Linking bricks and mortar with the Internet; Nordstrom gets it

Kudos to Retailwire for running a very interesting piece entitled "Nordstrom Links Bricks and Clicks." I have been beating the drum for some time now that bricks and mortar retailers need to do a better job of keeping bricks and mortar consumers happy. It's no fun to go to the store, see what you want and not be able to get it because it is out of stock. Millennial generation shoppers who are used to getting what they want instantly on line are just not going to have the patience for putting in the time and labor and not getting the result.

According to Retailwire, "Nordstrom appears to have achieved the link across selling channels that most retailers aspire to, according to reports. The department store chain manages inventories at its store and its website as one entity. If a shopper is looking for a particular item online and it is not in stock in the warehouse, Nordstrom will still be able to fill the order pulling from store stock.

That's not all..."The same is true for in-store shopping where an item out-of-stock at a particular location does not mean the consumer is out of luck. Nordstrom has the ability to either grab the item from another store or from its website."

Nordstrom is making the right moves. Will it be enough to keep consumer head counts up where they need to be to sustain current bricks and mortar square footage? We'll have to wait and see.