Brian Walker of Forrester research has declared "Multichannel commerce no longer makes sense... Welcome to the Era of Agile Commerce." Of course we love "agile" anything here at StoreFront, but typically I am not a fan when journalists decide to declare the new eras. Its really difficult to have the perspective necessary for such declarations without the benefit hindsight. In my experience, when journalists make these type of over the top pronouncements, its intended to generate hype and promote their own agenda. And I do believe there is some of that going on here. However, underneath that hype, there is definitely something to what Brain is saying.

Brian Walker Says:

"As consumers are increasingly connected through a wide array of Internet-connected devices, the traditional multichannel commerce experience is becoming obsolete. Customers no longer interact with companies from a “channel” perspective; instead, they interact through touchpoints. These touchpoints include channels such as stores, branches, call centers, and websites, but also emerging interactions such as apps, social media, mobile sites, SMS messages, and interactive advertising -- across a wide range of devices such as smartphones, tablets, Internet TVs, cars, and even appliances."

I have to admit I agree with this. For many consumers now, social media, the web, the mobile web excursions to their local retailer are all part of one continuous shopping experience. Does it really make sense to treat customers differently when they show in the store, versus when they show up on the web site?

Checkout The Blog Post:

http://blogs.forrester.com/brian_walker/11-03-11-welcome_to_the_era_of_agile_commerce