Suning Appliance Co Ltd recently changed its name to Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd, a name which it says better describes its evolving business model which will focus both on traditional brick-and-mortar stores as well as online retail.
It wasn't that long ago in China that online stores were considered supplementary to physical stores. Under the sway of this paradigm, many businesses were caught off guard when their virtual stores started racking up revenue. Actually, many were legitimately worried that e-commerce sales were taking business away from their real-world locations. Nowadays though, most retailers recognize the importance of bringing these two channels together.
The rise of online shopping is not a threat to traditional retail, but an important opportunity to be taken advantage of.
Shoppers can be targeted more specifically online and their changing habits can be monitored more closely, all of which could make for a better customer experience and thus more business for retailers.
The author is Ma Jihua, an expert at Beijing Daojing Consultant Co.
Special Lantern Festival in Shaanxi Women's Prison
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