What is “multi-channel?”

At Sears, it means connecting everything we offer across our different formats and platforms (including our stores, website, call centers, and so on) to give our customers the service, selection, and value they want no matter where or how they want it all. It doesn’t matter if she’s researching and comparing online, he’s purchasing something through sears2go on his mobile device, or they're asking an agent for expert advice over the phone – each of these is part of our multi-channel world.

Since joining the Multi-channel team at Sears Holdings, I’ve learned a few things:

• Sears really cares about this part of our customer’s lives and our own business. Last year, this department didn’t even exist. Today, there stands a growing group of ambitious minds whose job—all day and every day—is to think about how we can continue building (and delivering) a more vast and compelling multi-channel customer experience. We really see this as a critical part of our overall strategy.





• Sears is actually pretty darn good at this compared to other companies. Taking a look around, few retailers can own the “Shop Your Way” promise like we do (it is our slogan, after all). Our ultimate goal is to bring customers Anything, Anywhere, Anytime, Any way they want. For most items you purchase online, you can pick them up the same day for free at any Sears store, and they will be ready in 5 minutes once you get there – guaranteed. (Otherwise we’ll give ya something for your trouble… who can spare 5 minutes these days?) You can even arrange to have someone else pick it up for you. Our Personal Shopper program will help locate any product you can’t find on Sears.com even if it’s not an item Sears sells (see Lori’s post “Shopping above and beyond” for the scoop on Personal Shoppers). And this is just the tip of the iceberg, both in terms of what we can do today and what we want to deliver tomorrow. Crazy? Or crazy that no one else does all this?





• A lot of people don’t know what Sears offers. And this is tough. How do we get everyone to know about and remember the convenience and choice we want to bring into their lives? How do we get people to try it out? And then keep trying it? Perhaps most importantly, how do we get people to tell us what they like and don't like about our multi-channel programs in a way where it doesn’t get lost in the noise? I suppose that’s a small part of what this is for.

I hope to exchange thoughts and ideas with everyone on multi-channel retailing – call it what you will: cross-channel, store pick-up, “click and mortar,” or simply delivering a great customer experience.