May 5, 2015
Nordstrom kicks its omnichannel strategy to the curb
Remodeling flagship stores in Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco has been the big news around Nordstrom lately. But that’s not the only news as the company continues its push to deliver products to customers where and when they need them. The latest example of Nordstrom’s omnichannel emphasis is curbside pickup.
According to reports, Nordstrom has begun a test of the service at 20 stores for orders placed online as well as customers picking up alterations from the men’s department. Orders place online are typically ready for pickup within an hour. Customers receive an e-mail letting them know when their order is ready. When arriving at the store, they call or text the number they’ve been given and receive delivery right in their car.
"We’re trying to make shopping more convenient," Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores, told the Puget Sound Business Journal. "In the past we’ve made people come all the way up to the back of the third floor."
It’s clear Nordstrom sees omnichannel initiatives as points of difference to build on in the marketplace.
Rendering: Nordstrom
On Nordstrom’s fourth quarter earnings call in February, company president Blake Nordstrom said, "We continue to see the ongoing evolution of retail with the accelerated growth in e-commerce, the continuing importance of stores and the increasing customer interaction between them. Customers increasingly expect a personalized experience that merges the richness of stores with the convenience of online. We’re uniquely positioned to serve customers through our focus on service, product and capabilities."
- Want to pick up an online Nordstrom order? Just text them when you pull up to the curb – Puget Sound Business Journal
- Nordstrom is Testing Curbside Pickup for Online Orders – Sourcing Journal
- Nordstrom unveils curbside pickup for online shoppers at 20 U.S. stores – GeekWire
- Nordstrom (JWN) Q4 2014 Results (Earnings Call Transcript) – SeekingAlpha
BrainTrust
Carol Spieckerman
President, Spieckerman Retail
Karen S. Herman
CEO and Disruptive Retail Specialist, Gustie Creative LLC
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Does Nordstrom have an advantage over its competitors when it comes to omnichannel? Where do you see the biggest opportunities for Nordstrom to gain further advantage?
Poll
Conventional wisdom would lead one to think that delivering to the car might punish Nordstrom by skipping the opportunity for an impulse purchase on the way up or back from customer service counters.
But that’s so old school. Especially for busy women who want exceptional service, the bread and butter customer segment for Nordstrom. Many of these customers know the sizes they need in various brands and can spot what they want in minutes on the website. Kudos to Nordstrom.
The one way they could improve is by having a way to “curate” the selections when shopping on the mobile site. There are so many options of SKUs — it needs an experience/navigation tweak IMHO.
Nordstrom’s advantage is — and always has been — that they are unfailingly forward-looking, creative, inventive and innovative, and they pay attention to the market and marketplace.
That’s what sets them apart and why they appear to have advantages with everything they do, to in the words of Jamie Nordstrom, provide customers with “a personalized experience that merges the richness of stores with the convenience of online.”
I’m sure that there’s much more to come. If there are opportunities to gain further advantage, you can bet that Nordstrom is onto them.
Nordstrom has built “service” as a priority into operations, marketing and finances since their inception. The service went into these practices because it was embedded in the culture, strategy, execution and the structure of the organization by the Nordstrom family. Nordstrom is thus positioned to carry the service strength to the omnichannel space in a seamless fashion. In the minds of their patrons, it will be genuine and appreciated.
Viewing just one category of merchandise — women’s clothing from the Prosper, April Monthly Consumer Survey reflects that story and the potential advantage for Nordstrom in this effort. Likely many of us view price, selection, quality and location as the chief reasons that consumers shop their retailer of choice.
Those reasons show up, certainly among Nordstrom customers. The percentage mix, however, is far different than other competitors, be they department stores, mass merchants, or specialty stores that might appeal to Millennials, Generation X, or Boomers. The top reasons from a list of 20 different reason to shop Nordstrom are: qualtity (81.4 percent), selection (63.3 percent), service (56.7 percent), location (28.3 percent), followed by price, which has been consistently the highest for other department stores and mass merchants. Among Nordstrom shoppers, only 16.9 percent reference price as a key reason to shop there most often for women’s clothes.
That pattern holds up in other merchandise lines like shoes, men’s clothing and children’s clothing. By providing the power of service that is within the culture (Nordstrom associates), Nordstrom has a distinct advantage.
Omnichannel strategies can be especially helpful in the department store business (and other softlines), where ship-from-store and curbside pickup can help optimize inventory efficiency and minimize markdowns.
Nordstrom is particularly advantaged given the talent pool in WA, where world-class merchants and technologists from companies like Costco, Amazon, Microsoft, Nintendo and others are in ample supply (if expensive).
Curbside pickup adds convenience but keeps last-mile logistics costs squarely on the shopper. Good move.
