WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Retailers underestimate how much digital technology influences physical shopping experiences, but their expectations are rapidly catching up to reality. According to a new study from RSR Research, “Commerce Convergence: Closing the Gap between Consumer and Brand,” while 84% of retailers surveyed say a digital presence is very important to build brand awareness, only 64% say it is very important to drive traffic to stores.

However, as reported by Chain Store Age, retailers do show an understanding that having disparate digital and brick-and-mortar systems produces negative results. For example, 77% of respondents strongly agree or agree that their legacy POS system is holding them back from providing a consistent customer experience across all channels, and 82% are aware of viable customer order management systems that can traverse all channels.

At the same time, 68% of respondents agree or strongly agree that replacing legacy POS systems with newer omnichannel systems would be too expensive or disruptive. This is despite the fact that 95% of respondents agree or strongly agree that the store and the digital experience must be brought together for a continuous, seamless experience.

RSR Research managing partners Brian Kilcourse and Steve Rowen conclude that to respond to the new consumer shopping reality, retailers must define a brand experience that is inclusive of all the ways the consumers “touch” the brand, both in the digital world (e-commerce, mobile, social) and the physical one (store, call center). According to RSR, “winning” retailers are already starting to enact strategies to create this type of brand experience.

Steps taken by retail winners (and recommended for all retailers) include designing a total selling environment around a seamless experience that reflects the unique context of the retailer’s brand, synchronizing core brick-and-mortar and digital functionality while maintaining different systems when needed, and training store employees to effectively use in-store omnichannel applications. RSR Research also advises that retailers follow either a centralized IT strategy or one that is managed via private or multi-tenant cloud solutions.

Omnichannel retailing was a topic much discussed at this year’s NACS Global Forum in Singapore as well as the NACS Insight Convenience Summit – Europe, taking place this week in London and Berlin.  For more on what presenter James Okamura shared with attendees at those events read, “The Omni-Retailer” in the May issue of NACS Magazine.