Retailers told to “blend” to stay afloat in business

CEBU, Philippines – Retailers should “crossover” or blend into the online shopping highway instead of being threatened by the popularity of digital retail.

Experts have found out that operating a  traditional “brick and mortar” company and  maintaining an online presence at the same time are both important to stay afloat in the business, says  Benedicto Villanueva, president and chief executive officer of GFK Retail and Technology Philippines.

“Brick and mortar” is a company with a physical presence in the real world. Example of brick and mortar companies are grocery stores, auto shops, corner banks and  so forth. While they have higher overhead and less flexibility than online companies, they can often provide more personalized services to customers.

Villanueva, who was in Cebu for a speaking engagement with local retailers,  said that instead of being threatened by the growing popularity of online stores/shopping, retailers should “crossover” and make parallel presence  in the online world.

Establishing presence online is equally important as having a physical presence in an area, he said.

He emphasized that being online is important to sustain market hold and to encourage customers to keep on coming back. Online presence can also be used as effective consumer “bait,” showing off what’s available in the store, although offering online shopping payment system is also needed.

Although there is a surge in digital and online shopping, retailers should not be discouraged as the market still turn to “brick and mortar”stores.

“What is happening now is people make virtual [window] shopping to search for savings, discounts, available styles and choices but they eventually visit the [physical] store to feel, touch and buy the item,” he added.

Even in the developed countries, “brick and mortar” stores are much more alive, erasing the impression that online shopping could mean death of the physcial store presence.

But Villanueva reiterated that  being present in all online platforms, especially social media, aside from setting up a good online or virtual store is very important. (FREEMAN)