1. What is Omni-channel retailing?

Omni-channel refers to a multichannel approach to sales that seeks to provide the customer with seamless shopping experiences. It provides the customer with the capability of either buying products online from a mobile device or a desktop. Also, customers can shop in bricks and mortar store or by telephone.

1. Describe the origin of Omni-channel? Its reason for implementing it?

It is a marketing strategy that begun way back 2003 whereby it has evolved from unfamiliar concept to trendy buzzword, to a critical component of successful marketing. Omni-channel began and mainly based itself on Customer Centricity in stores.

Its origin was figured out by Best Buy when they realized they could not beat Walmart on price. Therefore, the strategy ventured by Best Buy aimed at competing with Walmart to out do them in online retailing.  It is in this regard that technology can blur the distinction between online and physical retailing, hence enabling the retailers and their supply chain partners rethink their competitive strategies.

References

Morse, G. (2011). Retail Isn’t Broken. Stores Are. Harvard Business Review, 89(12), 78-82.

Bernstein, F., Song, J., & Zheng, X. (2008). “bricks-and-mortar” vs. “clicks-and-mortar”: An equilibrium analysis. European  Journal of Operational Research, 187(3), 671-690.

Brynjolfsson,  E., Hu,  Y. , & Rahman,  M. (2013). Competing in the age of Omni-channel retailing. MIT Sloan Management Review, 54(4), 23-29.

Current issues in Omni-channel retailing:

1. What are the current issues of retailers and merchants?

Currently, most retailers and merchants are “Omni-channel” in their behavior and outlook. It is because they are majorly venturing into the offline and online retails channel to do their marketing and sales to clients. Merchants and Retailers in new environment flourish through re-examining their strategies for delivering products and information to their customers.

1. What are the impacts of online-offline integration of Omni-channel retailing?

There is a rise of non-significant cannibalization of the physical stores, the small merchants and retailers from the channel integration. The retailers mostly advocate a competitive advantage through channel integration of both offline and online retailing. It has led to the willingness of the customers paying across channels.

iii.                        Outline general consideration of innovation in regards to Omni-channel retailing?

Innovations have to address industry, consumer, and regulatory-based challenges in order

to facilitate the globalization of markets. Distinct changes have to be incorporated in the current mature, emerging and less developed markets. Innovations have to be responsive as they are critical to the success of the globalizing retailers.

References

Bell, D., Gallia, S., & Moreno, A. (2014). How to win in an omnichannel world. MIT Sloan Management Review,56(1), 45.

Herhausen, D., Binder, J., Schoegel, M., & Hermann, A. (2015). Integrating bricks with clicks: Retailer-Level and channel-level outcomes of online-offline channel integration. Journal of Retailing, 91(1), 309-325.

Reinartz, W. , Dellaert, B. , Krafft, M. , Kumar, V. , & Varadarajan, R. (2011). Retailing innovations in a globalizing retail market environment. Journal of Retailing, 87, S53-S66.

Future of omnichannel retailing:

1. Why is future of Omni-channel retail shopping viewed to be more involving and what leads to that conclusion?Future shopping in Omni-channel retailing will be much more involving due to the expandability of E- Commerce sale. The morphing of digital retailing will lead to more and new tactics of Omni-channel retailing. Customers will be interacting with retailers in countless various channels such as websites, direct mail, physical stores, social media, mobile devices, networked appliances, catalogs and many more thus shopping will be more involving.
2. The importance of innovation in the future retailing?

The importance of innovation has brought new techniques that have led to the convergence of physical retail formats, E –Commerce, and digital services. Therefore, Retailers will be able to confront the need of customers and will be able to deliver a correct and full integrated shopper experience from initial point to final state.

iii.                        What will make the traditional brick and mortar stores obsolete?  The promptness and constant development of technology and social media in the current and future retail sector as compared to the mortar store. The retailing industry is changing and modifying their behavior due to technology, as compared o traditional and mortar store face more challenges. M-commerce and E-commerce can offer the possibility of customizing services and products to clients’ needs and thus provides a more convenient, faster and easier way of shopping.