We had a customer Christmas Eve driving across Melbourne, for an hour and a half, to purchase in-store a $180.00 product they discovered we have in stock. They have never been to our shop. They found us and that we have the item through a website.
This experience reinforces the in-store value of being accessible online. The shopper was shopping by brand, certain of what they wanted to purchase. They found us through the brand search and in a couple of clicks were able to see what we had in stock. One call and we had the item set aside for them.
This is an example of what retail experts call omnichannel – shoppers using multiple channels to a purchase. In this case, online and in-store.
We all was more people coming through the front door. This year more than any in the past the evidence is there as to the ability for to to attract more people through the front door through smart online engagement, online engagement that is closely linked with our in-store technology, to provide visibility on stock on hand.
Retailers not promoting the purchase of product online are missing out for sure.