In the run up to the 2016 holiday season, Sears, the massive department store chain, offered in-store Christmas discounts. What separated Sears' in-store deals from the thousands of other deals and discounts that pop up during the holiday season was the way in which it harnessed its online presence to foster in-store shopping. The department store offered 20 percent discounts on all items ordered online but picked up at a Sears location, significantly increasing consumers' incentive to take a trip to the store.
Though Sears is an historic retailer, the company has done an excellent job of growing its online sales. In fact, it was ranked number 14 on the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide. With the percentages of brick-and-mortar sales dropping everywhere, Sears found a way to boost its in-store foot traffic through the use of e-commerce.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Online-to-store Shopping
- Sears' success with offering in-store discounts on online purchases highlights the trend of online-to-store shopping.
- Cross-channel Integration
- The use of e-commerce to drive in-store foot traffic shows the disruptive potential of cross-channel integration.
- Omnichannel Retailing
- Sears' strategy of combining online and in-store sales exemplifies the growing trend of omnichannel retailing.
Sectors Adopting This
- Retail
- Sears' approach to in-store discounts on online purchases presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for the retail industry.
- E-commerce
- The success of Sears' online-to-store shopping strategy provides a disruptive innovation opportunity for the e-commerce industry.
- Logistics
- The use of Sears' physical store locations as pickup points for online purchases highlights the potential for disruptive innovation in the logistics industry.
