JCPenney: The Web as the Retail Hub
Posted by Universal Ad at Thursday, November 08, 2007 2:44 AM and is filed under cross-channel,Pricing,Retail 
RIS News has an article about JCPenney's successful turnaround, widely considered "one of the most remarkable turnarounds in retailing history". Especially interesting in this discussion is the critical
role played by their cross-channel retailing model," designed to better capitalize “on synergies and
distinctions in the channels.” Simultaneously, they also shifted from a catalog-focus to a Web-focus. The results - they moved from owning
a 20% share of a $20 billion market to 100% of a half
billion dollar market as consumers shifted buying patterns and the
other big-book players dropped out.
Among the questions they addressed during their turnaround included (more are detailed in the article):
Posted by Universal Ad
Among the questions they addressed during their turnaround included (more are detailed in the article):
- How to measure cross-channel success - instead of tracking how the Internet affects store sales, they would measure customer acquisition effectiveness, customer loyalty patterns, profit objectives, and how it fares relative to e-commerce industry growth rates.
- How to determine pricing across channels - making online pricing be the lowest price available is unprofitable, so instead they base prices on inventory levels, demand signals, regional levels and store levels.
- How frequently they should change their Web site - they are early adopters but not the first adopter, and continuously improve and frequently change their site.
Posted by Universal Ad
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