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 stationary retailer has lost this turnover. The reason is often the lack of Cross Channel Services.
According to a recent study, only just under 12 percent of all retailers manage to keep their customers in their own sales channels. And only six per cent are in a position to reach out to customers via so-called Cross Channel Services to bind them to the company. Modern services such as having an out-of-stock item simply 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 to buy them are largely not possible with the existing IT and cash register systems of the traders.
Cross-channel services as a poachers?
Well thought-out 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, redirected to the online shop with corresponding functionalities, can reserve the product and, with the appropriate shipping logistics, pick it up the next day at their local branch. Ideally, the customer would be informed as soon as the reserved product is on site.
This coordination within the channels often already fails due to different prices in the Online shop and the stationary trade. Price promotions are not implemented simultaneously across channels.
If a retailer has different prices for the same item on Zalando and Ebay than on the in-house platforms, the customer hardly feels bound to 'his' retailer. trader. He looks 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 much 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.
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
Retail in transition / part 2. Weak cross-channel services: That pleases Amazon and Co
