News

Report says retailers need to focus on multi-channel experience

March 16, 2011

The most recent report from RSR Research, a research company run by retailers for the retail industry, is titled,“Omni-Channel Fulfillment and the Future of Retail Supply Chain. ”

The study measures retailers’ progress toward enabling “buy anywhere, get anywhere” scenarios for consumers. The research finds that while retailers place a high priority on these types of initiatives, they often don’t know where to begin in order to address their supply chain challenges.

These findings are based on a survey of 76 retailers this past winter.

"One clear finding that emerged right away was that retail winners – those that outperform their peers in overall sales – are focusing on connecting demand collected through digital channels into the store," said Brian Kilcourse, managing partner at RSR Research and co-author of the report. "Given that some 95% of retail sales is still transacted in stores, retailers need to get that aspect of their business connected to the online space as quickly as possible – whether that is through in-store pickup or true in-store fulfillment, where they are pulling inventory off the shelves to meet customer demand.”

The report contains analysis of business drivers, opportunities and organizational constraints surrounding cross-channel supply chain initiatives, as well as recommendations for creating successful cross-channel fulfillment capabilities. The report is part of RSR Research's ongoing efforts to provide market intelligence on retail technology trends.