Omnichannel

I had the opportunity to chat recently with Beth Guastella, the recently named president and chief operating officer of giggle, an omnichannel specialty retailer of upscale baby products and resources. In part one of this two-part blog post, we discuss what attracted Guastella to giggle; what specialty retail is; and how giggle’s catalog business works. 

The most profitable retargeting efforts focus on consumers who have either viewed products but haven't yet made a purchase or who did make a purchase and are likely to buy another related product. In either case, the overall strategy is to attract the consumer at the right time for the right cost. Once identified as suitable to receive a retargeting message, there are five concepts that must be employed to achieve success:

In advance of next Thursday's Retail Marketing Virtual Conference & Expo, I took the opportunity to interview one of the show's speakers, Richard Sexton, the founder and president of Carolina Rustica, an omnichannel retailer of high-end furniture and lighting. (Richard is also a member of Retail Online Integration's Editorial Advisory Board.) Richard will be hosting the "Showrooming: Your Secret Weapon for In-Store Sales" session. Here's a sneak peek into some of the issues that Richard will be addressing during the half-hour session:

I'm here to see the doc, um, I mean the retailer. How many times in your life have you heard that phrase uttered? Exactly, zero. But that may be changing if AT&T's latest innovation proves successful and goes mainstream.

After years of beefing up their e-commerce engines, traditional merchants are now waking up to omnichannel retailing, recognizing that the meat and potatoes of their business is still their existing fleet of physical stores. They're creating ways to bridge the gap between the virtual and in-store experience, introducing purchasing paradigms that are nudging consumers to upend the way they've shopped since time immemorial.

Webrooming is the practice of researching products online before going to a brick-and-mortar store for a final evaluation and purchase. For retailers, webrooming presents opportunities to provide shoppers with information they expect to receive online (e.g., product information, pricing, peer reviews, etc.), while maintaining control over the customer journey by showcasing the physical store experience as the consumer's final destination.

“Omnichannel” is one of the hottest buzzwords in the retail industry. Yet while everyone is talking omnichannel, relatively few brands

Talking about omnichannel is very fashionable for retailers nowadays. At a high level, the concepts behind providing great customer experience across channels are easy to understand. However, those in the business know that executing on a great omnichannel strategy is pretty challenging. Omnichannel retailers are acutely aware of three key trends that are heavily influencing the industry today:

Target is the latest retailer heading to the Silicon Valley to develop its omnichannel business. The mass merchandise retailer announced the

Picture this anxiety-provoking scenario: you're at an all-day conference, sweating bullets as you prep for a presentation in an hour's time. But you packed in haste and left your laptop charger at home. Your battery capacity is perilously close to zero. You don't have time to dash to Best Buy and you wouldn't dare ask a fellow presenter for a favor lest you show your hand. eBay knows its customers (including you, the disheveled executive) and has been quietly working on a solution for this thoroughly modern conundrum. The eBay Now app allows