Question

A year ago, the e-commerce giant opened a cashierless convenience store called Amazon Go. Retailers have been creative in developing new channels and formats to reach customers. What is your view of retailers' moves? Do you see any challenges for retailers using multichannel or omnichannel strategy?

Answer 1

We have seen that retail marketing is changing.Success in retail means to connect with the most important customer ,the omnichannel shopper.Both multichannel and omnichannel means selling through numerous physical and digital channels, the only difference between the two is how the customer is contacted across those channels.Success in retail means to reach customers wherever they are through any channel or device like smartphone etc.Now a days ,digital is influencing the customers and the retailers feel that customers who purchase from them in -store and online ,are there most valuable customer.Retailers can enjoy the benefit of omnichannel shopping if they are aware of the strategies to attract customers. This move by the retailers is a very good move and top retailers who take this move understand their customers well.

There are few operational challenges that retailers have to face while doing multichannel or omnichannel business.The most important is inventory control. When a multichannel business is started, there should be enough inventory to support the business.The more the channels the more crucial inventory management becomes.

Fast fulfillment is another challenge which means quickly deliver the products the customers demand.To establish a flexible,reliable fulfillment strategy that will not reduce the profit margin,is a challenge that retailers face.

Data management is also a challenge.Managing the amount of data coming from different sources is another daunting task.To get a clear view of the business it is necessary to break down the data and put in a single dashboard to get a clear picture of the business.