Asos has taught the retail sector many things. From its excellent logistics and delivery operation, to its dominance on social media and leading product offer, there are many lessons to be followed. But perhaps the standout lesson is its relentless obsession with the customer.

The etail giant knows its customers inside out. It knows who they are, how they shop, what they care about and, importantly, what they will care about in the future

On its website, Asos says it has 12.4 million active customers across 240 countries and territories, but states “we always try to think of them as individuals and give them the care they each deserve”. Asos has created an inclusive club.

“Asos has exploited every cross-channel capability accessible for an online retailer”

This obsession to give customers what they want and need has meant Asos has topped our study to find the most digitally proficient retailer based on their front-end customer capabilities.

Our study, Retail Week Indicator, looks at retailers’ customer-facing capabilities across four performance areas – marketing, logistics and customer service, cross-channel, and ecommerce – and found Asos won out. So whether it’s looking at delivery options, brand engagement, online usability or app capabilities, Asos is delivering for its customers.

What is most striking is that despite one of the areas being based around cross-channel capabilities – effectively, how good the retailer is at linking up its online and offline channels, clearly an area Asos won’t score high in as it doesn’t have any physical shops – the etailer still managed to prevail.

Asos has exploited every cross-channel capability accessible for an online retailer and has completely bridged the gap between online and offline. By partnering with many third-party operators for click and collect, such as DPD and Hermes, and investing in technology such as geolocation, it is doing everything and more to be convenient for its customers.

“Continuous benchmarking is essential for retailers and the most progressive businesses obsess about it”

Indicator gives retailers a real insight into who is delivering digitally for their customers.

You told us that the biggest challenge facing retailers today is around digital transformation and what that means for your business. We made it our mission to help retail leaders to win in the digital economy.

Indicator will allow you to see how you fare in each of the different areas, how your competitors are doing, and give insight into some of the retailers making great strides in certain areas.

Continuous benchmarking is essential for retailers and the most progressive businesses obsess about it. Building the retail of tomorrow isn’t easy, but such obsession forms a big part of it.