Multi-channel retail maturity model – route to customer focus

Retail Maturity Model - stages

The retail market is changing and becoming ever more competitive and complex. Retailers are facing a wider diversification of customer needs, fragmentation of values, global competition and empowered customers.

Route to customer focus

Retailers who focus on internal efficiencies and cost reductions will no longer remain competitive. Transformation is imperative in all industries, with CEOs focusing their efforts now on growth through substantial operating model change. Innovation in products and services is being replaced as the number one priority by business model innovation as many retailers see fundamental change in how they manage, operate and service their customers as the means to truly respond to the new demands and, all importantly, win the loyalty of the future customer.

Multi-channel retail maturity model

Maturing to a new operating model is a long journey and will require retailers to use cross-channel information and capabilities to bridge silos to make the change. This change is best undertaken through a set of self-funded project steps, each delivering return, securing market share and maturing the business to an agreed and defined end-goal. IBM and Santa Clara University have defined a maturity model that helps retailers understand these steps and develop a comprehensive multi-channel offering10.