In a nutshell: It’s no secret anymore: over the past few years, the retail sector has undergone significant changes thanks to digital transformation. This guide covers: Test automation: faster and more reliable!, Can you give us a quick example, René?, Omnichannel—yes, but not at the expense of quality.
According to a study by LSA/HiPay, 69% of consumers are willing to switch to another brand if it doesn’t offer an omnichannel experience*. But that’s only true if the quality of that experience is up to par. And that’s where test automation comes into play.
It’s no longer a secret: over the past few years, the retail sector has undergone significant changes thanks to digital transformation. This shift has been accelerated by the lockdown and the health crisis, in order to meet the needs of consumers who are increasingly demanding and fickle. Their behaviors are changing, and their expectations continue to rise in tandem. Today, they are no longer content with simply browsing a website; they are active across all channels and devices: computers, tablets, phones, social media, and more. As a result, they expect a superior omnichannel experience.
But delivering a satisfying omnichannel experience also means ensuring that it’s seamless and frictionless. Keep in mind that it only takes one bug to drive a customer away and send them to another site to buy the product. And to prevent that, there’s no better solution than to test, test, and test some more. This allows you to verify that all the features of your website, mobile app, marketplace, and other channels are working as expected, and that there are no performance or security issues, etc.
So, you could set up manual tests for each channel individually. But that would be a huge waste of time, efficiency, and—above all—quality. For starters, it’s not the channel that should be the focus of your testing—it’s the customer. And that means breaking down the barriers between channels and stopping treating them as separate entities, creating an immersive experience no matter where your customers are. That’s where manual testing reaches its limits, and that’s when test automation becomes essential.
Test automation: faster and more reliable!
When a customer visits your website or mobile app, they go through various interactions and steps that make up a customer journey. But not every user necessarily follows the same journey. They might click directly on the category that interests them or type the product name into the search bar; they might then add a product to their cart and proceed directly to checkout, or continue browsing; they might log in to their account right from the start, after adding an item to the cart, or even use guest mode.
However, there are types of customer journeys that are fairly simple to define—and therefore to test—but they can quickly add up. Testing them manually is not only time-consuming but also tedious, which can lead to human errors during the testing process. By automating these user journeys, you can speed up the process and reduce the risk of errors on critical journeys. What’s more, this allows bugs to be quickly identified and fixed, regardless of the channel, thereby ensuring a seamless omnichannel user experience.
Test Automation for Omnichannel: Broader Coverage
It’s difficult to predict user behavior right now because every user is different. They have different shopping habits, different reactions, different interactions, and different expectations. However, they all have one thing in common: they own multiple devices and use each one to consume content. Some will start by browsing your products on their phone, then go to their computer to find out more details, check if the product is right for them in-store, and then return to their phone or computer to place an order. But if a user places an order on their computer, they also want to be able to access it on their phone at any time.
And while this type of omnichannel journey is becoming increasingly common, it’s actually quite complex to test manually, given the variety of devices, operating systems, browsers, networks, carriers, and so on. It’s not impossible, but it’s also extremely time-consuming—time that could be spent on tasks with higher added value.
With test automation, there’s no need to stress anymore. You can run your tests quickly and easily on any channel: terminal, browser, device, operating system, and more. You can test your website, mobile app, marketplace, SMS communications, in-store ordering software, and more. And while your tests are running, you can take the opportunity to brainstorm and develop new features that will further enhance your customers’ omnichannel experience.
Can you give us a quick example, René?
Let’s imagine an omnichannel journey. Your customer is a woman. In two months, her best friend’s wedding is coming up. She’s on the bus, scrolling through your Instagram account on her smartphone, when she stumbles upon THE pair of shoes that would go perfectly with the dress she bought. She clicks on the post and is taken to your website, checks to make sure her size is available, adds the shoes to her cart, and selects the “click and collect” option so she can pick them up and try them on in your store—and exchange them if needed . The order is confirmed, and she waits to receive a text message letting her know her shoes are ready and all she has to do is go pick them up.
But here’s the thing: the text message never arrives. She goes to the store anyway, with the order confirmation email in hand, and that’s when disaster strikes: her size is out of stock. There was clearly a glitch in the inventory management system (among other things). The result: she leaves without her pair of shoes, extremely disappointed, feeling like she’s wasted her time for nothing. It’s unlikely she’ll give your brand another try in the future. And it’s very possible she’ll leave a negative review, which will damage your reputation.
In this example, there were many different touchpoints, including social media, smartphones, email, text messages, physical stores, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and so on . Test automation could have prevented this problem by detecting that the text message was not received.
And that’s just one customer, with one smartphone model, one carrier, one network, and one operating system. Think of all the other possible options, channels, and touchpoints. It would be impossible to cover everything with manual testing. With test automation, you can significantly increase test coverage, allowing you to identify potential broken links between different channels that undermine the omnichannel experience.
Omnichannel, yes, but not at the expense of quality
As you can see, as a retailer, if you want to stand out from the competition and satisfy your customers, you need to offer an omnichannel experience and increase the number of touchpoints. But it’s not enough to simply be present wherever your customers are. You need to connect everything and, above all, ensure that everything works well together to deliver a high-quality experience. Because, without a doubt, it’s the quality of your user journey that will truly make the difference.
* LSA/Hipay – Omnichannel retailing: a priority for customers
Further Reading
To see the solution in action, check out our end-to-end testing.
FAQ
Why is the omnichannel experience strategic?
Because customers move from one channel to another (web, mobile, store) and expect a seamless experience across all of them. A large majority of consumers would turn away from a retailer that does not offer a high-quality omnichannel experience.
How does test automation support omnichannel strategies?
It allows for faster and more frequent testing, and covers more user journeys and channels. We ensure that the experience remains consistent and reliable across the board.
Which customer journeys should be prioritized for testing in an omnichannel environment?
Journeys that span multiple channels (purchases started on mobile and completed in-store or on desktop) and the transition points—which are often the most vulnerable.
Is an omnichannel approach enough without quality?
No. Offering multiple channels is pointless if they are unreliable. The quality of each customer journey determines the benefits of an omnichannel approach.
How Mr Suricate with omnichannel strategies?
By automating testing and monitoring of user journeys across all channels and devices, to ensure a consistent experience for both business teams and key accounts.
