By Rhiannon Zanetic

While retailers have been trying varied promotional efforts to spur consumer spending, US department store Nordstrom has found a solution, which doesn’t involve delving into the mind of the customer. Rather, it has focused on itself.

The retailer has changed the way it handles its inventory, and as a result has seen more success in sales improvement than many of its competitors, according to the New York Times.

The company is using its website as an online warehouse, allowing consumers to search for product, identify which nearby stores have stock, and reserve it for pickup that same day. The inventory of the retailers 115 stores is displayed, and according to Nordstrom Direct president, Jamie Nordstrom, incurred “some pretty meaningful results.”

Since making the changes 11 months ago, Nordstrom’s same-store-sales have exceeded the department store average measured by Thomson Reuters. The Seattle based Nordstrom store saw one of the most significant improvements in same-store sales over the past year, with overall sales reaching US$8.26 billion.

While the retailer’s competitor, Wal-Mart has added to its site, a feature that allows online shoppers to ship items to nearby stores, and Target’s site displays which stores stock product, consumers are unable to make purchases in advance.

If you don’t have it, the consumer will find it elsewhere

According to Nordstrom, inventory was a major issue. He believed that if the Nordstrom website didn’toffere the item a consumer desired, the customer wouldn’t wait for the company to restock it, but simply go elsewhere.

“If we don’t have it, you’re going to go back to Google and say, ‘Who else has it?’ ... We have 115 full-line stores out there, chances are one of them has it,” Nordstrom said.

The company first listed inventory of its individual stores onto the website in September 2009, seeing immediate results. The percentage of customers who bought merchandise after searching for an item on the site doubled on the first day. Whilst this doubling was from a small base, it has continued at this pace.

The company hired additional shipping employees to package and send items from each store, but the increased sales more than offset this cost. Nordstrom inventory is also moving faster, and often at higher prices.

“If we’re out of something on the Web site, it’s probably late in the season and the stores are trying to clear it out. By pulling merchandise from the store, you’ve now dramatically lessened the likelihood that you’ll take a markdown,” Nordstrom said.