Omnichannel

Multichannel Golfsmith customers outspend their single-channel counterparts by a factor of four, according to analysis conducted by the retailer. "If you were a two-channel customer, which could be our catalog, 1-800 number or a web customer, you will spend four times" what a one-channel customer spends, said Golfsmith CEO Martin Hanaka during a recent conference call discussing the retailer's Q3 financial results.

Earlier this year, Retail Online Integration gathered together three leading video 
e-commerce experts for a conference call to discuss best practices and trends within the emerging channel that retailers need to be aware of in 2012. Joining us on the call were Justin Foster, John Lazarchic and Jon Schroeder.

A compilation of this year’s best and brightest ideas in our annual 50 Best Tips issue.

How-to product videos are one of the most underutilized features that every e-commerce site should have. Many brands and retailers should be doing a lot more of them for real financial gain as well as social value with their customers. Learn in this post what are the many benefits of doing how-to videos for your own brand, and some helpful times for getting started.

Old Navy has partnered with Telemundo to launch a telenovela-style miniseries for the web. The Spanish-language web novela, "Estilos Robados" (Stolen Styles), is a six-part miniseries that launched Oct. 14 and will air on Fridays through Nov. 18.

How does a retailer become a cross-channel retailer? The first step is to change the cultural thinking in many organizations to a “market to me” experience, a singular view of the customer.

For the past few years, retailers have been refining their mobile offerings in advance of the holiday season. Keeping up with consumer demand has meant providing pricing information, product specifications and customer reviews to mobile users — all leading reasons why last year’s holiday shoppers turned to mobile.

AdamAndEve.com, the award-winning site of adult industry giant Adam & Eve, has announced the launch of its mobile website, compatible with iPhone and Android devices.

Macy's is partnering with fit personalization software provider True Fit to launch virtual sizing technology on its website, mobile site and in-store kiosks. Using the technology, shoppers can see which of the retailer's clothes and shoes will fit them on screen — without having to physically try on the apparel.

As it's been a year since the last JUMP, an annual event dedicated to multichannel business, I thought I'd collate and share a few recent examples of innovative multichannel thinking. Some of these are real success stories. There are plenty of others that I know I've missed out, some of which I'm looking forward to hearing more about.