Meet Omnichannel’s Superconsumer: Retail’s Ultimate Shopper

Meet Sandy. She's a 36-year-old urban professional making $95,000 per year. She loves shopping and has used click-and-collect for over two years, making her an early adopter of the shopping method. Retailers have a term for people with similar characteristics and shopping habits: the superconsumer.

Omnichannel retail has been around for quite some time, but uptake has languished over the years. That’s definitely true of most of the retail world outside the U.K. and a few other countries in Western Europe. For most executives, the question has been "why?" Why invest the money into the new infrastructure and technology necessary to run a true omnichannel retail business? Why run a transformational initiative to make omnichannel a reality?

Retail’s Holy Grail

Sandy is a member of retail’s holy grail of customers. New research from OrderDynamics, Rise of the Click and Collect Superconsumer, answered lingering omnichannel questions by surveying more than 1,600 consumers about their buying habits. The investigation uncovered four categories of omnichannel shoppers. Beside the click-and-collect superconsumer category, the one in which Sandy identifies with, the study classified customers who used in-store pickup once in the past year as occasional consumers; those who shop online, but don’t use in-store pickup as nonusers; and the shoppers who have tried click-and-collect but haven't used omnichannel in the past year as lapsed click-and-collect consumers.

Focusing on the Superconsumer

Exemplified by Sandy, the findings showed click-and-collect superconsumers are typically females within the 24-49 year old range who make an average of $50,000 to $100,000 annually, shop frequently, and have used the click-and-collect shopping method for more than two years.

She is Your Frequent Shopper

To anyone in retail, this profile isn’t particularly surprising. She's female, a high earner and an early adopter. But of the survey respondents, 31 percent of superconsumers said they shop online at least once per week (at least 52 times a year), proving the intensity and frequency of this type of consumer’s shopping behavior. This was higher than any other shopper profile. Seventy-six percent of superconsumers shopped online at least 24-52 times per year. This finding is significantly higher than the occasional shopper at 63 percent.

What About In-Store Pickups

Forty-one percent of superconsumer respondents bought additional unplanned items when making an in-store pickup. Not only was that finding higher than the occasional and lapsed click-and-collect segments, but the extra spend was higher too. She spent an average of an additional $40 each time she made an additional purchase on an in-store pickup visit. Compared against typical average order values of $90-$120, add-on items to in-store pickups can be a 33 percent to 44 percent increase in value.

Then Come the Returns

The greatest surprise of the study came from the returns discussion. Seventy percent of superconsumers prefer returning items in-store, compared to 58 percent of occasional consumers. When she returns items in-store, she will purchase additional items while there 53 percent of the time.

Surprisingly, superconsumers reported making an average of only 19 returns per year, compared to the occasional consumer who reported an average of 39 returns per year.

This is Why Retail Needs Omnichannel

Sandy saves the retailer on shipping costs, boosts its sales, and helps it improve margins. Based on our study, retailers will come to the realization that the holy grail of omnichannel is the click-and-collect shopper. The only way to get her attention is to offer in-store pickup, in-store returns and a seamless shopping journey across channels. Still wondering if the omnichannel investment is worth it?

Charles Dimov is vice president of marketing at OrderDynamics, a retail order management system.