In our latest eCommerce report, retail respondents are clear: the consumer has evolved from a somewhat predictable to a wholly unpredictable entity, and has made retailers’ daily challenges much different than they were even a short time ago.

In fact, two of the top three challenges they are most apt to cite (uncertain consumer demand and keeping up with evolving consumer shopping patterns) stem from this “new consumer. ” The challenges typically associated with eCommerce when it was merely a digital catalog offering (managing online assortment and stemming cart abandonment) have fallen by the wayside.

Today, nearly everything takes a back seat to catching up to the consumer.

Figure: A Brave New World

Source: RSR Research, November 2013

These points become fascinating when viewed by performance:

• While retailers of all sizes look to maintain growth rates, laggards are inordinately focused upon making sure their year-over-year numbers improve. This makes sense, as they already struggle with sales. However, at 61% (vs. 42% of Double Digit Winners), this may be indicative of laggards’ tendency to focus on the prize (growing sales), rather than the work required to attain it (understanding consumers, et al).
• Laggards are also much more challenged to get consumers engaged with them online: 52% say getting consumers to engage more with their brand online is a top-three challenge. Only 26% of Double Digit Winners report it as an issue, an indicator that Winners have taken more steps to understand what they can provide online to keep consumers intrigued, and moreover, that it is working.
• Winners, indeed, are focused on trying to understand consumer demand and keeping up with evolving shopping patterns: they have a much deeper understanding of knowing how important it is to crack this nut, and are laser focused on nailing it before they move on to other, ancillary challenges. They are, however, also serious about generating acceptable margins. Fifty five percent of Single Digit Winners report this as a top priority: the biggest challenge they face from the outside world by a long shot.

We invite all Retail Paradox Weekly readers to read the full report, which is available by following this link.