Making “Omnichannel” an outdated phrase: by moving from channel silos to connected customer relationships, department stores are creating a new operating system, the “customer continuity” - fast, precise and convenient.

The great promise of ‘omnichannel’ remains unfulfilled for many department stores, often choked by siloed systems and channel-specific metrics. The new growth mandate is not a technology project but an entirely new operating model: Customer Continuity.

The IADS’ members’ blueprint for “Real Omnichannel” is an executive mandate. It declares the end of the channel silo era, replacing it with connected customer relationships powered by operational precision that customers can feel: fast, clear, and convenient. Success now comes from orchestrating end-to-end journeys, powered by unified customer identity, a strong operational backbone, and trade-area execution—not from adding isolated features. The message is clear: align strategy, technology and culture around continuous customer relationships across every touchpoint.

The strategy: trade-area orchestration and app-first continuity

Department stores are reframing omnichannel as customer continuity, focusing on relational value rather than channel optimisation. Minimising friction between online and offline is key to converting one-time transactions into ongoing relationships. Success is increasingly measured by Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), rather than turnover alone:

• Trade-area execution: This localised strategy recognises that customer journeys are fundamentally local. In Germany, Breuninger successfully moved management from siloed channels to trade-area orchestration, aligning stakeholders and targets across store, app, and web with a single goal: convert local shoppers into omnichannel customers.
• The omnichannel cockpit: The app sits at the centre, connecting discovery, service, and transactions. Others are engineering similar continuity: in Turkey, Boyner builds cross-frequency by moving shoppers both ways—online to store and store to online—through targeted offers, staff-driven app adoption, and their Boyner Now 90-minute delivery promise tied to stores. This approach harnesses stores’ power to lower return rates and build loyalty.
• App utility: in Thailand, The Mall Group’s app recasts loyalty as an omnichannel lifestyle utility where high-use features (parking reservations, AR navigation) lift engagement. While sustained app usage remains a hurdle for most retailers, the levers that work are immediate: proven utility (such as stock and price checks), clear loyalty value, and transforming associates into champions of the digital relationship through store-level competitions.

The engine: precision fulfillment and optimised logistics

Omnichannel growth is increasingly operational. Logistics and fulfilment are no longer cost centres, but growth drivers and customer experience engines.

In Peru, Falabella is the best example. Click-and-collect needs to be placed where it can generate additional sales. Falabella learned that entrance-adjacent pickup consumed premium space, created congestion, and missed cross-sell opportunities. Conversely, routing pickups to the relevant product area when cross-sell potential is high can drive additional sales, allowing the retailer to maintain several collection points while lockers automate low-cross-sell journeys. Also, Falabella stores serve as marketplace nodes to expedite delivery and reduce costs, with most marketplace orders now delivered to stores.

In the Middle East, Chalhoub Group pursues a two-speed transformation: stabilise core systems and then scale growth engines. The lesson for early wins? Accurate customer promises on delivery dates, BOPIS/BORIS options, unified stock merging across stores and warehouses, brand-held stock in one view, and disciplined fulfilment are now brand equity. Visibility of store stock to online demand improves perceived availability and conversion rates. However, design details matter, as overreliance on flagship stores for online fulfilment slows picking and can harm the in-store customer experience.

John Lewis’ Deliver From Store programme tackled the pain of “out of stock” in online product views. Real-time store stock visibility and fulfilment from physical locations shows a profit increase above expectations, with more orders than forecast, evidence that unified commerce and dynamic fulfilment directly bolster customer perception of availability and conversion.

The enabler: intelligence, clienteling, and unified identity

AI is moving from pilot to product, enabling professional-grade clienteling and loyalty. Chalhoub Group’s Layla, an AI beauty assistant built within the FACES app, reduces search fatigue by answering questions and guiding discovery. Early results show increased conversion and additional minutes per average session. The potential to extend category-specific agents to fashion is clear, provided data quality is high and structured not only by attributes but also by benefits and use cases.

The Mall Group is placing AI at the centre of its strategy with M Agent. The six-language concierge combines behavioural data, mall knowledge, and partner content to deliver recommendations, promotion alerts, navigation, booking assistance, and more across social channels, mobile, web, and smart kiosks, balancing PR value, service, and data capture.

Also, clienteling is being professionalised. Breuninger’s software-driven approach closes the loop between visits and follow-ups: their new clienteling tool turns customer walk-ins into relationships, allowing follow-ups and data collection. In the UK, John Lewis prepares to digitise long-standing “little black book” practices. Chalhoub Group is also rebuilding identity and loyalty so benefits and history travel with the shopper across brands and channels. The Muse programme is being re-platformed, with a new app as the loyalty home and a co-branded credit card for card-linked offers online and in-store. Practical touches reduce friction: e-receipts via WhatsApp and an upcoming unified receipt view across web and app. Importantly, clienteling conversations and sales are captured via built-in WhatsApp and email with branded templates, safeguarding continuity even when associates depart. For retailers, loyalty is being rebuilt around a unified identity, so benefits and history follow the shopper, with apps becoming the home for recognition, receipts and card-linked offers.

What’s next for department stores: industrialise what works, measure what matters.

Over the next 18 months, department stores will scale proven plays. The throughline: department stores are rewiring for continuity. Every touchpoint becomes an entry point, every visit a step in a relationship, and every journey a contributor to lifetime value. “Real omnichannel” is no longer a concept; it’s an operating system for growth.

About IADS

The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is the only expert body specialising globally in the department store retail format. Consisting of leading department store members worldwide, the Association serves as an international network that facilitates exchange and communication among its members. It also conducts research to address the current challenges of department stores and provide actionable insights for its members.

Today, IADS permanent members include Beijing Hualian Group (PRC), Bloomingdale’s (USA), Boyner (Turkey), Breuninger (Germany), Chalhoub Group (UAE), Centro Beco (Venezuela), El Corte Inglés (Spain), El Palacio de Hierro (Mexico), Falabella (Chile, Colombia and Peru), Galeries Lafayette (France), John Lewis & Partners (UK), Lifestyle International Holding (Hong Kong), Magasin du Nord (Denmark), Manor (Switzerland), The Mall Group (Thailand), TSUM Kyiv (Ukraine). These retail leaders are joined by a network of other department stores and retail companies as corresponding members.

Together, the IADS members, all key players in their respective markets, create a landscape of diverse business models and cultures, representing more than €40.5 billion in cumulated annual turnover, achieved through over 549 stores with 251,000 associates in 28 countries.

Through its activities and partnerships with Retail Hub, RH-ISAC, and Newstores, the Association remains constantly up to date on its members’ questions and challenges. It generates solution-driven problem-solving processes for its members, preparing them to face the future of the retail industry.

Contact: press@iads.org 

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