The Challenges

Customers are researching and buying through a mix of online, in-store, call centers, and catalogues. To attract and keep these customers, retailers cannot ignore any of these channels and they have to keep honing their multi-channel sales techniques. One such technique – giving customers the option to buy online and pick-up offline – is proving it can build strong relationships with customers and deliver immediate, lasting financial benefits to retailers who learn how to do it right.

Engaging and transacting with retail customers across multiple channels – presents a significant opportunity for retailers. It also attracts consumers with higher disposable income, enhances the in-store experience, and reclaims the ‘most convenient’ position from web only competitors.

Retail Chains – Challenges

• Consistent product information across all channels of marketing is not available, as the customers don’t get all the information about a product like images, product features, and tools to purchase in all channels.
• Retail chains do not feature all the products available in stores online, and this presents a disconnect to the customers.
• Customers view of the retail, be it their stores, catalogues or website is not “all-inclusive”.
• Retail chains aren’t able to leverage Internet and Mobile as branding medium due to lack of effective web presence.
• Retail chains look at online sales and in-store sales as two different worlds. They need to be integrated for the total sales to grow.
• Retail chains typically consider their online presence as a means to overcoming the physical limitations of offline promotions, particularly catalogue and newspaper inserts; not as an integrated channel.
• Retail chains segmentation of the customer is wrong – in the fact that these customers like to get our catalogues and shop at our stores, for the customer preferences keep changing over time.
• Retail chains may not have the technology know-how to implement a complex multi-channel solution.
• Markets are in recession worldwide and hence there is a need for long-tail marketing, whereby you increase sales and keep the cost per sale low.