NEW REPORT: How Lowe’s Does Omnichannel Self-Improvement

With companies from home improvement retailers to electronics manufacturers to clothing designers working to improve the online sales experience, good ideas can come from anywhere.

In the latest PYMNTS.com Omnicommerce Tracker, powered by Vantiv, PYMNTS looks at the latest advancements in online retail technology that are powering a new kind of sales experience, focused on online and mobile capabilities for consumers.

Around the omnichannel world

Online merchants have long held the edge over legacy brick-and-mortar competitors when it comes to convenience – but, now they may be adding another advantage. With new retail software and technology, online sellers are beginning to offer more advanced online and mobile experiences.

A notable innovation comes from, perhaps unsurprisingly, Amazon, which now allows customers to try up to 15 items of clothing at a time and return the ones they don’t want. Under the Prime Wardrobe program, customers can return items in a provided package with preprinted shipping label.

And it isn’t just Amazon, of course. Best Buy is partnering with San Francisco startup Lumoid to allow customers to try out cameras and other gadgets, and Sephora recently updated its app to allow customers to virtually try on cosmetics via smartphones.

Find the rest of the latest omnichannel headlines inside the Tracker’s news section.

Lowe’s learns to build a better Omni experience

With the advent of online shopping and the ever-changing capabilities of mobile devices, retailers of any consumer goods have little choice but to reinvent themselves on all fronts. This may include changing the layout of brick-and-mortar locations, to more behind-the-scenes improvements for supporting online shopping channels and mobile apps.

For home improvement retailer Lowe’s, inspiration for many of these changes is coming not just from other DIY retailers, but companies ranging from financial services to fast food. In a recent interview with PYMNTS, Scott Ross, the company’s senior vice president for information and technology, explained why the company has looked to industries like banking to build a better online experience.

“We looked to our friends in banks and insurance [to see] what they’ve done in the digital channel,” Ross said. “If you think back in those industries five or seven years ago, the only leverage for the digital channel was sort of account maintenance and viewing, and there were not a lot of service offerings. That really contrasts with the services they have become known for offering today.”

Read the full story, and find rankings of the top omnicommerce players in the space, inside the Tracker.

To download the July edition of the PYMNTS.com Omnicommerce Tracker, powered by Vantiv, click the button below…

About The Tracker

The PYMNTS.com Omnicommerce Tracker, powered by Vantiv, features industry-spanning research and insights that arm retailers with data to make smarter decisions for enabling omnichannel commerce.