Canadian Retailer - Fall 2013 - 16

OMNICHANNEL RETAIL

THE CHANGING FACE
OF RETAIL IN AN
OMNICHANNEL WORLD
Reassessing the look and function of the retail network to
continue meeting customer demands
BY DAVID MCPHERSON
OMNICHANNEL. The phrase buzzes like

a bee whispering too close to your ear.
You hear it. You feel its presence. And the
opportunities available to you by creating a seamless omnichannel experience
for your customers can't be ignored, unless you want to get stung. What does this
term really mean and why is it so important in today's retail environment?
"Omnichannel is simply making yourself available to your customers when
and where they want to interact with
you," explains Jim Danahy, managing
principal, CEO, CustomerLAB.
Adds Mitch Joel, president of Montreal-based Twist Image: "At every given
moment in a day there are opportunities
in each part of the omnichannel cycle
to interact with your customers...it's expanded the definition of what shopping is."
In his new book Ctrl Alt Delete, Joel,
Canadian Tire`s express format caters to the urban dweller.
dubbed by Marketing magazine as, "one
of North America's leading digital visionaries," explores how channel-whether bricks-and-mortar, direct
technology has revolutionized business and sent it "through a mail, online, or mobile-to offer seamless, tarrapid state of genetic mutation." He calls this moment "purga- geted, cost-effective solutions.
tory." Joel says organizations need to reboot their businesses to
According to Danahy, to successfully deremain relevant to today's consumers who are one step ahead of termine your omnichannel strategies-and to
the brands they follow.
meet these ever-shifting consumer demands-
Well said, but, like most retail strategies, it's easier to put you must first focus on a pair of tenets first
these concepts into words than to execute them. The good learned back in Retailing 101.
news? Even if you are a laggard-and have fallen behind in
"Two axioms provide the axis by which virtumeeting these ever-increasing customer demands-it's not too ally all retailers must govern themselves," he
late to get into the omnichannel game. What's more important explains. "The axes are very ancient. They are
is to learn from best practices of leading-edge retailers. Then, detail and location, location, location. One is the
use the tools and technology at your organizations' disposal to X axis and one is the Y axis and you can always
localize your offers to personalize your customers' experience. see the exponential effect of one on the other.
Customers expect more in this 24-7, 365-day cycle in which
"Retail is detail," Danahy adds. "If you fail
retailers never close. To meet these new demands, businesses to have a store where your customer wants it,
are offering consumers a variety of shopping options tailored which might be on a cellphone and not on a
to their needs. Supply chain strategies are aligned across each street corner, then you lose a sale."

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Canadian Retailer - Fall 2013

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