Overheard: Omni-channel Christmas shopping is coming to town

Is it a leap back or a giant leap forward?

Walmart has introduced a Scan & Shop feature in its 35 million printed Christmas shopping catalogues. People can scan the products in the print brochure via an app, and order them directly – without even a web browser being opened. 

While making use of new technologies, Walmart is returning transactions to the offline world. The Scan & Shop feature eases the friction of the online checkout, yet keeps shoppers within the Walmart app, and so dissuades them from going elsewhere to shop.

In a world full of ad fatigue & banner blindness, the catalogue delivers visual impact and captivates the audience right from the get-go – offering an opportunity to cut through the noise so it can be heard. This approach from Walmart does just that.

A more local example of integrating online and offline holiday shopping is the Dutch retailer Bol.com’s scannable Sinterklaasboek. In order to inspire families they have released a paper catalogue that instead of prices has QR codes creating a scannable analogue shopping experience. 

The results? Higher marketing ROI & frictionless customer experiences, driving offline action to online engagement. Walmart’s new Scan & Shop feature is merging offline and digital worlds in order to enhance conversions and ease the purchasing process, which is particularly valuable in this important retail period – during Christmas shopping. 

Read the full article here