To grab the attention of the 21st century customer, stores need a multichannel approach. That’s how one United Kingdom retailer was able to rake in strong sales despite a down economy.
Featured on Internetretailing.net, the chain only had an in-store sales growth of 0.2 percent, however, it experienced an online sales growth of 13.3 percent and overall growth of 4.5 percent in the first half of its fiscal year.
While the company’s sales didn’t necessarily outshine other U.K. retailers, experts say the company’s multichannel approach will eventually pay off. Customers like the seamless integration of online, catalog and brick-and-mortar storefronts. That consumer confidence will drive store sales when the economy improves.
This article reiterates the fact that retailers need to completely integrate their online channel with their brick-and-mortar location. This is what we call omnichannel in the U.S. Taking a look at the U.K. store’s sales growth, it’s clear that this strategy works.
Although retailers in the United States haven’t mastered the omnichannel yet, they’re getting there. The biggest challenge is their huge infrastructure, which is expensive to change. Implementing the right technology infrastructure is also key for retailers as it supports this new approach.
Source: Internet Retailing, August 2012
