Omnichannel

The growing number of cross-channel shoppers, an increase in location-based services and the rise of virtual goods incentives are just three of eight retail trends addressed during sessions I attended this week at INNOVATE 2011, the Retail Innovation and Marketing Conference sponsored by the National Retail Federation. Here's part one of a two-part series providing you with eight best practices surrounding these trends that I've learned from retailers, analysts and retail consultants this week in San Francisco:

Cross-channel shopping is growing fast at Target. Website traffic from mobile phones increased nearly three-fold in 2010 and now accounts for 8 percent of Target's online page views.

Beyond the in-store promotions and advertising to increase consumer awareness when launching a new retail product, there's always the hope that satisfied customers will recommend the product to their friends and family. Nothing helps sell a product better than good old-fashioned word-of-mouth.

Office Depot has launched a new iPhone application with a feature called "Office Depot Anywhere" that allows users to continue shopping on their mobile devices what they started online. The application also features an "In App Checkout," which allows busy users to make purchases on their mobile devices without having to be redirected to another site.

Macy’s will help consumers unlock magical moments in-store this spring when they scan a code or send a text message with Macy’s Backstage Pass. A groundbreaking new initiative for the retailer, Macy’s Backstage Pass customizes QR code and SMS technology to deliver exclusive and engaging video content to users’ mobile phones.

This Friday, Polo Ralph Lauren is launching its first RLX iPad app, and this being Polo there's no shortage of innovative elements to underscore the brand's athletic roots. 

The First Phone is off to a fast start: Home Depot associates performed nearly 1 million mobile point-of-sale transactions using the First Phone devices during the quarter that ended Jan. 30. The 30,000-device rollout to 1,970 Home Depot stores was only completed in October 2010, indicating a quick usage ramp-up.

Multichannel commerce has evolved; the lines between channels are disappearing. Retailers have long built strategies for marketing to shoppers within a channel, whether it's online, in-store, through a catalog, via a mobile site and so on. But today's shoppers view retailers holistically, regardless of how and where they choose to shop. This dynamic changes everything for retailers. They're now required to promote their brand and products consistently, in relevant context, to individual customers. The era of "syndicated commerce" is upon us. 

Old Navy has launched a mobile marketing campaign with mobile app Shazam. Consumers with the Shazam app on their smartphones will be able to tag Old Navy-branded pop music featured in the campaign, and immediately unlock and shop the looks in the ads featuring those songs. 

Q:"I'm experimenting with sending printed direct mail catalogs to my customer list, and would like to get some insight around conversion or response rates for this type of mailing. Anyone out there have some benchmarks or advice?"— Howard Berg, online division marketing manager, 
Horizon Hobby, Inc. A: Howard, that's a great question. However, there isn't…