TFG's R100m omni-channel gamble

5 Dec 2014

The Foschini Group (TFG) has taken the plunge into omni-channel retailing, a concept spanning and integrating all points of contact with customers. TFG joins Mr Price as the second SA retailer to go the full omni-channel route.

"We are investing in the future," says TFG CIO Brent Curry of a R100m four-year project built on the Oracle ATG platform also used by retail giant Walmart.

TFG's initiative is based on an estimate that online sales will make up 5% of its total sales by 2017. "I see it as conservative," says Curry.

It will begin with @Home and Hi Online, before being phased in to its other 15 brands by 2017. "You will be able to buy across brands but pay for only one shopping basket," says Curry. "Store cards can also be used for payment. It is unique in online retail in SA."

Another element of the strategy is Omni-Pos, a solution that will, by 2017, integrate TFG's online and in-store payments. Predictive analytics will also come into play. "We will know what a customer liked online, but did not buy, and offer it to them on their next visit to a store at a discount," says Curry.

Mobile will also receive attention. With it will come what Curry says is a retail world first: a mobile app enabling customers to apply for a credit account and have an answer within 15 minutes. "Everything is digital," says Curry.

TFG will also take store cards digital. "From next year, your [virtual] card will be on your phone," says Curry. "We will do the same with gift cards."

Source: Financial Mail

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