Omni-channel shopping done right!

Before kids, I was an avid in store shopper. The thought of buying clothes online without trying them on seemed daunting. My eCommerce purchases pretty much centered around books and music. All that changed once I had kids. Between a full-time job, two kids, a dog, my days begin around 6 AM and by the time we wrap up for the night, it's about 9 PM. That, coincidentally, is also the time most clothing stores close.

Last summer, while browsing online, I came across an ad for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Something they showed me must have piqued my interest and I found myself on Nordstrom.com. The frugal shopper in me was delighted. Sale. Check. Free shipping. Check. Free Returns. Wow! Free returns in store. I was sold!

My first Nordstrom online experience was in one word, flawless. Browse and search was easy, the inventory tracking was great - when I looked at something, they were able to tell me if the item was available at a store close to me, returns were simple and hassle-free.

Since my first time shopping at Nordstrom, I have become a loyal customer. I visit their app several times a week, sometimes several times a day. My experience with Nordstrom.com was so great, I even downloaded the Nordstrom Rack app and made a purchase the same day. Now, Nordstrom has my business through two brands.

I don’t keep a lot of what I order. So I love that when I need to return something, I can just go down the block and drop it off at the store. When I leave the store, I get an email confirming my returns. Easy peasy, done! As a digital consumer, Nordstrom did a lot of things right, but here is what stood out for me:

1. My online and in-store experiences were seamless. Nordstrom really harnessed their competitive advantage of a brick and mortar store footprint to deliver a superior shopping experience to an online customer. Whether I was at their store, on their website or on their mobile app, the quality of my shopping experience remained consistently superior.
2. My digital communication was very well executed. Everything from order confirmation emails to cart abandonment emails were cleanly designed, personalized and frequent without being bothersome.
3. Nordstrom never deviated from their core brand positioning. Upscale quality combined with great customer service.

Now that I work in eCommerce, online retailers intrigue me. It's interesting to see what companies are delivering exceptional experiences versus those that leave a lot to be desired. Nordstrom is one brand I will continue to follow as omni-channel experiences evolve.