This week’s UK retail figures presented a gloomy picture of the UK, with retail sales values were down 3.3% while online growth slowed to 9%. Adam Stewart, Marketing Director at Rakuten’s Play.com, comments why retails need to make the best of both the online and offline worlds to succeed in this difficult trading environment.
The weather can have a huge affect on retailers, and the wettest April ever is being blamed for last month’s poor sales figures. One way retailers can negate the effect of the weather is to ensure they have a genuine multichannel approach to retailing. It doesn’t rain online, so while the wet weather may discourage people from heading out to the high street, this means they are likely to be at home surfing the web.
If the online experience a retailer provides is as positive as the in-shop experience, they don’t have to miss out on valuable sales. Savvy retailers could even use this to their advantage, with online deals on items like coats and macs to help them shift winter stock.
Retailers should view online as a powerful channel that is complementary to traditional retail and that can be a powerful mechanism for driving sales both on and offline.
The multichannel customer is much more valuable than the bricks and mortar customer – as retailers who have a strong online offering are likely to have found out this month.
The key for merchants is to combine the flexibility and utility of the multichannel approach with the customer service and tangibility of being in a physical shop. By bringing together these elements, retailers will be able to offer a more compelling service to their customers – come rain or shine.
By Adam Stewart
Marketing Director
Rakuten’s Play.com
www.play.com
