Multi Channel Merchandising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Multi Channel Merchandising - Essay Example "Super" shoppers, as they are identified in the report, are more likely to be customers of all three channels and purchase four times more frequently online than the average online shopper. "Super" shoppers purchase from a retailer's store 70% more frequently than the average store customer and 110% more frequently from the retailer's catalog. The study reports that reaching the "super" multi-channel customer is primary to a retailers' success. Retailers face big risks if they don't support their online channel. Significant levels of cross-channel purchasing were reported. Online shoppers were found to be the most active, with 78% purchasing from both the Web site and the brick-and-mortar store. Among those with a preference, 73% of store shoppers prefer to research their purchases online. Store shoppers in the 35-44 age group were 24% more likely to look for or purchase items in-store that they previously had seen on a retailer's Web site. Shoppers with household incomes between $75,000 and $99,999 were 55% more likely to browse online before buying. Multi-channel retail excellence remains elusive. Many retail executives readily acknowledge that they are far from realizing rewards from true multi-channel integration. Discussions with retail executives showed a wide range of sophistication levels across a number of important business areas. Some retailers have received buy-in from senior executives and are measuring Return On Investment (ROI) in an advanced way -- using tangible revenue results and intangible factors. Other retailers are just beginning to take ROI issues to senior executives and are struggling with internal conflict over...Of course many a housewife would tell you shopping is more than purchasing a need or a want. It is an experience in itself. The concept of retail therapy is not a new one and will probably be never out of fashion. The Wall street learnt what these housewives knew already in the dot-com bust. The learning which came out this was that net would continue to be an effective tool in retailing but it was not necessarily a either/or proposition. All companies needed to have a presence on the net and other areas to reach a new market of customers. A Key report came out in 2001 after the dust settled on the dotcom bust2. The summary of it was as follows: The majority of retailers looking at ROI in an advanced manner have history behind them-they tend to be catalog retailers, and according to this research, their importance to the future of multi-channel retailing excellence is crucial. According to a report by the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), the industry body for e-retailers, online spending rose to 4.2 billion in July, up 80 per cent year on year. While this is great news for a retail industry blighted by poor high street sales, such surveys provide only a top line view of consumer behaviour. Without doubt, this surge in online activity denotes growing consumer confidence, despite escalating fears of identity theft and poor online security.