Multichannel Retailers Have Loyalty Edge  Share this article:
Originally considered a threat to traditional retailers,
Internet pure plays took the early advantage with their ability
to quickly adopt new technology offering consumers immediacy and
interactivity. But multichannel retailers, defined as those that
derive a significant percentage of revenue from multiple
shopping channels, appear poised to win the customer loyalty
war.  Take Eddie Bauer. This classic "brick, click and flip,"
which lets customers shop from physical stores, Web sites and
catalogs, claims that its multichannel shoppers spend more and
have greater loyalty characteristics than its single-channel
shoppers do.  A recent study by Jupiter Research, New York,
confirms this finding: Multichannel shoppers, it found, spend 30
percent more than their single-channel counterparts.  Good news,
right? It's a start. Gaining greater customer loyalty demands
more than adding another channel to push product. It requires an
understanding of customer be