Ted Hurlbut

Nordstrom Links Bricks and Clicks

August 24, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Nordstrom appears to have achieved the link across selling channels that most retailers aspire to, according to reports. The department store chain manages inventories at its store and its website as one entity. What do you think about Nordstrom's approach to linking its online and offline businesses?      [more...]

When you start to draw it up on a white board, this is the kind of integration that you envision. The devil, as in most things however, is in the details.

Nordstrom excels at execution, and flawless execution is the key to capturing the potential of fully integrating stores with e-commerce. Still, my belief has long been that unless you have inventory turnover issues at retail, at a certain e-commerce volume level it's more efficient and effective to fulfill e-commerce orders centrally.