presented in engaging ways. A failure for optimal conversion on one visit should motivate future purchases. A visit is also the opportunity to promote future in-store events. Dynamic signage and other digital experiences can keep the store worthy of being on the outing itinerary.

Thanks Mark, for bringing this to mind. I think about customer experience all the time and often forget myself to align CX with CRO. Retailers need to be looking at what makes a customer choose shopping in-store over shopping online, and give them that experience. And they need to measure the delivery in conversions. If they are simply looking at sales transactions, they have no way of knowing if they are giving the customer the right experience and enough of it. As for conversion rate killers? If you know the reasons your customers come into the store then map the customer journeys and make sure every potential exit point has been addressed with the right solution and/or interactions.

For my 2 cents.

All of the comments below on this subject are correct! The key is the willingness on the part of retailers to invest in people and item variety to make it happen. The trend needs to be reversed from cost cutting to staffing with associates trained to sell, sufficient in-store inventory, ability to utilize data to promote sales and a seamless transition to the retailer’s website to sell and ship recommended items to the in-store consumer. This takes well-trained staff with initiative and may well require a different compensation system to make it work.

I find Mr. Gennette’s comment, while full of confidence, to be dubious. Isn’t the whole narrative in recent years that traffic everywhere is down? That stores are NOT “getting the traffic.”
To the extent that his attitude is typical, I see little chance that CRO will become of much interest.

The challenge is first to remain a relevant draw for shoppers to take the time to visit your stores. This has everything to do with being a compelling merchant that has the products people want to see / feel / hear / touch / smell better than they can online. Sure, there’s a conversion issue today due to myriad causes, showrooming not the least of them. CRO is just one tool to leverage, alone with other critical ones to gain insights into how to generate those ways to get shoppers to buy more in-store. We can all think of those innovators that always have heavy traffic in their stores and are leaders in conversion rates. It can and IS being done.

All retailers can always do better with conversion rate optimization. If they ever stop trying, some competitor is going to come along and grab market share. Conversion rate killers come in two groups — human and technological.

On the human side, customer service throughout the shopping experience can be hugely positive and hugely negative. Cashiers, clerks and others impact sales every hour — or even more frequently. Properly trained and equipped with both the right data and the right equipment, these front-line staffers can drive sales as well as, if not better than, other shopper influencers.

On the tech side, having the right actionable information at the right place and the right time for those employees to better engage the shopper is going to drive conversions. Conversely, the lack of the right resources at the point of purchase will almost certainly lower conversion rates.

One of the major differences between shopping online and offline is that customers will inevitably leave trails when they shop online: e-tailers know their home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Retail companies even know which products shoppers browsed yet didn’t buy.

By contrast, physical retailers lack the capacity to keep track of their customers. When shoppers enter the store, pick up items and pay by cash, retailers do not capture any detailed customer profile data.

In response, retailers with physical stores should monitor customer conversion to understand their silent customers and adjust their service accordingly. They can start doing this by equipping their stores with technology, including headcount devices and mobile payments. Most importantly, physical stores should take advantage of the richer, multi-sensory customer experience they can provide and embrace technology to offer personalized customer service.