Cross-channel

British design store Heal's now offers its online customers access to an in-store expert on demand. Advisors who are working in one of six stores in the UK are now able to provide their expertise and advice to customers on heals.com, particularly during busy hours online and quieter hours in-store.

Fnac Darty has launched Darty+, an omnichannel subscription service for delivery, support and after-sales. It provides access to unlimited deliveries and gives subscribers daily support with the Darty Button.

During the first nine months of this year, the German perfume retailer Douglas saw its ecommerce sales increase by 17.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The online segment of Douglas is now worth 303 million euros and it accounts for 14 percent of the company's total sales.

The Nordic menswear and golf brand Oscar Jacobson is investing more in omnichannel retail as it is expanding its business in Europe. The company currently sells its menswear fashion items online in the United Kingdom and Sweden, but it will soon sell both online and through stores in Norway.

It seems that retailers in Luxembourg are still not keen on digitalization. Just 7 percent of tradespeople in this Western European country have an online shop for their goods or services. While other countries in Europe are embracing ecommerce, Luxembourg seems more reluctant.

Consumers in Sweden don't think highly of traditional stores, it seems. A third of shoppers expect to be disappointed by the in-store experience and one in four think the store is outdated when compared to online shopping. The in-store journey should be more connected with customers' online shopping habits if Swedish retailers want to improve their conversions, a study suggests.

For the first time ever smartphones and tablets accounted for over half of online sales in the United Kingdom. During the period November 2015 to January this year, 51 percent of UK online retail sales took place using smartphones and tablets. This is a significant increase on the 45 percent share recorded in the third quarter of last year.

Supermarket chain J Sainsbury disclosed yesterday that a 1 billion pounds bid for Home Retail, owner of retailer Argos, was rejected two months ago. It's now thinking about making a formal offer. With the desired acquisition of Home Retail, which also owns Homebase, Sainsbury's wants to fight the competition of online ecommerce giant Amazon and discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi.

For ecommerce players, having an omni-channel approach is getting more and more important as customers continue to demand ever-higher levels of service. This requires retailers to adapt new models and be everywhere the customer wants them to be. Specific approaches to omni-channel however, differ widely from country to country.

The Dutch telecom retail chains Dixons, MyCom and iCentre are saved. Their previous owner BAS Group was declared bankrupt, but the retail chains will continue to operate under new owner Relevant Holdings. Now 30 Dixons stores, 22 MyCom stores and 24 iCentre stores as well as their online stores will continue selling items such as white goods, telecom products and IT devices.

Pure online shops need to evolve into an omnichannel retail business if they want to grow in the future, an omnichannel expert from Denmark says. Physical retailers need to have an online store if they still want to make profit in the near future, an omnichannel retailer from the Netherlands says. They are probably both right.

Spartoo, the French online seller of shoes, clothing and accessories, is expanding its offline activities. The retailer will open ten physical stores in France by December this year. Apparently the launch of its first physical store, five months ago, pleased them well.

Karstadt is in dire straits. The online product range will be significantly reduced in size, while many employees have to look for another job. The German department store chain has quit the classical omnichannel concept, although it still bets on the combination of ecommerce and brick-and-mortar stores.

Three-quarters of British consumers believe they shouldn't have to pay for a click-and-collect service. If they order something online and then decide to pick it up in-store, consumers think it's more than acceptable to get that order without paying any additional fee. Meanwhile, UK retailer John Lewis revealed last week it would start charging shoppers on click-and-collect orders below £30 (€41.66).

Sweden is the best country in Scandinavia when it comes to omnichannel retail, a new study shows. However, there are still plenty of retailers who are defined as omnichannel laggards. Especially in the furniture and interior industry, companies haven't fully embraced an omnichannel strategy, while in consumer electronics omnichannel is more common.