While preparing for an
interview, I have come across really good articles and whole different
perspective on how companies build their strategies with the growing evolution
of technology and how the gap between online sales and bricks and mortar sales is diminishing.
Online sales made up about
$300 billion last year, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.[2] It is getting hard to differentiate the channel from which a particular sale was made. This has called for
retailers adapting to a new integrated business model called omni-channel/integrated
retailing. What is integrated retailing?
Integrated retail is an
approach where the consumer experience is same through all the available
shopping channels; i.e. bricks and mortars, catalog, online and mobile devices.
Companies like Apple, Nike
and Toys “R” Us are way ahead of the pack in implementing this model, allowing
customers to buy online and pick up at stores, browse in the stores and buy
online etc. Retailers like Wal-Mart, Sears have implemented this model through
Site-to-Store shipping feature.
Technology becomes the key
component for the success of integrated retail. Sears CEO Louis D’Amboise has
said that, "We believe the retailers who best use technology to integrate
the customer experience across all channels will be the ones who win,"[1]
The core of integrated retail strategy is Sear’s Shop Your Way Rewards program.
Sears is building the rewards program to better connect with their customers.
As part of the strategy,
Sears Holdings Corp has rolled out iPad or iPod devices to almost 450 Sears and
Kmart stores around the country. Sales associates are given these devices to
help customers access product information, order products online and check
inventory for the products all at the shopping floor.
The biggest challenge the
retailer will face is provide these services to users consistently. Raj Penkar,
SVP and President, Supply Chain, Sears Holdings Corp state that, “For retailers
like us who have both a brick-and-mortar presence and a strong online presence,
the challenge and opportunity is to fulfill the promise of omni-channel, or
what we call integrated retail. So we also need a flexible supply chain that
can actually fulfill that promise.”[4]
Could you think of other
ideas that retailers can adapt to the integrated retail strategy they already
have in place?
Could you think of an
innovative way, a retailer can reach out to a customer and ensure they buy the
product in any channel of their choice?
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