Research commissioned by Webloyalty, addresses the impact of the multichannel, the mobile phone and mCommerce. This is an intro to the report.

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Introduction

2. Introduction
Technological advances over the last decade have made the world of retail a
truly multi and cross channel market place.
In the past there were only a limited number of channels for consumers to buy
from and most of these channels were used in isolation. Now consumers are
overwhelmed by a plethora of channels from which to make a purchase. While
stores continue to be the favoured channel, non physical channels, especially the
internet, are growing their share of retail spend. The multitude of new channels
New channels and technology With more people shopping The rise of smart phone usage
has played directly into consumers’ hands giving them the opportunity to shop
developments have changed online and through other further advances the number of
how, when and where they want. the way consumers shop over channels, retailers are having to ways consumers can interact with
the last decade adapt their location and store retailers, helping to integrate
Nowadays consumers are relatively channel blind: the boundary between strategies to respond to the multiple channels into one
needs of multichannel seamless shopping experience
different shopping barriers is gradually blurring as consumers begin to use shoppers
multiple channels interchangeably.
This report addresses the impact that multichannel and in particular the mobile
phone will have on retail over the next few years. It will look at what influence m-
commerce and multichannel will have on a number of areas including:
The consumer – in terms of changing purchasing habits and providing
new shopping experiences
The store – in terms of what role stores will have in a multichannel retail
environment
The high street – in terms of retailers’ changing location strategies and
the future configuration of high streets
The sector – in terms of m-commerce’s overall impact on retail in general
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