Omnichannel

Stores mix fashion with the best of digital and physical retail

Rebecca Minkoff has tapped into a sweet spot when it comes to integrating the best of online and offline retail.

The designer’s first two U.S. flagships, in downtown Manhattan and the Pacific Heights section of San Francisco, are showcases for how to use technology to create a highly personalized and engaging shopping experience in a physical space.

Lowe’s, Home Hardware align supply chain with consumer demand

New York -- Installing traffic counters and collecting traffic data is easy. But turning the data into better business results is challenging for even the best retailers. Register now for Chain Store Age’s Webinar, “Three Ways to Get the Most Out of Traffic & Conversion Programs,” which will be held on Wednesday, April 1, at 2 p.m. EST.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. knows who it wants to be – a successful omnichannel brand. The retailer is rolling out a new omnichannel campaign, "Who Will You Be?", which will debut March 6 on TV and digital platforms during ESPN's College Basketball Championship Week.

The store is back, baby! That was the message I heard again and again at the National Retail Federation’s 2015 Annual Convention in New York City. It was sounded by retailers, consultants and tech suppliers alike as they rushed to explain the relevance of offline retail in an omnichannel world.

But the truth is the store never went away in the first place. Sure, some retailers are retrenching and reducing (or, in today’s PC lingo, “rightsizing”) their portfolios. It’s especially evident in the apparel sector, with some teen brands particularly hard hit.

Digital payment gains slow, steady traction

Big Lots Inc. did what it was supposed to do in the fourth quarter -- and more, as the discount retailer reported a better-than-expected 3% increase in same store sales.

The company also announced a new omnichannel initiative that it expects to put in place by the first quarter of fiscal 2016. Big Lots has dabbled in online selling in the past, but had discontinued those operations after not getting the strategy down quite right. Now the company says it is looking to fully embrace omnichannel retailing in-store and on its website with a new initiative launching this year.

In the 1990s, when the Internet and eCommerce created a tangible link between modes of shopping that had previously been isolated (stores and catalogs), retailers struggled with how to understand, measure, and connect with shoppers in multiple ways.

It was out of this confusion that the concept of “multichannel” was heralded as retail’s saving grace, and soon, retailers were all abuzz with cross-channel shoppers.

Fast-forward a few years and retailers began scratching their heads wondering why their “multichannel” initiatives hadn’t delivered the stunning ROI they were pro