Multichannel Retailing: An Introduction

Despite a still-weak economy, retail sales are showing a rebound. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, total retail sales for the third quarter of 2011 were $1,052,734. Sales improved even more during the holiday season. The National Retail Federation said retail sales for the 2011 holiday season rose 4.2 percent from 2010, reaching $471.5 billion. Clearly, people are still shopping.

But how people shop is changing. In the third quarter of 2011, 4.6 percent of retail sales were ecommerce sales, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce — an increase of approximately 13 percent from the previous year.

Benefits of multichannel retailing

Creating a successful multichannel experience can seem intimidating to many retailers, who may wonder if the effort is worth it. They may not have a choice, however.

“Consumers are expecting this kind of integration already,” said Ron Bowers, senior vice president of Frank Mayer and Associates, a Grafton, Wis.-based merchandising company. “They expect that if they order an item online, they can return it in the store, that kind of thing. It’s up to retailers to make sure that expectation is met.”

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