Omni channel Marketing
All online sales comprise of about 8% of retail sales in the United States. But taking into account that vehicle purchases, gas station fills, and grocery shopping all together make up about half of all known retail transactions in the United States, are not really suited to the online selling platform, then online sales actually comprise about 16% of all the remaining retail transactions. And it is still accruing at a significant rate of 15% annually.
Years ago, if a consumer wanted to buy a television, a consumer would have to go to a local department store to view the various televisions that are sold there, pick a television, and buy it. This was how a consumer went about with their needs. And as the world underwent significant change and progress, the consumer was introduced to the internet, and almost instantly, the consumer retail and service process was changed. With the use of the internet, a consumer is able to research, browse, select, and purchase almost any item they want online, without even stepping inside the store.
And some businesses were completely decimated by online retail. Remember CompUSA? How about Circuit City? Then how about Blockbuster Video? These three businesses who many thought were going to be institutions in their own industries are now all gone. So many are asking there any chance for a bright future for brick-and-mortar retailers who are now surrounded with the intense online competition?
“Maybe, it actually depends…” There are advantages to a having a physical location of business where customers can come in to check and view your products, goods, and services. But many shoppers nowadays, specifically millennials, prefer to do their shopping without salespeople badgering them, hence online shopping is where they tend to turn to, with all the opportunity to customize products, check items with ease, and all in the comfort of their own home. Fortunately, there are ways to counteract this scenario, Omni Channel Marketing.
The advantages the brick-and-mortar retailers currently enjoy are integrated with the interactive and technological innovations of online retail. With the use of mobile apps, interactive kiosks, digital signage, and tablets for in-store ordering, Omni channel marketing fuses the physical shopping experience with the online innovations, producing a result that provides a shopper and ultimately, the retailer, the best of both worlds
More info here: http://www.optikal.com http://sprousem.bravesites.com/entries/general/omni-channelmarketing-helping-traditional-retail-bridge-the-digital-gap