Omnichannel

PetSmart continues to implement new initiatives to improve data collection and customer service. For instance, the company recently announced that it plans to pilot the iPad mini in 19 stores, which will allow associates to access the company website in real time. By providing store associates with iPad minis, the company will be able to order out-of-stock items for customers and have them shipped directly to the customer's home. Similarly, in an attempt to gain more loyal customers and to make personalization an important part of the company's offerings, PetSmart is testing an enhanced promotional system in 100 locations. 

Customers have become accustomed to the personalized interactions they get with brands online. Technology is allowing organizations to truly understand their customers, using browsing and purchasing history to deliver a relevant experience whenever they visit their websites. However, for many organizations, these highly personalized interactions don't go beyond their online properties. Nine West wanted to solve this challenge and make sure that customers who visit the footwear and apparel retailer's website got the same experience when they also enter one of the brand's numerous stores, creating a personalized and intimate connection between customers and associates.

Holiday shopping has certainly changed since the rise of e-commerce and world domination of the internet-connected device. Retail has gone thoroughly multichannel, with shoppers researching, browsing and buying in increasingly diverse ways. Yet the heart and soul of holiday shopping — as well as retail commerce year-round — is still the brick-and-mortar store. In fact, Gartner reports that, even allowing for the increase in revenue from e-commerce, retailers should expect 85 percent of their revenues to come from physical stores through 2016.

Gilbert Harrison, chairman and founder at investment bank Financo, discusses the retail expertise Angela Ahrendts brings to Apple and Twitter’s growing role in retail sales.

In its latest article, The Retail Organization of 2023: The Customer is King (For Real), Shop.org's Think Tank group projects what the retail organization will look like in 10 years. Given how rapidly the customer has evolved in just the past three years, plus ever-higher expectations for seamless service across touchpoints, the Think Tank suggests that a successful retailing organization of the future must operate very differently from today. The mandate to retailers: devote significant time and investment now to consciously build on the modern retail organization.

Target is getting ready for the holidays with a big multichannel push that includes expanding its in-store pick-up program for products ordered online to all of its U.S. stores by Nov. 1 — a service that's now available in about half of the chain's locations. Target will run an ad campaign Dec. 1 through Dec. 3 that promotes deals during Cyber Monday and the rest of Cyber week. Target's overall holiday campaign, themed "My Kind Of Holiday," will extend across all channels, including broadcast, radio, in-store, catalogs, digital and social media.

With the school year well underway, holiday shopping is even closer than you think. Many retailers use the back-to-school shopping season as a test run, prepping their brick-and-mortar and online shopping experiences ahead of the holiday shopping rush. It's up to retailers to ensure their sites are not only mobile ready for the holiday shopping season, but that consumers have a consistent experience wherever and whenever they interact with the brand.

In the race to omnichannel excellence, American Apparel & Footwear Association and MarkMonitor took some time to speak with experts in the apparel and footwear industry to get an inside view what exactly omnichannel means for them and how it's helping their companies grow into the future. The following is an excerpt from an interview with Joe Megibow, senior vice president/general manager of omnichannel e-commerce at American Eagle Outfitters.

Some of the industry's most familiar names landed at the top of a list of retailers deemed to be leading omnichannel enterprises by their peers. In RIS News' Omnichannel Readiness report, tied for first and chosen by 45.8 percent of retailers are perennial leaders Nordstrom and Apple. Macy's tallied 37.5 percent of the vote, with Wal-Mart trailing closely behind with 33.3 percent. Rounding out the best-in-class list are Target and Best Buy with 20.8 percent apiece. These retailers are held up by their peers as enterprises that enable a seamless shopping experience across channels by integrating services, technologies and processes.

Retail has a reputation of being a bit behind other industries in mobile technology, but Lowe's is one of the exceptions. Its MyLowe's mobile app has been one of the highlights, called out by experts as one of the more exemplary tools available for retail consumers. Sean Bartlett, director of mobile strategy and platforms for Lowe's, spoke with eMarketer's Christine Bittar about the attributes of MyLowe's and its relevance in the home improvement category.