Jonathan Levitt
Pundits who predicted the death of traditional retail clearly spoke too soon. A year ago, it seemed inevitable Amazon would take over the world. Industry watchers predicted retailers like Best Buy and Target, with their overhead of physical stores, would soon lose the ecommerce battle. Here is why omnichannel strategies are helping retailers regain ground.
Smart retailers have been preparing for Holiday 2013 for months, putting new omnichannel shopping experiences in place to entice customers to their sites and stores. Done right, online-offline initiatives – such as in-store pickup, mobile apps, and in-store kiosks – herald a rebirth of retail. But done badly, omnichannel programs alienate shoppers and damage your brand.
What can omnichannel retailers do now to fine-tune their offerings in the run-up to Holiday 2013? The best way to achieve success is to learn from retailers, like Guitar Center, that have nailed the omnichannel experience.
With Walmart offering in-store pickup via self-serve lockers, and Gap trying out “reserve-in-store,” it’s clear retailers are still trying to figure out the best method to bridge the online-offline experience. Here are three proven strategies retailers can use to nail the newest omnichannel shopping trend.
Mobile commerce has arrived. A surge in tablet adoption – with one-third of American consumers expected to own one by 2015 – and the near ubiquity of smartphones has created a tipping point for mobile retail. By the end 2017, mobile retail sales in the U.S. will reach $31B, up from $8B this year.
Retailers that act now to improve the tablet shopping experience – enhancing browsing and making purchasing easier – can jump ahead of the competition. Here are four strategies retailers can use to nail their tablet shopping strategies.
Someday, somewhere, somehow, every retailer will deliver a bad customer experience. Products disappoint, a customer service representative has a bad day, ordering snafus occur; it happens.
Instead of fearing the omnichannel consumer, retailers should embrace them to deliver the type of shopping experience they want. Here’s why ignoring or fearing omnichannel shoppers will only result in lost sales.