On April 13, 2017 SCI held its first Omni-Channel Retail Leadership Summit featuring speakers and attendees from major companies in the Canadian retail space. With the retail sector moving rapidly, the speakers dived into the retail business strategies in the era of evolving practices. Canadian consumers have become the driving force behind the continued double-digit growth of Canadian e-commerce market. What do consumers expect from retailers, where does e-commerce function reside within an organization, and what are the best practices for an e-commerce team in the future?

Get the vital answers from the Summit materials.

See below the insightful excerpts from the Summit presentations:

Tanbir Annual Summit

“It was important to create the micro-culture conducive to e-commerce innovation within Lowe’s – this gave the digital talent the opportunity to evolve and learn, and provided flexibility required for supporting the web-store 24/7”

“One of the approaches to managing omni-channel retail is “servant leadership”: the bosses do not run the business but rather serve the merchants to help them drive profit and revenue”.

“The high level of purpose is vital for encouraging and engaging talent. It helps create a team connection and drive the most efficient problem solving. “Love where you live” is the meaning of Lowe’s business, and everyone on the team approaches things with this purpose in mind”

Tanbir Grover, Lowe’s

“The “home” for the E-commerce business within an Omni-Channel organization is sometimes more like “couch-surfing” with ownership moving between Marketing, IT, CEO, Sales/Operations, and Merchandising. Where do you think this high-potential division should belong?  Trends are suggesting that it might eventually be transplanted across all functions and no longer exist as a separate entity at all…”

Dave Mack, SCI

 

 “Agility means faster innovation, and may also mean a faster failure, but retailers can’t be successful without accepting some degree of risk.”

Simon Rodrigue, instantteas.com

“Be obsessed with making your customers happy – not one or two years from now, but 10, 20 years from now, and arrive to the future first to make this happen.”

Michael Tan, Integrous Management

 

 “Canadian shoppers do their research and purchase across a retailer’s channels – both online and in stores; they expect convenient access to product and a consistent and excellent experience throughout all channels.”

“28% of shoppers said they would not purchase again from a merchant after a negative delivery experience”

Jennifer Mach, Canada Post

“Pre-purchase experience is now a game changer. In order to convert, online shoppers want to know upfront the shipping cost, delivery options, delivery speed, , and return policies. If they don’t find what they’re looking for or like what they see,they will abandon their shopping cart.”

Lindley Graham, Canada Post

 

“As of July 1, 2017 (unless deferred) certain Deceptive Marketing Practices legislation under the Competition Act can be privately enforced by anyone affected by an act of omission that constitutes reviewable conduct under the provisions.”

“Internal controls may mitigate some risks associated with Deceptive Marketing Practices legislation: review all digital advertising, including social media, to ensure that the general impression created (i.e., without looking at fine print) is not false or misleading.”

Antonio Di Domenico, Fasken Martineau