Rather than thinking about the store and online as discrete entities, retailers need to bring the two worlds much closer together. Consumers are looking for experiences that bring the best from digital and physical. For example, more consumers today are ‘webrooming’ (browsing online before making an in-store purchase) than ‘showrooming’ (going to a store to make their selection and then searching online for the best price) across a variety of retail categories. They also increasingly expect their purchases to be delivered for free, with more than half (57 percent) saying that waiting for free delivery was the most important option. In addition, a higher proportion of shoppers year on year are using click-and-collect services, whereby they purchase an item online and then pick it up from the store.

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