Explanation:

Multi-channel retailing is a business strategy that offers your customers different sales channels to purchase from you. It is often mistaken for omni-channel retailing. The most common types of sales channels typically include physical stores, online stores or ecommerce platforms like Shopify, third-party marketplaces such as Amazon, social media platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Pinterest, and mobile applications for shopping on the go.

To understand the concept of multi-channel retailing better, let’s read about an actual business that implements it: Apple. Apple’s multi-channel strategy consists of both online sales channels—third-party marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and other country-specific platforms—and offline sales channels—the hundreds of Apple retail stores and other electronics-based retail outlets. Customers can pick any one of these sales channels to purchase an Apple product. In most cases however, they like to do their research through one channel, and then buy through another. For example, some customers like to use a technique called webrooming, in which they do their research on Apple’s official website, then use the website to locate a store nearest to them, and finally purchase a product from one of the retail stores. All of these channels put together boost Apple’s sales by a significant margin.