Online Comes In-Store

With the current preference for online rather than in-store shopping, retailers are searching for a way to bring the online convenience to the stores they run. The newest idea being tested in chains like Wal-Mart and P&G is the “Olay System,” which can be seen online. The purpose of this is to provide suggestions for product purchases that work best for the consumer using the system. Small kiosks like this could be a great way to bring more online shoppers back into traditional stores. By offering inventory lists as well as suggested products for possible purchase and providing in-store locations of products, the online shopping convenience will make its way into the retail chain locations. With the multitude of brands and products within the brands currently in the market, new consumers are flooded with hard-to-make choices of what to buy and what to avoid. The Olay system uses a quick survey for the consumer to narrow down and best choose the products they should purchase. If this technology is translated to all product categories, it could have great potential to bring consumers back out of their homes to shop. Many criticize the idea saying the idea of using the internet in the store may not be appealing to consumers, but numbers have proven otherwise. What began as a vehicle for advertisers has become a beneficial system to bring profit into retail stores that utilize it. I like the idea of bringing convenience into stores to match the online shopping options, but it almost seems to be delaying the inevitable switch to almost full online consumption. Despite this, if the kiosks have actually been used in the stores and have raised profit in those stores, then they are worth pursuing. I’ll be interested to see these on my next trip to Wal-Mart and I will be even more interested in whether or not someone actually uses it. One problem I could see with these is a problem I see in stores like Wal-Mart quite often. That is, customers don’t seem to take care of in-store models or game systems or anything for that matter. Trying to find a working x-box controller in any of the Wal-Mart stores in my home area was without avail. Furthermore, Wal-Mart is far from responsible when it comes to replacing or repairing damaged floor models. The point of this is that how long will it take before these machines get broken or damaged and therefore rendered useless? Probably not very long at all, in my opinion. Either way, it is an interesting new way to get people shopping again, and it will be interesting to see how long the idea lasts.


http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=126543