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. If a shopper is looking for a particular item online and it is not in stock in the warehouse, Nordstrom will still be able to fill the order pulling from store stock.
The same is true for in-store shopping where an item out-of-stock at a particular location does not mean the consumer is out of luck. Nordstrom has the ability to either grab the item from another store or from its website. Store employees have the inventory information right in front of them in stores so they are able to assist the shopper in making the purchase.
Jamie Nordstrom, executive vice president of Nordstrom and president of Nordstrom Direct, told The New York Times that the company's approach has driven "some pretty meaningful results."
Nordstrom is unique in its approach to managing inventory, according to Adrianne Shapira, an analyst at Goldman Sachs.
"I don't see anyone going to the length they are," she told The New York Times.
Nordstrom, which just launched a revamp of its website on Saturday, has been busy perfecting what it is doing online for two years. The coordination of online and offline was step number one, according to Mr. Nordstrom.
Nordstrom's latest changes to its website include adding editorial and social components. (See the Conversation tab on the nordstrom.com.)
The site revamp, according to Mr. Nordstrom, provides his company with a point of difference from the competition.
"There's not been a tremendous amount of innovation in online apparel retailing, us included," he told The Seattle Times. "If you look at most of our competitors' websites, they all look the same, which is fine."
According to Mr. Nordstrom, this latest step is just that, a step.
"There is no finish line on this. Every time we launch a new function, the next day we have 10 more ideas," he told The Seattle Times. "This is what retailing is about for the next 10 years."
Discussion Question: What do you think about Nordstrom's approach to linking its online and offline businesses? Do the latest changes to the Nordstrom website represent an upgrade over the competition?