Retailers in Philadelphia and around the Northeast are driving traffic and sales by deftly combining the best of both worlds—online and “IRL” (in real life).

Don’t be intimidated by all of the jargon—"multi-channel,” “omnichannel,” “BOPIS” and everything in between. At Equity CRE, we agree with the view expressed by Steve Dennis, a retail consultant and Forbes contributor, who wrote:

Simply stated, a great customer experience has never been about being everywhere and being all things for all people. What matters is showing up for the right customers, where it really matters, in remarkable ways.

That’s an important distinction. It means that even independent, local retailers can have a meaningful online presence, and that even some larger chains may not have to spend billions of dollars (along the lines of Target and Walmart) to drive traffic and sales to their stores and websites.