Omni-channel performance of major Russian retailers through the eyes of the buyer: an overview

The digital integrator AWG together with Data Insight conducted a study of the retail market for a second year in a row. The study resulted in the omni-channel performance rating of the largest retailers according to their client engagement.

Why we rated retailers for a second year in a row

Online sales are an increasing part of retail sales. We wonder what the customer experience is like when customers use different sales channels, and what the largest chain stores do to improve the experience. We realize that both online and offline shopping are integral parts of retail, and customers just use different channels to interact with a retail store.

The present rating reflects the retailers' strengths and weaknesses at the intersection of online and offline sales channels.

The higher the company ranks, the closer it is to a hypothetical "perfect store" with omni-channel order processing and a flawless customer experience.

We study omni-channel performance in e-commerce for a second year in a row for two reasons. First, the "perfect store" is not set in stone — it is a dynamic, evolving business. The rating reflects the status quo. Second, chain retailing is one of the most interesting objects to study. We plan to continue rating retailers and study the changes year after year.

How we made the rating in 2021

In September mystery shoppers placed up to 4 orders in every store using all available channels: a website, a mobile app, a call center or a chat bot, and an offline store. The number of shoppers corresponded with the number of available channels. We used 23 parameters to rank the companies.

1. We picked over a hundred retailers with the highest total sales on the Russian market and ranked the top 100.
2. To gain insight into the customer experience, we used the "mystery shopper" technique. It included test orders and interaction with the personnel of offline stores and call centers. For the rating we chose only comprehensive criteria so that the scores would not depend on the business line and other subjective parameters.
3. To gather the interaction with technology metrics, we used our proprietary technology solutions, third-party tools, and public information.
4. To assess the order delivery experience, the rating authors used the public information of the rated companies, which was verified by test orders made by mystery shoppers.

Learn more about the ranking methods in this section https://omnirating.ru/metod


2021 Rating results

VkusVill became the top winner in three categories—overall rating, customer experience, and order delivery rating. This retailer has high scores in customer experience and interaction with technology, which, together with its robust financial indicators, placed it on the top of the list. Chitay Gorod reached the first position in technology rating.

There were also 23 new participants that met two qualification criteria—high turnover in the industry and the implementation of omnichannel strategy. Among those participants were Stroitelny Dvor, Vinlab, Mnogo Mebeli, Pervyi Mebelny, Podruzhka, Positronika, Pull & Bear, Bershka, Lenta, Leonardo, Golden Apple, Regard, Street Beat, Mascotte, Gorzdrav, Pyaterochka, Magnit, Your Dom, RBT.ru, Samsung, Maksavit, KNS, and Saturn.

The top-3 companies in the ratings are as diverse as they were last year. Food retail turned out to be a common leader category in all ratings. Pharmacy chains have gone up in the ranking — compared to other categories, they have only recently started combining online and offline sales channels.

Overall rating
1. VkusVill
2. Detsky Mir
3. SUNLIGHT

Order delivery experience rating
1. VkusVill
2. Detsky Mir
3. Perekrestok

Customer experience rating
1. VkusVil
2. Auchan
3. Perekrestok

Interaction with technology rating
1. Chitay Gorod
2. IKEA
3. O’STIN

Congratulations to our rating winners and our best wishes for all their new projects.