The Retail Archetypes

Omni-channel Pioneers © have fully committed to transforming both their front and back end operations to deliver a seamless experience to customers. They are typically larger retailers and were often early adopters of the Omni-channel approach. For them, Omni-channel is core to how they will deliver long-term growth and value.

Optimised Multi-channel or Pure-play Retailers © have made a strategic decision to adopt either a Multi-channel or Pure-play approach. They are concentrating on optimising that approach, whether focused on physical stores or online. This focus means they are often very effective at what they do and can be leaders in their own markets.

Omni-channel Followers © have committed to an Omni-channel future for their businesses (though often relatively recently). They are driven by the desire to meet ever more challenging customer demands and have developed their front end sales channels to give the customer a seamless presentation of their brand. Many don’t have a fully integrated back end capability to deliver the seamless service they’d like to offer. 

Challenged Multi-channel Retailers © are trying to adapt to a Multi-channel world by bending existing bricks and mortar infrastructure. They recognise the problem but are generally risk-averse and keen to escape the need for the significant business transformation to Omni-channel