Nordstrom Value Proposition

Nordstorm is an upscale retailer whose value proposition can be describes as:

 Quality
Value
Selection
Service

When you think of customer service, Nordstrom is one company that always stands out. 

 John W. Nordstrom, (the founder of Nordstrom) had a business approach that was to "provide exceptional service, selection, quality and value" to its customers. To this day, personalized customer service is seen as a key part of Nordstrom's value proposition.

Nordstrom uses customer solutions focused on making customers feel that the company understands them and is capable of providing them with customized products and services tailored to their needs. They value customers and want shopping to be pleasurable and hassle-free whether it's done in store or online. 

Nordstrom noticed through the years that customers wanted the same experience online as they'd get in the store. This made Nordstrom reflect and make changes and more features available to customers online. Nordstrom is always making adjustments to provide online customers with the same customer service.

In 2009, Nordstrom began allowing customers to make purchases online and be able to pick the product up in stores. Last year they also added free shipping and returns. Nordstrom is taking advantage of all their channels (store, online, mobile, and catalog) in order to integrate their customers' shopping experience across all these channels. Nordstrom stressed that "whatever the digital wallet is, we'll further evolve with it," meaning Nordstrom will continue to make adjustments based on current shopping trends and technology advancements. This is all done in order to ensure that every customer is presented with the best value, quality, selection, and of course customer service, no matter how they choose to shop at Nordstrom. 

Positioning

"Just because you have a great brick and mortar store, customers won't give you credit for that while they're shopping your lousy online store, and vice versa." said Jamie Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom Direct and great-grandson of Nordstrom's founder John Nordstrom.

Nordstrom positions itself as a purveyor of upscale fashion merchandise. They differentiate themselves  from others in that category by characterizing themselves as the upscale fashion merchandiser with unmatched customer service. Nordstrom knows that customers can go to other stores to get the same clothes for less money, but they will not get the same level of service. They know that people are willing to pay more for that specialized service.

The above chart shows Nordstrom.com's unique website visitors for the past year. They have pretty much remained steady over the past 13 months with a slightly higher increase during the month of December which would appear to be normal during the holidays. Nordstrom consistently provides online customers with excellent service, product selection, and assortment, as well as keeps their customers coming back and increasing new customer traffic.
 
Both in store and online we see that Nordstrom has evolved its brand positioning by building upon its initial equities, shoes, and service. Nordstrom first developed a reputation for having the largest section of shoe styles and sizes. It has also prided itself on impressive customer service and making sure they are doing everything possible to provide customers with desired merchandise.

Store vs. Online

Both online and in stores, Nordstrom offers customers a wide selection of merchandise with convenient category shopping and excellent customer service.

Online:

Nordstrom cited that 80% of the growth in its space will occur online. Their e-commerce sales  are up 40% from last year. They see e-commerce playing a huge role in their future. This is why they will continue to invest heavily in e-commerce and mobile commerce. Both e-commerce and mobile represent the changing nature of how consumers want to shop Nordstrom. "Direct is our fastest growing part of the business, which is reflective of how customers increasingly want to shop" said president Blake Nordstrom. He also said that a significant amount of future growth will come from online, which is why they will make necessary investments to stay relevant with their customers.

Nordstrom.com and Nordstrom brick-and-mortar stores mostly sell the same merchandise. There is a small assortment of products that are online exclusives and a small assortment of products that are in-store exclusives.

Online Exclusives
Nordstrom.com offers many online exclusives that provides customers with a larger merchandise selection when shopping on the website. Topshop is one brand that Nordstrom has created a partnership with. Only a very select few physical store locations sell Topshop merchandise. The majority of it is only sold online.  

Advance search engine - easy to navigate through product assortment

Same Quality Customer Service Online As In store 

Private Label Brands 

Nordstrom Rack

Brick and Mortar:

 Selective Store Locations 

Personal Attention and Hospitality
 employees "do whatever it takes" to help customers

 

 Nordstrom Rack Stores
Discounted merchandise sold in a separate Nordstrom store location

Multichannel Marketing Concepts:

Nordstrom exposes their full inventory to customers through their stores, the Internet, mobile devices, and catalogs, to reach customers on all channels. They are giving their customers a full picture of what's for sale.  Nordstrom makes a clear point that "you can't sell what you don't have, or what your customer thinks you don't have."

Nordstrom improved its multi-channel capabilities to enhance their already superior customer service. Nordstrom connects shopping channels in many ways. One being that customers who purchase a product online have the option to pick that item up in a near by store.  This connects their online customers' experience with an in store experience all in one purchase.

Nordstrom incorporates other multi-channel concepts through: 

Mobile Apps

Pick up in store

Catalog