This holiday season, there will consumers who shop only at brick-and-mortar stores, while others will stick solely with shopping online. There will also be customers who rely on both methods to buy needed items and gifts. Retailers that provide these channels to accommodate consumers can experience significant benefits, such as increased revenue and boosts in loyalty and retention.

Independent Retailer writes that many businesses are planning to provide both in-store and online shopping options for their customers throughout the holiday season. Brick-and-mortar merchants are merging a variety of physical storefront aspects with digital components. For example, brands are using the location-based capabilities of social media to allow consumers to check-in and share what they are buying. Companies are also implementing gamification elements into their brick-and-mortar stores, giving customers a more engaging way to interact with retailers.

Another trend that is emerging this holiday shopping season is the boost in hiring of temporary retail workers. According to Monster, businesses are bringing on additional employees to help with the flood of customers as well as the merging of physical and digital aspects. Many of these new part-time positions are actually turned into full-time work after the holidays are over.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at 4:47 am .