01.24.14
Family-owned and -operated department store Belk signed research company Accenture for its blossoming Omnichannel Transformation Initiative—a project targeting customers across all shopping channels (in-store, online and mobile). Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed at press time.
Under the agreement, Accenture will help Belk ensure that products in both stores and warehouses appear available whether the customer is shopping online or in-store, reducing the possibility that a sale is missed because the product appears to be out of stock in a specific location. The program will also include planning the implementation of a new digital platform, improving the customer experience on Belk.com, growing Belk’s customer analytics capability and integrating its operations to help it operate consistently across multiple shopping channels.
“Customers have many ways to choose to shop with us, and this project helps us ensure our brand, our service and our fashion assortments are reflected across all channels,” said John R. Belk, president and chief operating officer. “We selected Accenture because of their multichannel retail experience and ability to offer us additional specialized resources and capabilities. This collaboration will help us deliver these new features faster and at a lower cost than we could have achieved alone.”
Accenture’s work for Belk is being delivered using Accenture Seamless Retail Services, an end-to-end business service that helps retailers become integrated digital enterprises. Enabled by accurate and timely data, analytic insights are used to revamp traditional approaches to marketing, pricing, promotion, assortment and fulfillment. This business service combines Accenture’s global industry experience with leading retail assets and technologies, analytics, and specialized talent, to deliver outcomes as a service and offer retailers a fast and flexible route to achieving seamlessness across multiple channels.
Under the agreement, Accenture will help Belk ensure that products in both stores and warehouses appear available whether the customer is shopping online or in-store, reducing the possibility that a sale is missed because the product appears to be out of stock in a specific location. The program will also include planning the implementation of a new digital platform, improving the customer experience on Belk.com, growing Belk’s customer analytics capability and integrating its operations to help it operate consistently across multiple shopping channels.
“Customers have many ways to choose to shop with us, and this project helps us ensure our brand, our service and our fashion assortments are reflected across all channels,” said John R. Belk, president and chief operating officer. “We selected Accenture because of their multichannel retail experience and ability to offer us additional specialized resources and capabilities. This collaboration will help us deliver these new features faster and at a lower cost than we could have achieved alone.”
Accenture’s work for Belk is being delivered using Accenture Seamless Retail Services, an end-to-end business service that helps retailers become integrated digital enterprises. Enabled by accurate and timely data, analytic insights are used to revamp traditional approaches to marketing, pricing, promotion, assortment and fulfillment. This business service combines Accenture’s global industry experience with leading retail assets and technologies, analytics, and specialized talent, to deliver outcomes as a service and offer retailers a fast and flexible route to achieving seamlessness across multiple channels.