That blending of online and offline is offering consumers new ways to shop. They may research and order their purchase online, but have it delivered to a nearby shop - a service offered by retailers such as Sears Roebuck and Circuit City - so as to avoid delivery charges and allow them to see or try it on first. They may see a sofa they like in a brochure they received in the mail from retailers such as Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel, go and look at it in a shop, mull it over, then order online. Williams Sonoma, the kitchenware chain that is Pottery Barn's parent, is generating much of its new business online.
Recreational Equipment Inc, better known as REI, is another highly integrated multichannel retailer. A member-owned co-operative - which sells outdoor gear and clothing and has a heritage as a shop and catalogue retailer - it embraced the internet in the mid-1990s, putting internet kiosks in its shops as early as 1997.
It now offers 40,000 products online - more than its biggest shop could stock. Direct sales - four-fifths online, one-fifth by phone - account for 15 per cent of total orders.
Recreational Equipment Inc, better known as REI, is another highly integrated multichannel retailer. A member-owned co-operative - which sells outdoor gear and clothing and has a heritage as a shop and catalogue retailer - it embraced the internet in the mid-1990s, putting internet kiosks in its shops as early as 1997.
It now offers 40,000 products online - more than its biggest shop could stock. Direct sales - four-fifths online, one-fifth by phone - account for 15 per cent of total orders.