The best advantage for an omnichannel investment is to pursue the option with an open mind. E-commerce is still very much a new technology with no real proven results standing the test of time. As we explore omnichannel marketing I have noticed that there exists a desire to find solutions instead of creating them. The creation of an omnichannel solution will allow retailers to differentiate themselves and thus express the core values of the company. As we see here with Nordstrom it is essential to consider the company’s customer first and then the market for success in efforts. There is little to learn from the competition which is not on course for your market.
Nordstrom’s longstanding customer-first approach has naturally developed into a strong omnichannel presence. With the curbside pickup initiative, Nordstrom again is solving a pain point — the chore of parking and then navigating through the whole store to a collection point. Sure it might miss out on some impulse buys, but the tradeoff is the increased loyalty generated by the ease with which customers can quickly collect purchases.
The biggest single advantage that Nordstrom’s has in omnichannel is that leadership “gets it” … they are consumer centric first and foremost!
Omnichannel is about consumer behavior and preferences … NOT how retailers organize to sell.
Todays omnichannel consumers want two things first and foremost:
1. Shopping anytime … and everywhere
2. Flexibility in where/how they take delivery of merchandise
Curbside delivery is yet another great example of Nordstrom’s ability to PROACTIVELY adapt to consumer behavior and preferences that add value to them personally, and their lifestyle.
Nordstrom’s clearly understands a central tenant of omnichannel that most retailers miss—it is not about the sale today! It’s all about earning consumer relationships that generate loyalty and lifetime value.
Nordstrom isn’t the first retailer to branch out into curbside delivery, but it may be the most relevant. Offering the service is certainly in-brand for Nordstrom, but it also mitigates the otherwise unavoidable lack of convenience inherent with department store locations and layouts in the digital age. Nordstrom fans will flip and new customers will flock.
I’ll add my voice to the chorus of praise about Nordstrom’s curbside pickup service. Just as the location of the transaction (online, mobile or in-store) does not entirely define the sale, the point of acquisition is only one of the elements that define the service experience.
Nordstrom has always stood out for its ability to know its shoppers and cater to their preferences. At its in-town stores especially, time-saving convenience may at times be the most appealing aspect of a click-and-collect option.
It will be interesting to see if the company builds porte-cochère or pull-up lanes in these locations. It may not always be possible to let shoppers idle their vehicles by the front entrance on a city street—or even in a mall parking lot.
Nordstrom is spot-on with offering curbside pickup for orders placed online and alterations from the men’s department. Making pickup simple, by calling or texting a contact number, is smart.
I see this crossover move catering to millennial’s that most likely frequent the Nordstrom Rack outlet store and occasionally find merchandise in the higher-end store. Also see this as a bonus for men, who may like the Nordstrom brands and alterations, but may not like trekking in-store needlessly.
This is simply another way for Nordstrom to increase their superior level of customer service, and reach every shopper in a manner that works best.
For Nordstrom it is always have service to the customer. It has been willing to experiment with various means to fulfill the customers online/offline on any channel. In this case, it is about adding convenience and dull the efforts of the same day delivery messaging from Amazon.com The demographics for Nordstrom fits well with automobile ownership and desire for personal service, so this should work well for them.
Nordstrom does not have a competitive advantage over its competitors when examining their omnichannel strategy, but at least it is attempting to continue to better understand its customers when it comes to walking the tightwire that divides the online/onground omnichannel customer service reflecting Nordstrom’s historic focus on great customer service, products and their retailing capabilities.
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Conventional wisdom would lead one to think that delivering to the car might punish Nordstrom by skipping the opportunity for an impulse purchase on the way up or back from customer service counters.
But that’s so old school. Especially for busy women who want exceptional service, the bread and butter customer segment for Nordstrom. Many of these customers know the sizes they need in various brands and can spot what they want in minutes on the website. Kudos to Nordstrom.
The one way they could improve is by having a way to “curate” the selections when shopping on the mobile site. There are so many options of SKUs — it needs an experience/navigation tweak IMHO.
Nordstrom’s advantage is — and always has been — that they are unfailingly forward-looking, creative, inventive and innovative, and they pay attention to the market and marketplace.
That’s what sets them apart and why they appear to have advantages with everything they do, to in the words of Jamie Nordstrom, provide customers with “a personalized experience that merges the richness of stores with the convenience of online.”
I’m sure that there’s much more to come. If there are opportunities to gain further advantage, you can bet that Nordstrom is onto them.
Nordstrom has built “service” as a priority into operations, marketing and finances since their inception. The service went into these practices because it was embedded in the culture, strategy, execution and the structure of the organization by the Nordstrom family. Nordstrom is thus positioned to carry the service strength to the omnichannel space in a seamless fashion. In the minds of their patrons, it will be genuine and appreciated.
