Multichannel retailer

A multichannel retailer is a company that sells directly to the public via more than one distribution channel. Most multichannel retailers sell through mail order catalogs and "brick & mortar" retail stores. Some multichannel retailers sell online as well.

Typically, a multichannel retailer begins with a traditional retail storefront, then adds a mail order catalog and finally, once those two channels prove lucrative, expand to a third selling channel by establishing an online presence.

Although this is the normal sequence of events, there are other successful multichannel retailers, who have started with either a web channel or direct mail channel first and then expanded their marketing efforts into the "real world" of traditional retail storefront selling environments.

Establishing more than one way for their customers to shop for their products, is a method for retailers to attempt to grow their monthly revenues and gain new customers, who in turn can be marketed to via other channels not used during their initial purchase. For example shoppers at traditional retail storefronts may also be encouraged to join customer loyalty programs, which may allow further marketing to the customer via direct mail and / or online via E-mail. It's not only marketing that pushed the topic to the top of retailers agenda. Nowadays more customers use various channels for an informed purchase decision. While they do so, they easily change channels within the purchase process. In fact they have no idea of that concept as it is rather an internal topic amongst retailers than widely known to the public. Customers just want to shop with the brand, regardless how a retailer might have organised himself internally. It's important that retailer support and encourage customers when they change between channels. Retailers who don't do so risk to lose customers as they might wander of to a competitor who has a better presence in the other channel. Retailers must also strive to reduce disruption and confusion while customers swap channels. Both will hamper the customers purchasing process; prolonging sales cycles, with an increase risk of losing the customer all together.

However, multichannel is not a retail topic only. In fact it's a topic relevant to anyone who sells goods or services. Hence this is also relevant to manufacturers that sell directly to consumers or enterprises who sell to other businesses (B2B). In those situations customers will also use various channels for their purchase.

Whilst store, catalog and direct sell (over the phone, sometimes regarded as the 4th traditional channel) have not developed many more customer touch points, online has done the opposite. In recent years the number of customer touch points, that piggy backing on online, has exploded. The Internet of Things will accelerate this growth even more. Mobile, Facebook, Twitter & Co. are just the beginning. Thus the term agile commerce is increasingly used to describe the next stage of multichannel retailing.

See also

• multichannel retailing
• agile commerce

External Links

• Retail Week
• Multichannel Retailing

Multichannel Retailers

• Real Drive - German Grocer
• Tesco - UK Grocer
• Toys'R'Us UK
• H&M - Fashion Retailer
• Nordstrom - Department Store