Top brands compete almost solely on the strength of their customer experience. For every brand, that experience means something different. Discover how leading retail companies like eBay, John Lewis, and Walmart ensure the experiences they provide are flawless across every customer touchpoint, device, and location to grow sales and customer loyalty.

1. 5 SECRETS TO OMNICHANNEL AND RETAIL SUCCESS
Kristin Simonini, VP of Product

2. Powering Leading Retail and Ecommerce Brands
2
HOW IT WORKS
Our vetted community of QA professionals,
UX experts and panelists test software where
your customers live, work, and play
OUR EXPERIENCE
Thousands of leading companies rely on
Applause to deliver high-quality digital
experiences that customers love
WHO WE ARE
Applause is the worldwide leader in
community-based digital quality testing and
feedback as-a-service
A Few Of Our Customers

3. Today’s Challenges
3
Way Too Many
Variables
Need to execute on every device,
OS, wireless carrier, payment
method, location
Complex, Real-World
Scenarios
Experiences entering the home,
car, store and restaurant. IoT and
wearables too
Human Behaviors Are
Unpredictable
Real world environments cannot
be controlled
Software Testing Can
Hold Up Releases
In today’s CI/CD world, QA cannot
be a bottleneck

4. And Complex Customer Journeys
4
RESEARCH > SHOP > PURCHASE > PICKUP > SERVICE
Check With
Friends
Compare
Products
Visit
Stores
Compare
Prices
Download
Coupon
Create
Shopping Cart
Complete
Order
Scan
Coupon
Receive
Email Offer
Browse
Reviews
In-Store
Pickup
Upsell
Warranty
Like And
Post Online
Write
Review

5. 5
The Risk of Getting it Wrong Can be Fatal
$4.6TValue left in shopping carts
88%
Of spending onThanksgiving and Black Friday 2018 was captured by
omnichannel retailers
87%
Of online shoppers will abandon their cart during a checkout process
if it is too long or complicated
(1)https://www.prweb.com/releases/retailers_beware_87_of_online_shoppers_will_aban
don_cart_if_checkout_process_lengthy_or_complicated/prweb15676895.htm
(2) https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181125005133/en/Black-Friday-
Delivers-Strong-Retail-Results-Supercharge
(3) http://www.pymnts.com/news/merchant-innovation/2016/the-shopping-cart-
abandonment-fix/

6. …especially during holiday shopping
season

7. Not Everyone
Was Ready

8. Applause Holiday Retail Report
Ecommerce Website Testing
22Top US Retailers
Over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend
BlackFridayand
CyberMonday User Feedback Surveys
Shoppers were surveyed after they made a
purchase
Purchases took place betweenThanksgiving and
Cyber Monday
GlobalDecember
Shopping
Functional Website Testing
30Top Global Retailers
10 retailers each from US, UK, andGermany
Omnichannel Journeys
Testers went through real customer journeys in
US, UK, andGermany
Testers rated the effectiveness and quality of
omnichannel experiences

9. 53% Purchase Intent
ShoppingCart
Product Page
Account Pages
16% Company & Customer
Service
Store Locator
Company
Shipping
Returns
Customer Service
31% Product Search
Homepage
Advertisements
Search
Catalog
Reviews
Black Friday and Cyber Monday
9
Experts Found Thousands of Bugs and UX Issues

10. Luxury Department Store
Chicago, IL
“I had a gift card, but I was
to apply it at checkout. I
and reapplied it 3 times.
I ended up going to the store,
worked, but the clerk couldn’t
explain what happened.”
Global Electronics Retailer
Dortmund, Germany
“I couldn’t apply a new credit
card on the account page. I
already had an account with
[retailer], but my old card
expired and I can’t get the new
one to save.”
Black Friday and Cyber Monday Errors