Viewing just one category of merchandise — women’s clothing from the Prosper, April Monthly Consumer Survey reflects that story and the potential advantage for Nordstrom in this effort. Likely many of us view price, selection, quality and location as the chief reasons that consumers shop their retailer of choice.
Those reasons show up, certainly among Nordstrom customers. The percentage mix, however, is far different than other competitors, be they department stores, mass merchants, or specialty stores that might appeal to Millennials, Generation X, or Boomers. The top reasons from a list of 20 different reason to shop Nordstrom are: qualtity (81.4 percent), selection (63.3 percent), service (56.7 percent), location (28.3 percent), followed by price, which has been consistently the highest for other department stores and mass merchants. Among Nordstrom shoppers, only 16.9 percent reference price as a key reason to shop there most often for women’s clothes.
That pattern holds up in other merchandise lines like shoes, men’s clothing and children’s clothing. By providing the power of service that is within the culture (Nordstrom associates), Nordstrom has a distinct advantage.
Omnichannel strategies can be especially helpful in the department store business (and other softlines), where ship-from-store and curbside pickup can help optimize inventory efficiency and minimize markdowns.
Nordstrom is particularly advantaged given the talent pool in WA, where world-class merchants and technologists from companies like Costco, Amazon, Microsoft, Nintendo and others are in ample supply (if expensive).
Curbside pickup adds convenience but keeps last-mile logistics costs squarely on the shopper. Good move.
The best advantage for an omnichannel investment is to pursue the option with an open mind. E-commerce is still very much a new technology with no real proven results standing the test of time. As we explore omnichannel marketing I have noticed that there exists a desire to find solutions instead of creating them. The creation of an omnichannel solution will allow retailers to differentiate themselves and thus express the core values of the company. As we see here with Nordstrom it is essential to consider the company’s customer first and then the market for success in efforts. There is little to learn from the competition which is not on course for your market.
Nordstrom’s longstanding customer-first approach has naturally developed into a strong omnichannel presence. With the curbside pickup initiative, Nordstrom again is solving a pain point — the chore of parking and then navigating through the whole store to a collection point. Sure it might miss out on some impulse buys, but the tradeoff is the increased loyalty generated by the ease with which customers can quickly collect purchases.
The biggest single advantage that Nordstrom’s has in omnichannel is that leadership “gets it” … they are consumer centric first and foremost!
Omnichannel is about consumer behavior and preferences … NOT how retailers organize to sell.
Todays omnichannel consumers want two things first and foremost:
1. Shopping anytime … and everywhere
2. Flexibility in where/how they take delivery of merchandise
Curbside delivery is yet another great example of Nordstrom’s ability to PROACTIVELY adapt to consumer behavior and preferences that add value to them personally, and their lifestyle.
Nordstrom’s clearly understands a central tenant of omnichannel that most retailers miss—it is not about the sale today! It’s all about earning consumer relationships that generate loyalty and lifetime value.
Nordstrom isn’t the first retailer to branch out into curbside delivery, but it may be the most relevant. Offering the service is certainly in-brand for Nordstrom, but it also mitigates the otherwise unavoidable lack of convenience inherent with department store locations and layouts in the digital age. Nordstrom fans will flip and new customers will flock.
I’ll add my voice to the chorus of praise about Nordstrom’s curbside pickup service. Just as the location of the transaction (online, mobile or in-store) does not entirely define the sale, the point of acquisition is only one of the elements that define the service experience.
Nordstrom has always stood out for its ability to know its shoppers and cater to their preferences. At its in-town stores especially, time-saving convenience may at times be the most appealing aspect of a click-and-collect option.
It will be interesting to see if the company builds porte-cochère or pull-up lanes in these locations. It may not always be possible to let shoppers idle their vehicles by the front entrance on a city street—or even in a mall parking lot.
Nordstrom is spot-on with offering curbside pickup for orders placed online and alterations from the men’s department. Making pickup simple, by calling or texting a contact number, is smart.
I see this crossover move catering to millennial’s that most likely frequent the Nordstrom Rack outlet store and occasionally find merchandise in the higher-end store. Also see this as a bonus for men, who may like the Nordstrom brands and alterations, but may not like trekking in-store needlessly.
This is simply another way for Nordstrom to increase their superior level of customer service, and reach every shopper in a manner that works best.
For Nordstrom it is always have service to the customer. It has been willing to experiment with various means to fulfill the customers online/offline on any channel. In this case, it is about adding convenience and dull the efforts of the same day delivery messaging from Amazon.com The demographics for Nordstrom fits well with automobile ownership and desire for personal service, so this should work well for them.
Nordstrom does not have a competitive advantage over its competitors when examining their omnichannel strategy, but at least it is attempting to continue to better understand its customers when it comes to walking the tightwire that divides the online/onground omnichannel customer service reflecting Nordstrom’s historic focus on great customer service, products and their retailing capabilities.