When it comes to various shipping options for the larger merchant, ship-from-store is not just a passing trend, according to Manish Chowdhary, founder and CEO of GoECart.
These larger merchants, because of the heavy footprint they have with physical stores and the baggage they carry in terms of real estate, have to leverage every piece of square-footage to maximize profit and revenue, according to Chowdhary.
Chowdhary said merchants are going to continue to deliver items ordered online from store locations to consumers and they will make it possible for items to be shipped to the store.
“I don’t think they are going away, however I do envision these stores becoming more democratic,” said Chowdhary.
Chowdhary said he envisioned the future of omnichannel fulfillment to include the partnership of two separate brands but using one main brick-and-mortar store, as the distribution center. The two, while still separate brands with separate ecommerce websites, could ultimately allow each other to use store space for fulfilling orders.