Richard mentioned that JC Penney’s ecommerce operation was like “a religion” in the early years – “wasn’t profitable and required a lot of faith” which drew a number of laughs from the audience. Made me think of those high street players such as Primark, Zara and TK Maxx who are either just embarking on this journey or still have this whole experience to go through.
He went on to talk about how JCP.com had played an important role in reshaping JC Penney’s approach to different channels. It is clear Richard’s organisation is truly multichannel, as they have put in place structural changes to break the silos of the individual channels, and have moved to a centralised marketing department.
The focus is on having a consistent message and letting the consumer decide how they browse and shop at JC Penney across whatever channel suits them. It’s common knowledge that a multichannel shopper spends more than a shopper who just shops in one channel, and by enabling customers to have multiple touch points with the brand then JC Penney are further ahead than most in harnessing the value from a multichannel strategy.
The main themes explored by Richard was video-commerce, social shopping and mobile shopping. From using flash animation to improve interaction and engagement with shoppers (see the teen section below) to working with Bazaarvoice on ratings and reviews, JCP.com is constantly innovating.
There was an interesting disclosure that JC Penney found it was better to have a negative review for a product compared to no review at all, and in trialling coupons which are redeemed by using mobile phones they have a way of showing how their mobile channel impacts instore sales.
Richard Last talked for an hour on his business and it’s clear that JC Penny have completely embraced online, they are working towards a fully integrated digital retail experience and they are well on the way to achieving this.
- Finlay
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