Retailers meeting multi-channel consumer demands: report

14 Mar '19

2 min read

As more consumers embrace multi-channel shopping, retailers are diversifying investments online and offline to meet customer needs, says the annual State of Retailing Online study released by the US National Retail Federation (NRF) and research and advisory firm Forrester. Retailers clearly see the value of physical stores, particularly as e-commerce costs rise.

“Retailers are evolving with customers’ shopping behaviors by creating a seamless shopping experience online and in store,” NRF vice president of research development and industry analysis Mark Mathews said.

“From pop-up stores to social marketing, retailers are finding innovative ways to engage and acquire new customers,” he added.

More than half of surveyed retailers confirm they will open stores in 2019, and 36 per cent will have a higher store count than in 2018. Only 7 per cent of respondents said their net store count would decrease, according to an NRF press release.

To bolster customers’ store and digital experiences, retailers are increasingly investing in omni-channel fulfilment services, personalisation tactics and mobile marketing. They are also making strides in better measurement and refined omni-channel programmes, says the report.

Retailers are prioritising spending on social marketing and engaging with consumers on mobile devices. For the first time this year, social marketing surpassed search marketing in terms of where retailers are increasing their marketing investments: 55 per cent of surveyed retailers are planning to raise spending on social marketing compared with 51 per cent on paid search. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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