More than ever, retailers need to focus on improving their in-store shopping experiences and leverage technology to create a seamless customer journey. From product information and navigation to personalization, here are some ways ecommerce is influencing the kinds of store experience that customers are looking for.
While iconic denim maker Levi Strauss has been a direct-to-consumer sales powerhouse for the past few years, an area where many brands large and small have placed their bets for sustained growth as wholesale has struggled, the company’s DTC numbers slipped a bit in the fourth quarter.
As shoppers are back in stores, retailers now need to determine which COVID innovations they will keep and how those measures will mature over the long term. This will help maximize the value of COVID innovations, bringing the benefits of digital to brick-and-mortar and scaling capabilities to accommodate long-term needs.
Breaking up is hard to do, which department store stalwart Macy’s is discovering as it wrestles with how best to split up its store and online businesses, a bit trickier than the same move by Saks Fifth Avenue, according to a report in Reuters.
Ulta Beauty saw ecommerce sales increase 20% to 30% during fiscal 2019 ending Feb. 1, 2020, aided by a store pickup rollout chain-wide, while also taking steps in store to address the growing coronavirus threat. Ulta also reduced hours of operation, is temporary closing some stores and discontinuing hair services in stores.
Follow in the footsteps of other digitally native brands that have gone click to brick like Bonobos, Warby Parker, Framebridge and Tuft & Needle, Wayfair this week opened its first physical store in the Natick Mall in Natick, MA, outside its Boston headquarters. This trend shows that brands starting online acknowledge the power of the store.
In an effort to cut costs, Walgreens plans to close 200 U.S. stores, two years after it acquired Rite Aid and expanded its footprint to 9,500 stores. The closures are expected to cause “minimal disruption to customers and patients,” the company said in a statement, adding it will find jobs for affected employees in nearby locations.
There is no stopping the rise of online shopping. The product options are endless, it’s simple, more convenient, often cost-efficient—and the list goes on. See what three ways bricks-and-mortar retailers can win at webrooming.