Experts tell retailers to invest in multichannel operations
With the advent of ecommerce, brick-and-mortar retail operations have been devising a variety of strategies to offer customers the same convenience, low prices and selection of products that their online counterparts do.
However, in the past few years, experts have been advocating a different approach for brick-and-mortar retailers: multichannel engagement. Basically, numerous reports have suggested that retailers' sales, marketing or even service strategies would benefit from a greater channel of avenues through which to connect with shoppers.
A recent article in Forbes calls this strategy one of "bricks and clicks," and highlights one mega-retailer's success with it. Luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue explained that it has found its most profitable and loyal customers to be those who shop both online and in-store.
Forbes attests that this revelation is true for every retailer – they just don't understand this principle. The article notes that most retailers believe that when a consumer is shopping on their website, it only means fewer customers in store.
However, Forbes confronts this point. "If retailers don’t encourage shoppers to buy from both their stores and their website, if they don't make the experience between the two seamless, if they don't analyze and build a relationship with shoppers through both, then the shopper drain will be so fast heads will spin," the news source explains.
A recent study from Jones Lang LaSalle suggests that retailers may actually be making the move to a more multichannel consumer experience. The report, Retail 3.0, found that 92 percent of retailers sell online, 68 percent maintain brick-and-mortar retail locations and 64 percent send out catalogs.
One of the factors driving an increased interest in online outlets by brick-and-mortar retailers is the potential savings digital channels offer. In many ways, the study found, online operations can be a cheaper distribution model.
"With multichannel selling comes a major focus on retail distribution, and how to get from ship to shore to store or your door as quickly and as efficiently as possible," said Kris Bjorson, head of Jones Lang LaSalle's retail/e-commerce distribution group. "Traditional retailers must support the delivery of merchandise and manage both in-store and online inventories."
Companies should also avoid thinking of "multichannel" sources in a purely online versus in-store binary. Keeping abreast of new mobile technologies will help retailers stay a step ahead.
