In retail, it’s all about “omnichannel” selling

It’s not in-store versus online — it’s in-store and online, and something in between.

Tomorrow is the most sacred retail holiday of them all: Black Friday. It’s a great day for foot traffic for retailers as shoppers use their day off to flock to malls and big box stores to buy gifts at large discounts. Other shoppers — especially younger ones — are sticking to buying online, where they can look for deals from the comfort of home.

So which are you? Team internet or team brick and mortar? Or … both? 

Ahead of Black Friday, the cast of the 2004 movie “Mean Girls” reunited for a Walmart ad campaign. In one spot, grown up mean girl Gretchen Weiners tells her casually dressed daughter, “Oh sweetie, it’s Wednesday, you’re wearing sweatpants.” “I’m online shopping all day. Walmart’s Black Friday deals just dropped,” her daughter answers.

This throwback campaign represents Walmart’s strong omnichannel retail strategy, explained Brittany Steiger at Mintel.

“Their in-store experience is really consistent. They have a lot of doors throughout the U.S. But they’re also putting a lot of efforts into online Black Friday deals,” Steiger said.

Because the lines between in-store and online are blurring. 

“Retailers and brands are increasingly looking to omnichannel as a more cohesive whole, rather than a separate and distinct in-store and online shopping experience,” Steiger said. It’s not in-store versus online — it’s in-store and online, and something in between.

“This year, I’m noticing a pretty large uptick honestly, in the number of people who are using buy online, pick up in store, buy online, pick up curbside,” said Claire Tassin, an analyst with Morning Consult.

Tassin said at the same time, retailers are trying to get people back into physical aisles, pushing the whole sparkly holiday experience because in-store, “people are going to impulse buy more items, small items that you’re like, ‘Oh, let me just add this into my cart.’” 

But with cyber shopping, you can have lots of virtual carts open, and price is king.

“With online shopping, price transparency is easier than ever before,” said Morningstar analyst David Swartz.

He said while the pandemic accelerated e-commerce, some retailers still have that special sauce for getting customers to show up in person: Ulta, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Five Below.

“You see a lot of teenagers that they just like to hang out there and buy candy and their weird stuff they sell at Five Below,” Swartz said.

But he said the bottom line is that for retailers, it’s not so much where people shop as it is are you selling what they want to buy.