In-store and online retail cannot be separate: Alquemie Group executive chairman

Customers are beginning to remove the differentiation between in-store and online, melding them together seeing them as an experience according to Richard Facioni, executive chairman at Alquemie Group.

While customers see retail as omnichannel experience, Facioni told Digital Nation Australia at the Salesforce RCG Summit that retailers have not caught up with that yet.

He said, “There are still some retailers that have inventory set aside for online, but not in stores or vice versa. Someone will see something in the store and see that's online only.

“That cuts from a customer experience perspective, they want to have a seamless interaction with a brand. That's something that has really been accelerated over the last 18 months.”

While some retailers have noted the rise in customer demand, Facioni said customers in fact have been forced to make compromises with brands due to current supply chain issues.

“They're used to making compromises. Consumers have also now learned to be more flexible in that respect, which is good and bad. From a retailer's perspective, it means that they can just as easily swap you out for someone else. But it also means you need to be able to understand that's where their head is at as well,” he explained.

Facioni said consumers still research online before shopping in-store.

“There's a lot more people going online than what they are buying online. The penny drop that your online store is your portal to these customers at your shop front of customers. Historically, online has been viewed as a dumping ground to clear old stock, bring it back from the store, and stick it in a warehouse.

“That is not a good representation of your brand to your customers. That consistency of presentation of your brand to your customers across all those touchpoints is important,” he explained.

When a customer doesn’t provide feedback, it normally means they’re having a good experience. When something irritates them, they will voice their concern, Facioni explained.

“You'll hear more about the friction point and our job as retailers is to remove as much friction as possible to create that frictionless shopping experience,” he said.

“I don't know if anyone can truly say, in a utopian world, this is what a true omnichannel retailer looks like, I don't think anyone's got that model yet.”

Alquemie Group owns brands such as General Pants Co, SurfStitch, National Geographic and Lego.

Athina Mallis travelled to the Salesforce RCG Summit as a guest of Salesforce.