Multichannel retailing offers customers more than one way of selling, for instance; a web site in addition to the normal retail store. It gives more opportunities to retailers to interact with the customers and promote their products.Multichannel retailing offers customers more than one way of selling, for instance; a web site in addition to the normal retail store. It gives more opportunities to retailers to interact with the customers and promote their products.

A recent market survey states that retailers, who had an online presence apart from their retail stores, reported increased sales revenue, with 52% of their sales done online. Similarly, retailers, who had only online sales without a retail store network, gained only 31% of internet sales. This clearly indicates that for more successful retailing, a retailer needs both physical and online presence.

Alan Morris, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Retail Assist Ltd in an exclusive interaction with Fibre2Fashion asserts by saying, "Multichannel retailers can have a more loyal and repeat purchase customer base, as consumers are able to access the retailer via various channels. With this evidence of increased revenue, it is no wonder that retailers are putting effort into developing and integrating numerous channels."

He further added, "It could be argued that the holy grail of multichannel retail is when prices are consistent across every channel; even for the likes of delivery."

When asked about the practical feasibility of multichannel process he said, "Many big-box retailers are able to offer merchandise online, and give the consumer the choice between goods being delivered to their home, or to their local store. Methods such as 'click and collect' are becoming more prevalent in today's retail environment, which enable more than one of the retailer's channels to be utilized by the consumer over the course of their purchase."

Finally, when asked about the challenges facing this process, the energetic MD said, "The primary challenge faced by multichannel retailers is maintaining the consistency of service, and delivery across different sales channels. Another challenge facing multichannel retailers is the integration of their different channels."
POST: 2024-11-24