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Transformational Impact of eCommerce

The Transformational Impact of eCommerce on Retail Stores

The Transformational Impact of eCommerce on Retail Stores
By Margot Myers, Director, Education and Training, Platt Retail Institute
May 2012
Platt Retail Institute

It is time for retailers to transform the store shopping experience to include Web access. eCommerce sales are growing rapidly. Consumers have heightened expectations for self-service, especially as their time and budgets are increasingly constrained. In addition to shopping online, more people are using their mobile phones and tablets while on the path to purchase. And finally, the availability of pervasive, web-based analytical capabilities makes it an ideal time for smart retailers to take advantage of what technology has to offer them.

According to comScore, online retail sales increased by 14 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, and 13 percent for the full year. comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni noted that, “in the face of continuing uncertainty regarding the U.S. economy, consumers increasingly went online for their shopping needs. Price and convenience continue to be the critical value drivers for eCommerce, and unless those conditions change, we can expect to see more channel-shifting to online in 2012 and perhaps even an acceleration in the current growth trend.”

Online sales, whether accessed by computer, tablet or smartphone, offer the greatest growth potential for retailers. In a January 2012 survey of 94 retailers by Retail Systems Research, it was found that 63 percent of multichannel retailers expect the online channel to account for a sharp increase in their total sales by 2015. The study, “eCommerce 2012: Back to the Future,” also found “the number of retailers committed to stores as a major growth strategy declining, and the need to do a good job integrating the customer experience across all channels more and more of an imperative.”
This article addresses the questions: Why is eCommerce outpacing in-store retailing in sales growth and customer experience satisfaction? And, how should stores be reconfigured to leverage the advantages of eCommerce?

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