• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 10, 2021

Now you may think your email marketing is fully mature. But can you say the same about the rest of your organization?

That question is especially pertinent for retailers, as maturity plays a role in how well they adapt to conditions, judging the 2021 Unified Commerce Report, a study by Kibo.  

For instance, fully mature and non-mature retailers say their top challenge in 2020 was unpredictable behavior. Of those polled, 53% of the very mature and 54% of the non-mature say so.  

Yet 53% of those in the middle — the somewhat mature — cite out-of-date technology, making it their top concern. 

In addition, 51% of the very mature retailers list that issue. 

However, only 45% of the very mature list communicating effectively with customers, versus 51% apiece of the somewhat mature and non-mature.  

Kibo defines “maturity” in terms of what it calls unified commerce. This occurs when “your sales channels are supported by a single platform that serves as an end-to-end growth-driver,” says. 

We’ve seen this offered up before under various names and flavors. And it appears that most retailers are at least part of the way there.  

Of  those polled, 35% see themselves as fully mature, 55% as somewhat so and 10% as non-mature. 

It’s worth the trouble to get there: Those who achieved some degree of unification were 600% more likely to see revenue gains during COVID-19 than those that didn’t, the study notes.  

In general, retailers suffered from these problems in 2020: 

• Out-of-date technology — 52% 
• Unpredictable customer behavior — 51% 
• Communicating effectively with customers — 49% 
• Unclear view of the customer — 47%
• Surges in demand — 42%
• Reduced in-store sales — 42%
• Siloed approach created bad customer experience — 36% 
• Supply-chain problems — 33%
• Reduced online sales — 21%

Looking forward, 53% expect customers will continue to use curbside pickup and BOPIS after the pandemic. 

Here’s what retailers are planning to do to be more successful this year: 

• Develop more agility and flexibility to react to consumer demand — 52%
• Unify customer view across channels — 47%
• Prioritize ecommerce over in-store — 45%
• Break down silos and operate as a unified team — 43%
• Gain a better understanding of the customer — 41%
• Personalize every customer touchpoint — 28%

Kibo surveyed 400 respondents.