forrester 2006 Multichannel retailing report...

Tamara Mendelsohn and Carrie Johnson over at Forrester are set to release a new report on the state of Multichannel Retailing in January. While the study results aren't released yet, one trend coming out of it surfaced yesterday at InternetRetailer.com: Yes, the kiosk is back!!!

It seems that now that consumers are rapidly getting used to the kiosk at Airports, Grocery Stores and some of their favorite retailers, they're warming to the idea that we all should have one. The story indicates that 67% of consumers think that a kiosk would be a great way to get information on a product without having to talk to a sales associate.

Without talking to a sales associate... makes you think doesn't it. Now this shouldn't be a news flash to folks that regularly read things like Mark Hurst's Good Experience website or know Kelly Mooney's Ten Demandments... but just to clear things up... I'll say this once:

The consumer is absolutely in charge of her shopping experience. She will decide how she wants to shop you, when she wants to shop you, how much she's going to pay for your goods, and will completely rate her experience within minutes of completing it.

Keeping in mind that we no longer control the shopping experience forces us to focus on how to give that consumer control over the experience and still make a profit.

Keep a watch out for that report coming in January. Carrie, Tamara and the team
there are a bunch of bright eggs. It will probably be something we should be
listing to.