If you are in the retail business than the term “Omnichannel” is not alien to you. Omnichannel evolved as a concept in a retailer’s book in 2010, and today, focuses on a multichannel sales approach that aims to give customers an uninterrupted/continuous shopping experience. It all started with e-commerce and the loss of revenue that brick and mortar retailers began to experience once e-commerce gained traction among the general consumers. Let’s take a quick walk through history. First came the brick and mortar stores, the mom and pop shops that ran locally. Their marketing streams were restricted to announcement boards outside their stores, flyers, and maybe billboards, if they even had the budget. The brand reach and association was local and small. Then, in the 1920′s – 1950′s came the first disruptive model and subsequent technologies. Sears invented the concept of what a modern day Walmart looks like. In 1930, fully air-conditioned, windowless Sears stores catering to both men and women could be found just outside the main business district of towns across the country. With the ability to transport product on Vanderbilt & Carnegie’s rail tracks, and national store chains, national brands began to emerge. Our senses were tantalized by a myriad of brands - Coca Cola became one of the first major national brands by selling its 1 billionth bottle in 1944. Up until the 1970′s, the advertisement channels were local announcement boards, billboards, movies, television, flyers, magazines, direct mail catalogs and the all mighty newspaper. In 1980 the retail industry experienced its next big disruption. Along came the telemarketers. A new revenue channel was added when the average American customer could buy by mail order, physically at the store, and via the telephone using their BankAmeri cards (launched in 1977). By 1987, spending on telemarketing was more than double that for direct mail. Around the same time, a pre-med student from the University of Illinois, Murray Lappe, designed the world’s first interactive kiosk called The Plato Hotline. By 1985, the first successful network of over 600 interactive kiosks was launched in Florsheim Shoe Co. It allowed customers to select from pictures and videos of shoes that weren’t available in stores and permitted them to purchase the product on the kiosk itself. The transaction would then be sent to the Florsheim center in St. Louis for next-day home or store delivery via Federal Express. Quickly following the kiosk was the next big disruption to retail that came with the internet and e-commerce in the 90s. In 1994 retail saw the first secure online purchase and following it, in 1995, Amazon.com was launched by Jeff Bezos along with e-Bay’s first avatar Auctionweb. The importance of a retailer’s online presence quickly became apparant after Macys pioneered their internet presence and launched macys.com in 1996 as an experimental venture. By 1998 they deemed it a success. Target & Walmart launched their online presence in 1999-2000. The early and mid 2000′s saw retailers getting into kiosks. The Florsheim kiosk model made perfect sense to add on to the brand new online infrastructure. Around 2003 major ecommerce players proved that they survived the .com bust in 2000 leading to a new race. A fresh wave of players raced towards a .com presence. It was now imperative for the brick and mortar retailer to have an online presence. 2007 experienced the launch of iPhones and the apps platform. The era of smartphones kicked in. The signs for mobile phones being a sales channel had been present since 1997–one of the earliest things sold on mobile phones were ringtones. With an increasing number of hits to e-commerce sites coming from mobile phones, retailers began to realize the need for a mobile presence and m-commerce was born. 2009 was the year of mobile applications for retail. In the short period between 2009 and 2010, 153 retailers launched their mobile applications. 2010 also saw an introduction of tablets to the mix. This time the retailers realized early on that tablets would be a source for additional revenue & a new marketing channel. By 2010 the average consumer had multiple ways to connect to the internet – PC’s, phones, tablets, etc… This resulted in an increase in social media activity. Facebook saw a 99% increase in users from 2010 to 2012. With multiple channels to communicate to the user on, omnichannel was born. Retailers started adopting omnichannel strategy in 2010. As we learn to walk the omnichannel path, it’s already growing – wearable tech and IoT are the near future. Every consumer will be constantly connected going forward. You might be wondering why we discussed the history of disruption in retail. In this history lies the reason for, and lead to, the current challenges we face as an omnichannel capable retailer. My next blog will explain what these issues are, why they exist, and most importantly, how you can navigate and solve these issues in the most optimal manner. Keep a lookout. Till we meet again Archana
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