As it nears $1 billion in overall sales, outdoor sports gear and apparel retailer Recreational Equipment Inc. continues to see the web as key to a seamless customer experience across its multiple selling channels, Joan Broughton, vice president of multi-channel programs, said at the eTail conference this week.
REI, which operates two web sites, REI.com and REIOutlet.com, 77 stores and two catalogs, is using integrated web and store operations to improve customer service as well as cross-selling opportunities, Broughton said.
Because many of its products are highly technical, with even its apparel designed with high-tech features to withstand all types of weather, REI’s store associates rely on in-store web-based kiosks for quick access to the latest product information to better serve customers. But the same kiosks make it possible for customers as well as store personnel to order products not currently available in a store. With REI stores ranging in size from 10,000 to 90,000 square feet, the kiosks make it possible for smaller stores to offer a broader range of products. “The web helps stores augment their assortments,” Broughton said.
One of the most celebrated aspects of REI’s multi-channel strategy is its in-store pick-up of online orders, a feature that accounts for about 30% of the retailer’s web sales. REI had $100 million in online sales last year.
The store pick-up service provides online customers with a free ship-to-store option for items not available in their local REI store’s inventory, and this feature has driven up incremental store sales, Broughton said. “It’s had a huge impact on both direct and store sales,” she said, noting an average of close to $90 per order in incremental store sales.
But getting such results from multi-channel programs requires organized input from personnel in several departments, to help identify best practices and avoid problems ahead of time, Broughton added. “It’s not all about technology,” she said.
Before launching the free ship-to-store program, for example, REI got direct input from several groups of personnel: store operations, the online team, information services, marketing, merchandising, public affairs and logistics. When different departments couldn’t agree on how to set-up the program, Broughton got them to reach agreement by having them focus on what would provide the best service. “When things got turfy, it was helpful to ask if it would help the customer,” she said.
REI also gets personnel in each channel to participate in multi-channel programs by letting them share in the credit for sales. When customers order online and pick up products in the store, REI records the sale as a web transaction in its financial records, even though store personnel must invest time in receiving the online-ordered products, e-mailing customers that their shipment has arrived, and then serving the customer. But for the purposes of meeting sales goals, the transaction will count in both the store and online channels, Broughton said.
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