Most brick-and-mortar store employees are reluctant to encourage their in-store customers to shop online, for fear of losing yet more of their store traffic and sales, but store employees are the most knowledgeable, passionate brand ambassadors, and helping the customer to shop online actually results in more frequent visits to the stores, and increased sales on all channels. Regarding the survey: Attribute e-commerce sales within a store’s catchment area to the store itself. The store’s presence supports not only their in-store traffic but the sales that happen online within their geographic area. If you close a store that’s struggling, e-commerce sales in that area will plummet. There’s a symbiotic relationship between physical and digital retail that new entrants to the retail space understand natively, but traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have been slow to adapt. Now is the time to credit each store with e-commerce sales that happen within their area. It will encourage stores to talk about shopping online, then incentivize and recognize the contribution they’re making to the overall business in a new and simple way.