It often takes a while to find the shoe of your dreams so that the brand and colour match your expectations. And then this: the size is not in stock. If the customer then leaves the shop, the bricks-and-mortar retailer has lost this turnover. This is often due to the lack of Cross Channel Services.
According to a recent study, only just under 12 per cent of all retailers manage to keep their customers in their own sales channels. And only six per cent are in a position to keep customers in their own sales channels. Cross Channel Services to bind customers to them. Modern services such as simply having an out-of-stock item delivered to your home (Ship-To-Home) or to reserve an item online in order to try it on or look at it in the shop (Click-To-Reserve) and then buy them are largely not possible with the retailers' existing IT and POS systems.
Cross-channel services as a poachers?
Sophisticated cross-channel functionalities are the key to ensuring that customers do not have to go to the big players in the Ecommerce such as Amazon, Ebay and Zalando. Customers reached via social media channels such as Instagram or What's App, forwarded to the online shop with corresponding functionalities, can reserve the product and collect it from their local shop the next day if the shipping logistics are right. Ideally, the customer would be informed as soon as the reserved product is available.
This coordination within the channels often fails due to different prices in the Online shop and bricks-and-mortar retail. Price promotions are not implemented simultaneously across all channels.
If a retailer has different prices for the same item on Zalando and eBay than on their own platforms, the customer hardly feels tied to "their" retailer. They look for the product online - at the most favourable conditions. And statements about the availability of goods due to inconsistent stocks in the system components often leave a lot to be desired.
Here to read the first part of the series on cross-channel services.
This is followed by the third part on the topic of eRetail.
Shopware 6 for SAP Business One
E-invoicing - The flexible EN 16931 standard
Return rates - on the trail of returns
Web shop integration with SAP Business One Integration Hub
eRetail / Part 3: Branch and online businesses need each other
