January 06, 2014

Accenture Awarded Contract to Help Belk Deliver a Seamless Multichannel Customer Experience


NEW YORK; Jan. 6, 2014 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been selected by Belk, the largest family-owned and -operated department store company in the United States, to help the retailer to deliver a seamless experience to customers across all shopping channels – in-store, online and mobile – as part of its Omnichannel Transformation Initiative. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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.

Nathaniel Fry, a managing director in Accenture’s Retail practice, said “Increasingly shoppers are demanding a seamless experience across multiple shopping channels but for most retailers that is not something they can establish overnight. We are pleased to work with Belk on this important program to deliver on its customers’ expectations.”

Accenture’s Seamless Retail Study of 750 U.S. consumers released in April found that half (49 percent) of consumers believe the best thing retailers can do to improve the shopping experience is to better integrate in-store, online and mobile shopping channels. An overwhelming 89 percent of consumers said it is important for retailers to let them shop for products in the way that is most convenient for them, no matter which sales channel they choose.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 281,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Contact:

Matt Samuel
Accenture
+ 44 207 844 2055
+ 44 7717 866766 (mobile)
matt.samuel@accenture.com