Kingfisher is developing online sales with an omni-channel approach while also reducing shop floor space.
Last year it launched omni-channel platforms for Screwfix and B&Q’s TradePoint and it plans to upgrade B&Q’s website in 2014.
Multichannel advances during the year also included the launch of a Screwfix mobile ‘click, pay and collect’ offer that now accounts for 55 percent of its mobile sales.
Omni-channel means using all channels – the store, phones and computers – simultaneously, and retailers using an omni-channel approach will track customers across all channels, not just one or two.
Merchandise and promotions are not channel-specific, but consistent across all retail channels. The bricks-and-mortar stores become an extension of the supply chain in which purchases may be made in the store, but are researched through other channels of communication.
