A recent article in Boss Magazine, published by the Australian Financial Review (June 2014) on “Bridging clicks and bricks”, together with recent commentary on WalMart’s plans to significantly expand it’s neighbourhood stores are clear indications of the way that retailers are rethinking their business models in response to how the technologically enabled consumer wants to shop.  Convenience stores that, by combining what they sell in-store with what they can offer on-line, are able to replicate hypermarkets; Department stores that, by enabling shoppers to connect with them through personalized technology, are able to replicate the relationships of bespoke tailors; and Supermarkets that, by offering a click and collect service, take the grind and stress out of the grocery shopping ritual. Yet in so many countries, long serving retailers are failing to seize the opportunity that new technology, combined with new consumer expectations, offers.  But on a recent visit to the UK, it is a different story. 

The success of the John Lewis Partnership is well documented, with over 25% of its sales now on-line, but the ability to collect department store items at the supermarket and vice-versa, or indeed be able to collect goods at a number of other outlets (eg local newsagents), gives much greater flexibility for collecting shopping.  The innovation at what was once a staid department store has been remarkable, but the rest of the UK high street is rapidly following with many stores offering click and collect, and many new innovations being introduced to more seamlessly integrate the on-line and in-store experiences.

On-line does not mean the death of the traditional box retailer, but it does open up the opportunity for traditional retailers to build deeper relationships with their shoppers by offering a variety of mechanisms by which those shoppers can shop for their goods and receive those goods.