LAS VEGAS—The customer power shift is in full swing and the game has changed. To win mindshare, retailers and brands are reformulating their supply chain strategies to match this paradigm shift in consumer demand. It's not physical or digital; it's physical with digital where the omni-channel consumer is the central force shaping the future of e-commerce and brick and mortar stores alike. Tackling the impact of emerging omni-channel strategy from the changing business needs of tenants to real-time inventory challenges can be intimidating.
During a panel at ICSC Recon in Las Vegas, Patrick Flanagan, vice president of digital marketing and strategy for Simon, says cross-channel worlds are starting to converge to omni-channel. “The nuts and bolts of it is that the item is ordered and fulfilled from anywhere and the consumer picks it up from any end point,” said Flanagan.
He said smartphones are driving sales but tablets are an emerging platform. Eighty-three percent of consumers will choose a digital option over interacting with a clerk.
The key parts of omni-presence are: a consistent customer experience across all channels; data availability (some website are selling items even without photos); and personalization.
Flanagan said fulfillment channels are multiplying as retailers catch on, but same day delivery and shipment are keys to success. Retailers will see a 100% increase in business moving from multi-channel to omni-channel—they will increase their margins and decrease markdowns.
“Stores are still king in the omni-channel world,” said Flanagan. “All the dollars still flow through the stores. We have to recognize if an order was filled online, but fulfilled through the store, the store should get credit.”
Flanagan also said e-commerce businesses are limited if they don't have store fronts. “Bonobos and Birchbox are good examples of doing this successfully,” he said. “If we do our job right, the store stays the lynchpin.”
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
