Multipronged approach

It goes without saying the tremendous growth seen in retail online sales. However this has resulted in parallel companies (stores, website, catalog) operating within a retail organization which seem to be sometimes disconnected in their approach. Some retailers have integrated these functions to an extent in terms of look and feel. The question however is whether is that sufficient to stay competitive? I came across an article which talks about some of the best practices implemented by retailers ahead of the curve in the multi-channel world. Below are listed some of the key observations

1. Cost Effectiveness: Carrying the right assortment in your stores and offering wider ones in your online store can help cut down costs and at the same time provide opportunities for customers to buy the items. Penny's is cited as a good example of that "What are the secrets to Penney's success? For one, its Website offers almost three times the number of products available in the merchant's stores. This gives the company a cost-effective way to sell bigger-ticket, often slower-turning items."
2. Flexibility: Being able to fulfill customer demand from across channels gives the customers flexibility and the retailer the brand value of being customer centric. The article talks about some retailers using drop shipping as a means to drive that - "That kind of channel inventory flexibility requires a willingness to ship (or allow customer pick up) from different channels to make the sale and satisfy the customer. Some direct businesses are gaining significant sales with drop-shipped product. One major retailer with direct sales exceeding $200 million has 20% of its sales drop-shipped from its merchandise suppliers." From a retail systems perspective, having a common master data, inventory planning and replenishment system can help achieve this flexibility . The article mentions about the effect of inflexibility - "An inability to move or ship product from other channels to make the sale means inventory is frozen in one channel when it's needed in another. You need to aggregate or roll up inventory needed in a specified time frame ito place purchase orders and plan receipts. "
3. Uniformity: Often you go into a store and you dont find the same deals as you see online. Many retailers provide a loyalty program only in their stores. This approach doesnt provide the customer a uniform experience which is key to building loyalty - "Returns and customer loyalty programs should also operate across channels" and how to achieve this - "The key to cross-channel consistency is having single operational data stores and data warehouses across all channels for access to cross-channel product assortment"