Decision time again for multi-channel retailers: Where do you want shoppers to go?

Lots of news for multi-channel retailers out this quarter. JCP.com launched a 'know before you go' campaign that directly speaks to online pre-shoppers. Brookstone launched a true virtual store online - one with all of the sense of discovery and maddening inconvenience of a real-live shopping trip.

Barnes and Noble launched a site intended to bring the local store experience online, while Whole Foods finally got in the Web experience game with a holiday planning site aimed at sending you in-store, list in-hand.

And, new research out claims that one in three Americans will shop more online this holiday season (over last) even as they indite online retailers for shoddy customer experiences. Cyber Monday sales alone were up 21% off the same day last year.

It seems that we're reaching another key critical decision time for retailers.

What do you want your brand experience to be tied to? Your flawed local store or your impersonal national warehouse? What does ideal convenience really look like for today's shopper?

The options are much broader than the current big three:

• Buy online
• Pre-order online, buy in-store
• Browse online, buy in-store

One of my favorite options re-invigorates high-touch service and another turns shopping on its head...

• Neighborhood store: One of my most-despised words in the press right now is 'the new urbanism.' Essentially, walkable amenities moved to the traditionally housing-rich suburbs. The ethic behind it is one of neighborhood-ism. Of being part of something 'smaller' with access to all the conveniences of 'bigger.' That same ethic could create a resurgence of personal deliveries. Customers check product availability online. If the product is at their local store, they can choose to an open time for a same-day local delivery to their home or office. Trust me, if the Mentos intern can do it, so can Best Buy.
• Virtual-real store: I'm sure you've seen this concept store created by IconNicholson. It's this incredible 'social retailing' concept that's a combination physical dressing room with online social tools that enable idea sharing, remote recommendations and more.
• Remote personal shopper: 66 percent of shoppers said they would be more willing to buy online if every purchase was guaranteed. So thinking about the concept of guaranteed, what if we brought the trusted recommendation of a favorite sales associate online. Higher-end brands, like Nordstrom, could offer a free (likely even a paid) consultation with a sales associate. The associate would profile the customer, understand their preferences, shop the store with them. Then, via IM or phone, that associate could make Web-purchasing recommendations to the customer over time - becoming a virtual private shopper and an essential guarantee of satisfaction.

There are hundreds or permutations ... but the core question is: Do you want your customers to interact with your brand in a vacuum? Or will you leverage the local store for all it's worth...