Retail sales are expected to rise only 2.4% this holiday season compared to 3% last year. To maximize performance, retailers must focus on building omni-channel experiences that allow shoppers to seamlessly move across channels like search, mobile, social media, and stores. However, most retailers still struggle to create these experiences. The document provides strategies for retailers to take both a last-minute and longer-term approach to improving their omni-channel capabilities, such as elevating measurement models to account for multiple touchpoints, mastering mobile by measuring conversions across devices, and leveraging customer advocacy on social media.

1. Holiday 2013:
An Omni-Channel Approach
for Retailers
CMO Briefing
Retail sales are expected to rise 2.4% this holiday season (versus 3% last year ((ShopperTrak)).
This year, the Holy Grail in maximizing holiday performance will be engaging the omni-channel
shopper. Shoppers are increasingly moving across channels—search, content, mobile, TV,
marketplaces, social, in-store—in their purchase journeys. But still, most retailers struggle in
creating seamless, complementary cross-channel shopping experiences. For instance, a recent
RSR Research Report found that only 32% of retailers claimed to have achieved this experience.
PERFORMANCE STRATEGIES
Retailers must focus on building omni-channel experiences for holiday and beyond. Below, we
highlight a number of omni-channel strategies. Some of these strategies can be utilized
last-minute for holiday 2013, while others require a longer-term approach:
LAST-MINUTE
LONGER-TERM
1. Elevate Measurement
Most retailers utilize “last click” measurement models. But, in the omni-channel world, multiple
channels assist the last click. By not building assist data into attribution models, retailers are missing
opportunities to invest in keywords/channels/devices that influence eventual conversions:
Lay A Foundation
Complete a tagging audit to reveal if you have all the capabilities in place to understand all
interaction points across the decision journey, not just the last click before sale
Identify Data Sources
Understand the data streams available to you to visualize attribution opportunities. These
include search engine, SEM platform or ad server data; third-party attribution platforms like
ClearSaleing or Adometry; and digital-to-store measurement methods like comScore
Panel Match.
2. Master Mobile
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At Performics, we’re now seeing 38% of total paid search clicks coming from mobile.
MediaPost estimates that smartphone retail sales will total $14.59B this year, and tablets
will add another $26.05B. Furthermore, Deloitte anticipates that mobile will influence 8%
($66B) of in-store sales this holiday. Yet, many retailers aren’t positioned to capture this
demand, mainly because they can’t visualize mobile’s true omni-channel impact:
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2. Holiday 2013:
An Omni-Channel Approach
for Retailers
Measure Mobile Conversions
on eventual conversion (e.g. see when someone clicks on a mobile ad but later converts
dedicate budget to mobile.
Focus on Experiences
As mobile usage soars, build compelling mobile experiences worth driving traffic to.
On big in-store shopping days like Black Friday, create mobile experiences that
drive shoppers to store (e.g. in-search scannable coupons, click-to-call).
sales are incremental. For instance, retailers have found that Amazon shoppers generally aren’t
clear out-of-season or low-margin inventory
Test & Learn
visibility in organic search and social media, which increases sharing:
Content Audit
Leverage SEO experts to perform a review to ensure that
Your customers—through “Likes,” +1s, tweets, blogs and reviews—now wield great
influence over your SEO efforts, as social signals and incoming links influence
Contact Performics today for some out-of-the-box ways to build advocates!
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