In a 2019 research paper published with the Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research, researchers from the Karachi University Business School (KUBS) at the University of Karachi sought to measure the sophistication – or lack thereof – with regard to omnichannel projects and initiatives with the 25 largest fashion retailers in the country. “As per retailer perspective, we found that we are at an extremely early stage of omnichannel,” said KUBS researchers Syed Muhammad Abbas Rizvi and Dr. Danish Ahmed Siddiqui in their Omnichannel Development within the Pakistani Fashion Retail 2019 paper. “Organizations are slowly transforming but some retailers are still under threat because of associated risks with changing their business models. Omnichannel loyalty service was found to be the weakest in current development due to profitability factors for the organization which seems more important, and retailers also need to focus on data and analytics & IT structure to improve the omnichannel journey.”Nonetheless, the researchers concluded that retailers in Pakistan should integrate all customer touchpoints – be it points of sale or advertising – in a way that creates a unified and seamless shopping experience, thereby lifting purchase intent. They found that companies that lack digital maturity in the board room, that historically struggle with change, and that fail to invest in data & analytics would be left behind.

Source: Pakistan Today April 12, 2021 06:21 UTC