11. Black Friday and Cyber Monday Purchasing Feedback
0 10 20 30 40 50
Music or Movies
Sports and outdoor
Books
Beauty care
Household Goods
Shoes
Toys
Games
Household appliances
Hobby supplies
Other
Clothing
Consumer electronics
What did they purchase?
Thursday,
November 22
25%
Friday,
November 23
39%
Saturday,
November 24
10%
Sunday,
November 25
7%
Monday,
November 26
17%
Tuesday,
Novemb
er 27
2%
When did they shop?
Impulse
Buy
24%
Planned
Purchase
54%
I previously
considered the
purchase
22%
Planned purchase?
Desktop
51%
Mobile
43%
Other
6%
How did they shop?
Frequently
53%
Occasionally
35%
Rarely
6%
Never
6%
Shopping frequency

12. Black Friday and Cyber Monday User Feedback
Leading Apparel Store
London,UK
There was no option to sort by price
option on the website, which makes
it hard to spot the low-price items
quickly.
Global Discount Store
Dallas,Texas
The mobile and PC shopping
experience wasn’t close to
matching. I shopped on my phone,
put things in my cart, and moved to
my laptop to see details.
Giant Online Retailer
Providence, Rhode Island
I felt that too many suggested or
recommended items were
duplicate, redundant or simply off-
brand versions of the same item.
UK Clothing Store
Hamburg, Germany
Shipping costs were added in the
end of the transaction, I just wish
they had told me upfront.
Disagree
7%
Neutral
7%
Agree
86%
The system operates appropriately
Disagree
7% Neutral
8%
Agree
85%
The shopping cart is efficient

13. Global December Shopping
Discount Department Store
Raleigh, North Carolina
Store Finder is available on the
homepage, but it doesn't work.
German Electronics Retailer
Berlin, Germany
You have to register an account or
be logged in to see all available
payment methods.
UK Beauty Retailer
Manchester,UK
There was no indication that any
items were unavailable on the
product pages even if they were out
of stock during checkout.
Global Fashion Retailer
London,UK
There are deals listed on the product
catalog but the font is small and
they are sometimes hidden behind
the carousel.
United States
32%
United
Kingdom
45%
Germany
23%
Bugs Found by Country

14. Global Omnichannel December Shopping
Buy Online, Return in Store
Applause commissioned global
testers to go on an
omnichannel customer journey
– buy online, return in store
(BORIS) – to compare the
experience of omnichannel
retailers in three countries:
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Germany
Global Department Store
Phoenix, Arizona
It would have been helpful to see a
sign near the entrance indicating
where to return items. Instead, I just
walked until I found someone.
German Electronics Retailer
Dortmund, Germany
It was very difficult to return the
online item in the store. It took too
long to find the right counter. It was
also very busy and I was in the
queue for half an hour.
Global Fashion Retailer
Birmingham, UK
It was difficult to track the return.
Although I have an email receipt, it
is not showing under My Account on
the website.
Global Department Store
Charlotte, North Carolina
It would have been much easier if
the rep was able to process the
refund using the order email, but
the rep required the receipt that
came in the box.

15. 15
5 SECRETS TO SUCCESS

16. Walk in Your Customer’s Shoes
16
78% of retailers admit they don’t provide a single
brand experience across all channels
SECRET 1
https://www.realwire.com/releases/Periscope-Research-Shows-
Retailers-Know-They-Are-Not-Delivering-Omnichannel

17. Make Training a Priority
17
42% of consumers won’t return to a store after a
negative experience with sales staff
SECRET 2
https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/06/prweb15566820.htm

18. Ensure Quality is King
18
US retailers alone lose an estimated $24 billion in
revenue due to poor mobile experiences.
Secret 3
Hobson & Company

19. Validate Localization and Personalization
19
91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands
that recognize and remember them, and are able to
offer relevant recommendations and offers as a result
Secret 4
https://www.accenture.com/t20180503T034117Z__w__/us-
en/_acnmedia/PDF-77/Accenture-Pulse-Survey.pdf#zoom=50

20. Put Customers at the Center of Development
20
72% of shoppers will abandon a retail site that
produces poor search results
Secret 5
https://www.richrelevance.com/blog/2018/06/04/richrelevance-study-
shows-americans-skeptical-voice-assisted-shopping/

22. 22