Published February 26, 2015
Where Retail Sales are Consummated: Part 2 – The Rest of the Story
By Jim Tompkins
CEO, Tompkins International
In part 1 of this 2-part blog, I presented some directional statistics on the growth of retail sales in sophisticated and unsophisticated countries. I also discussed the portion of these sales that are online versus in-store and the real estate implications of these statistics.
I also caution against a false impression that some conclude from looking at both sophisticated and unsophisticated countries over the next 7 years is that in-store sales are more important than online sales. Yes, more sales are done in-store than Online, but this has nothing to do with the importance of one over the other. So, why is this a cautionary note? The cautionary note is required as I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a traditional retail executive’s question:
- “Why are we spending so much time and effort on the 9% of our sales (online) at the exclusion of the 91% we do in-store?”
- “Why are we letting the tail (online sales) wag the dog (in-store sales)?”
- “We make money on in-store sales, but lose money on online, why are we so focused on our online sales?”
The cautionary note and the above 3 questions are missing two major facts:
- The title of this two part blog can be interpreted in two different ways. One interpretation is that “Consummate” is about the physical location where the sale was transacted (in-store or online). The other interpretation is that “Consummate” has to do with what was the influencer that begets the sale. The chart below demonstrates the influence exerted by e-commerce on all sales for both sophisticated and unsophisticated countries. In year 2012, 50% of all retail sales in sophisticated countries were influenced by a company’s online presence. This number will pass 60% in 2015 and hit 70% in 2018. Although there is a slower adoption on the rate the influence on total sales for unsophisticated countries, an Influence level on sales of 70% will be achieved by 2018. It is this influence level of e-commerce that is driven by e-commerce search and social referral that is driving the necessity of omnichannel. The reason e-commerce is so important is because of the omnichannel nature of shoppers – Online presence influences the majority of today’s sales in sophisticated countries, and by 2017 it will drive the most sales in unsophisticated countries. This is how you answer the 3 questions above.
The second major fact is also related to omnichannel, but not retail sales. The rate of acquiring new customers can be as low as 5% for “big box/discount oriented” retailers, but as high as 80% for “high-end/personalized service” retailers like Nordstrom or Saks. One of the key attributes of a retailer’s online site is to attract new customers for both online and in-store sales, along with the pursuit of customers for the lifetime value of the customer. To demonstrate, consider a 25-year-old female retailer shopper whose mother and grandmother were totally dedicated to shopping at Nordstrom. In turn, this woman does not shop at Nordstrom because she considers the store as being for “older women.” So, she knows Nordstrom’s, but does not shop there. However, while online she comes across the Nordstrom site and buys a pair of shoes. She loves them and the great service Nordstrom provided. The next time she goes to the mall she decides to just “walk through” the store. Two hours later she leaves Nordstrom with four bags and much to her surprise, she has become a Nordstrom shopper. Are her sales online or in-store? The answer of course is neither, they are omnichannel sales. So, to answer the 3 above questions again: the reason e-commerce is so important is due to the omnichannel shopper. It is your online presence that will attract new customers whose lifetime purchases, both online and in-store, can be huge.
So, Omnichannel retail is about providing the customer a seamless customer experience, both online and in-store. This is how customers desire to shop and how you are going to consummate sales. That is why online is so important to your overall sales strategy and must be a key part of your companies planning. Your organization must embrace omnichannel and the changes this requires in your supply chains for delivery, availability and cost.
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