A consensus has been reached as to where to find more profitable customers: they are those troublesome consumers that cross channels. These consumers insist on engaging in activities that expose retailers’ vulnerabilities in brand and process, as they attempt to use multiple methods of engagement, leveraging multiple touch points, technologies, and resources, to build a personalized shopping experience for themselves. Retailers that are not cross-channel are not only leaving a lot of value on the table, but are actively encouraging customers to shop with other retailers that better accommodate how they want to engage in the shopping process.

The Cross-Channel Wake-up Call: Benchmark 2010 – RSR’s fourth yearly benchmark on the topic – represents a significant shift in our approach to the challenges posed by a cross-channel strategy. No longer focused so heavily on the “why” of cross-channel – it appears that message has been received – we will look much closer at the “how” – the tactics and priorities that retailers have on their plates as they attempt to fundamentally restructure their business model away from channel-specific and into something much more omni-channel.