When asked which digital channels deliver the most sales, 71% of retailers responded that their online domestic websites drive the majority of their sales. This is an increase of about 1% over last year – when 70% indicated the same. Regarding mobile sales, 4% more retailers indicated this year that mobile channels were a top digital sales driver – with 41% of retailers specifying mobile sales as a top digital channel.
Surprisingly, social payments as a driver of sales decreased from 11% in 2016 to just 5% in 2017 in this category. This decrease could be due to the fact that in 2016 the concept of social payments was new and retailers expected social payments to be adopted much faster than they actually have been.
The results of the survey show that retailers are relying heavily on orders transacted via mobile devices, with 5% of retailers indicating they take 100% of their orders via mobile and a median percent of 26-50% of all retail orders being conducted via mobile device.
This year, integrated loyalty options (61%), payments security (59%) and seamless ordering (44%) were highlighted as the top three features that all respondents want their mobile app to deliver. The same three features made up the top three in 2016, signifying that retailers’ priorities regarding mobile app features have not changed in the past year.
Regarding omni-channel strategy, about 42% of retailers specify that their current omni-channel strategy includes two or more channels, with 12% of retailers admitting that they have yet to launch digital omni-channel strategies.
These survey results are consistent with the overall themes of merchant mobile and omni-channel strategies, and the customer experience displayed throughout the show this year. The ACI survey results are indicative that a strong mobile and omni-channel strategy will be vital to the success of any retailer in 2017 and beyond.
