Retailers, More Channels Please

The concept of multichannel selling isn’t new. But its prominence in a Wall Street Journal story last week may push it to the front of the minds in the executive suite. According to the Journal, a recent study by Forrester Research found that customers who shop three different ways—in stores, on websites and with catalogs—spend about four times more than customers who shop only through one of those channels. That trend spells a push for integration. Be prepared, if you’re in retail, to be contemplating Web kiosks in stores, allowing in-store pick-up of Web orders, enabling multiple payment methods, coordinating coupon distribution, and developing systems to track all that criss-crossing activity. For a recent case study on retail channel integration, see CIO’s May story, “How REI Scaled E-Commerce Mountain.” (Subscription needed to access The Wall Street Journal online; story in Sept. 3 edition, page A7.)