Wednesday, October 23, 2013

E-commerce and Brick-and-Mortar Don't Have to Hate Each Other

E-commerce stores and physical store fronts don't necessary face a zero sum battle. As the retail landscape evolves, the lines between the two continue to blur. As E-Bay President Devin Wenig states, "traditional retail isn't going away, it is transforming."

An example of this is E-Bay, and British catalog retailer, Argos. The two companies recently teamed up - customers will be able to order online on E-Bay, and then go pick up the items at one of the 150 Argos stores for a trial of 6 months. This is only a small example into the immense move to omni-channel retailing. Online retailers such as Bonobos are also now transitioning from a pure online presence, to opening physical store-fronts.

According to a survey of customers, services such as price-matching, convenience, and store loyalty programs are likely to persuade shoppers to shop from a physical store rather than going online. 

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