Store Brands Industry Forum on Consumer Trends: The Omnichannel Balance

The past quarter century has seen digital shopping come of age. But for many consumers, the allure of shopping in a store remains a part of their weekly routine.

At the recent Store Brands Industry Forum on Consumer Trends, Allison Bentley, senior director of Merchandising Initiatives and Consumer Insights at GNC, and Jean Ryan, vice president of Strategic Advisory at Daymon, spoke about the differing trends between e-commerce and traditional in-store shopping.

Bentley said that while GNC focuses on a strong omnichannel experience for shoppers, online shopping has seen traction among consumers and convenience remains a top priority.

“I think the shift in consumer shopping behaviors has really allowed for new avenues to introduce brands to customers,” said Bentely. “Allowing the buy-online, pick-up-in-store… shipped-from-store, mobile app updates… there’s been a slight shift in behavior, but I think in more of the shift, it’s just allowing more ways for customers to shop and get the products and brands that they’re looking for.”

Ryan said that while the omnichannel approach is becoming more popular, it varies between channel, retailer and “shopping purpose.”

“We’ll continue to see that pendulum swing back a bit… where online just had such a huge explosion, I think we should expect that to simmer down to a bit more of a plateau,” said Ryan. “But I definitely think that it’s not a full-blown pivot back to in-store only.”

She added that when it comes to the in-store shopping experience, value is key for retailers.

“50-60% of shoppers actually believe that the in-store experience is going to have better savings than the online one, whether that’s driven by fees or tipping,” said Ryan. “There might be some truth to that, but it’s a perception at minimum that you can find better savings in-store… shifts there in particular depend on which channel we’re talking about.”

The full event can be viewed on-demand here.