26 DC VELOCITY APRIL 2020 www.dcvelocity.com
a host of sometimes competing factors that include real
estate costs, staff training needs, and the in-store shopper’s
experience, among others.
PRESERVING THE IN-STORE EXPERIENCE
It’s an issue Michele Dupré sees retailers struggle withevery day. Dupré, who is group vice president at VerizonEnterprise Solutions with responsibility for enterprisecustomers in the retail, hospitality/travel, and distributionsectors, says companies from across the retail landscapeare combing through their market data and statistics todetermine whether it makes sense to perform e-commercefulfillment in their stores.
What makes the decision so difficult, Dupré says, is that
it forces retailers to balance the competing needs of on-site
shoppers and digital shoppers. “Retailers are weighing the
current obstacles,” she says, “because the last thing you
want to do is provide a bad experience, so the shopper
doesn’t engage with the brand and you wind up losing their
business.”
Given the complexities involved, it’s no surprise that the
retail industry has yet to settle on a single operating model,
Dupré adds. “It’s an ever-evolving and changing environ-
ment, as the sector continues to morph into co-existing
digital and physical operations.”
SELECTIVE SERVICES
Of course, in-store fulfillment doesn’t have to be an “allor nothing” endeavor. One way to capture the savings ofin-store fulfillment while avoiding clashes with in-storeshoppers is to roll out the practice in only a few of a retailer’s stores within a given city, says Joe Dunlap, managingdirector for supply chain advisory with the real estate services and investment firm CBRE Group Inc.
“If a retailer has four, five, or six facilities in a given metro[area], it can still provide next-day time-in-transit serviceto the broader market by doing e-commerce fulfillmentfrom a single location,” Dunlap says. “Maybe it’s overkill toship from every store; you just need one in a given market.”As for which strategies are gaining the most traction, theanswer is not yet clear. “It’s still a little bit early to see trendshere because property data doesn’t distinguish between
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