“The best in retail has never been about retail, but rather about shoppers, and a critical first step in retail’s reinvention is an alignment around shoppers, not channels. Have you ever asked a bunch of shoppers what ‘omnichannel’ means? I have, and believe me, no one outside of the retail industry talks in terms of channels. Rather, to shoppers, it’s called ‘shopping,’ and it’s the singular experience on which consumers decide the select few brands that rise to the status of ‘retailer of choice.’”

“RetailNext recently commissioned a study from Forrester Consulting, and the findings revealed a stubborn and persistent gap in perceptions and expectations between shoppers and retailers. The infographic below highlights some of the findings of the study, and the insights suggest retailers would be better off aligning around shoppers and their new shopping journeys, and not around the myriad of traditional channels.”