Page 65 - Lighting-Magazine-August-2014

Retail Strategy

e-commerce to be a $260+ billion industry. As more According to a study conducted by e-commerce
brick-and-mortar retailers give their customers the consultant RichRelevance, which tracked 700
convenience of online shopping, e-commerce will million shopping sessions, shoppers coming from
understandably take a larger share of total retail Pinterest spend nearly $170 per session on average
sales. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Commerce while those from Facebook spend $95, and those According
noted a 13% rise over the previous year. on Twiter spend $70. to the NRF-
Online shopping is currently estimated to account For the past year, the top priorities for online
for a total of 8% of all retail sales — which means hav- retailers have been site conversion (geting consum- KPMG
ing a physical store still has the edge…for now. That ers to purchase) plus the development of mobile
percentage is increasing, but so is another activity: and tablet initiatives. These fndings came to light report, 6
The NRF Foundation-KPMG report (titled Spotlight during the State Of Retailing Online 2013 Shop.org
on Modern Retail) points to a rise in online-only study conducted by Forrester Research. Other con- out of 7
stores opening up bricks-and-mortar counterparts (a cerns are site redesign, international growth, and consumers
phenomenon observed in the lighting industry when multi-channel eforts.
LightingUniverse.com – initially an e-tailer – opened research
several physical stores in the Pacifc Northwest). Future eMployees
With so much emphasis on online and mobile device products
How It works communications, it’s not surprising to learn retailers
Today’s customers live in a multi-channel world will be investing in employees with skills in social online
— they search for a product online and check cus- media, app development, and other emerging tech- before
tomer reviews in an app before looking for that item nologies. The retail environment will continue to
in the store. Retailers that can integrate their online, rapidly evolve; those companies who stay on top of buying.
mobile, and in-store experiences have a major ad- the changes – or beter yet, ahead of the curve – will
vantage over those businesses ofering only one be successful in this new age of selling. 
channel of contact.
Afer surviving the Recession and still facing ris-
ing healthcare expenses and a higher cost of living
across the board, consumers now want to know
everything they can about a product before they
decide to purchase it. According to the NRF-KPMG GLOSSARY
report, six out of seven consumers research prod-
ucts online before buying. Stores with Web sites
that provide product information will have the edge Multichannel Retailing
over a showroom with a static Web site that only Retail operations with customer transactions possible through multiple
states the hours of operations, location, and listing connected channels, such as: brick-and-mortar stores, online store sites,
of brands carried. mobile apps, phone.

Be More In toucH
Social media is the easiest and fastest method for Omnichannel Retailing
consumers to share experiences, give product re-
views, and interact with a brand — and it’s projected Similar to multichannel retailing, with the focus on creating a seamless
consumer experience through any and all shopping channels: mobile,
to grow in size and infuence. As a result, more com- tablet, computers, brick-and-mortar stores, television, radio, direct mail
panies (manufacturers and retailers) are investing in and catalogs.
the manpower to maintain a lively social media pres-
ence on Facebook, Twiter, and Pinterest.
The NRF-KPMG report states that social media
is no longer considered “new technology” and it Omnichannel Stores
continues to adapt and grow in new directions. For Staples recently launched “omnichannel stores,” which are smaller and
example, Pinterest’s 70 million users reportedly fol- feature large kiosks where consumers can make purchases for in-store
low an average of 9.3 retail companies — a statistic pick-up and fnd more information — essentially, creating an online
shopping experience in-store.
that is greater than those who follow on Twiter or
Facebook.

august 2014 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 63