Most retailers off the pace of multi-channel retailing, analyst says
Although web-based retail systems are making it easier for merchants to improve multi-channel shopping and to capture data on customer shopping behavior, many retailers are missing the boat, says Jim Okamura, an analyst who specializes in multi-channel retailing with consultants J.C. Williams & Co. in Chicago.
While web-based technology is providing for more multi-channel opportunities, politics and tradition are still creating obstacles. "Most companies are far from integrating all three channels of stores, web and catalogs," Okamura says. "It`s a case-by-case situation where retailers are learning to use online technology to leverage multi-channel strategies. They often still operate in channel silos with political battles. Multi-channel proponents need time to get buy-in from other executives and managers that integrating channels is good."
Nonetheless, the flexibility of web technology is likely to continue bringing retailers further into multi-channel retailing, Okamura says. “Slowly but surely retailers are learning to leverage web technology and processes for other channels,” he says. By coordinating information on how their customers use separate channels, he adds, retailers can tailor marketing strategies and channel merchandising to maximize customer response while cutting back operating expenses in channels with relatively slow sales. REI Inc, for instance, is using web services technology to integrate CRM data from its multiple selling channels, to provide a centralized ability to view and respond to customer buying behavior regardless of where it occurred.
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