For years, retail executives have wrestled with the same question: If we grow online sales, won’t it just steal from our stores?
It’s a fair concern, but the truth is the opposite. Digital and physical retail do not fight each other. When aligned properly, they fuel each other and grow total sales.
The Myth of Cannibalization
The misconception is that every online sale would have happened in-store anyway. But that ignores the role eCommerce plays in modern shopping. Online is often the first point of discovery. It offers convenience, access, and flexibility. Without it, many of those sales would be lost to competitors who make the journey easier.
Another common argument is that online hurts store numbers, but the reverse rarely gets mentioned. In reality, digital often drives customers into stores through research, checking local availability, or using services like reserve online or buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS). The website is not just a checkout lane. It is a critical tool in the customer’s journey.
Why We Call It Cannibalization Online but Growth in Stores
Think about what happens when a retailer opens a new store. More often than not, it is in a growing community, sometimes just twenty minutes away from an existing location. Naturally, a portion of customers who used to commute to the older store now choose the new one in their own neighbourhood.
Retailers rarely see this as a problem. They justify it as growth because the brand is now serving the community more conveniently. The sales may shift from one location to another, but it all adds up in the total box numbers.
Yet when it comes to eCommerce, the story changes. If a customer who once bought in-store chooses to buy online, leaders often label it as cannibalization. The difference is not the behaviour, it is the way the numbers are reported. Online sales sit in a separate P&L, making it easier to view them as a threat to the store’s performance rather than as part of the same overall growth story.
This double standard is one of the biggest barriers to progress. If we measured digital the way we measure new stores, we would stop calling it cannibalization and start calling it what it really is: growth.
The Evidence: Data Does Not Lie
- BOPIS drives incremental spend. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, 37% of shoppers who use BOPIS make extra, unplanned purchases when they pick up their orders.
- Omnichannel shoppers spend more. A Retail TouchPoints study found that BOPIS “super-consumers” spend up to 40% more during their visits compared to single-channel shoppers.
- Digital research fuels in-store buying. At a Canadian home improvement retailer, we found that customers who shopped both online and in-store were significantly more valuable than those who used only one channel.
The takeaway is clear. Online does not eat away at stores. It strengthens them by preparing customers, building loyalty, and increasing basket size.
The Power of Influenced Sales
One of the most overlooked benefits of eCommerce is its role in influencing store sales. Too often, leaders only count what is transacted online. But the reality is that your website, app, and digital touchpoints are constantly driving customers into stores.
Consider these everyday examples:
- “Near me” searches. When a shopper searches “X retailer near me,” it is your website and local content that guides them to the right store. That is not cannibalization, that is foot traffic created by digital.
- Digital retargeting. A customer who browses your site can be retargeted with ads that remind them of a product, nudging them to return online or head into the store to purchase.
- Blended shopping journeys. Customers traveling to the cottage who realize they have forgotten something can place an order online and pick it up along the way. Without that digital option, the sale would be lost.
- Digital flyers. Apps like Flipp drive traffic from digital flyers to your site, where customers can build a wish list, compare offers, and then head into the store.
- CRM and loyalty. Every online interaction, from signing up for emails to using loyalty points, strengthens your customer profile. That data powers more personalized marketing and helps the store team serve customers better.
These influenced sales often do not show up neatly in online P&Ls, but they are critical to understanding the real value of digital. The website is more than a checkout counter. It is the engine that connects marketing, customer profiles, loyalty, and local stores into one ecosystem.
Real-World Lessons
One of the most impactful moves I have seen was implementing near real-time inventory on a retailer’s website. Shoppers could instantly see if a product was available at their local store, or if not, order from another location.
The result was not lost in-store sales. It was saved sales. Customers arrived more informed, ready to purchase, and often with a bigger list. Stores benefited from fewer “Do you have this in stock?” phone calls, and staff had more time to serve people face-to-face. Digital did not compete with stores, it made them stronger.
The Real Takeaway
eCommerce is not a threat to your stores. It is the digital front door, your product catalogue, your marketing engine, and your brand experience all in one. The real risk is not cannibalization. It is failing to integrate channels in a way that reflects how customers actually shop.
Retailers who stop thinking in silos and start measuring success across the whole business will unlock loyalty and growth. The winners will not be the ones protecting stores from digital. They will be the ones making digital and physical work together as one.
Closing Thought
Today’s customers are blended shoppers. They might pick up an item after work, browse online during lunch, or order curbside on the way to the cottage. They do not see channels, they see one brand.
The challenge for retailers is to stop measuring like it is the 1990s. If we treat eCommerce with the same logic we use when opening new stores, the myth of cannibalization disappears. What is left is the truth: digital and physical together are not competitors. They are partners in growth.
Want to Learn More?
This article is adapted from Chapter 2 of my book Retail Rewired. If you found these insights valuable and want to explore the full playbook for modern retail growth, you can purchase the book on Amazon here: https://tinyurl.com/bdhfet89
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