Omnichannel Commerce in Retail: A Complete Guide

Omnichannel commerce involves connecting every sales channel both online and offline, so customers enjoy a unified shopping experience across a combination of channels.

<div id="What_is_Omnichannel_Commerce?" fs-test-element="What_is_Omnichannel_Commerce?"></div>

What is Omnichannel Commerce?

In a competitive retail environment, a retailer needs an omnichannel commerce solution in which all customer channels, both online and offline are connected.

Omnichannel commerce is the first component of Omnichannel retailing. Omnichannel commerce facilitates retailers to provide a unified customer experience on all channels, including physical store, online store, mobile device, social media and other channels.

Omnichannel sales channels include mobile websites and apps, email marketing, sms, text messages, social media, ecommerce marketplaces, point of sale integration and inventory management.

In Omnichannel commerce, a retailer is able to sell its entire product range and stock both online and offline at the same time. Having integrated online and offline channels, an Omnichannel retailer is able to provide multiple ways for their customers to shop from them.

These options include

1. Buy online, delivery to home
2. Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS)
3. Buy online, return in-store (BORIS)
4. Buy in-store
5. Ship from store

<div id="Why_Use_Omnichannel_Commerce" fs-test-element="Why_Use_Omnichannel_Commerce"></div>

Why use Omnichannel commerce?

Customers want it

Research shows that the majority of customers expect an omnichannel experience. Omnichannel customers also spend more which provides the business with a competitive business advantage.

Consumer loyalty follows

Omnichannel customers are more loyal to brands.

Customer data is dynamic

Omnichannel commerce provides integrated data collection for physical store and on- line customer interactions.

<div id="Important_Facts_About_Omnichannel_Commerce_Model" fs-test-element="Important_Facts_About_Omnichannel_Commerce_Model"></div>

Important Facts About Omnichannel Commerce Model

Omnichannel business model strategies help brands increase up to 80% overall sales. 

Sources: (Think with Google)

According to the Harvard Business Review, 73% of customers are using more than one-tow channel during their shopping experience.

Sources: (v12data)

Further research indicates that 50% of buyers hope to buy via online deliveries or pick up their orders from physical stores. But at the same time, 35% of buyers are less likely to make an in-store purchase. 

Another research indicates that 80% of users prefer Omnichannel Model Strategies as this model provides a seamless communication experience. 

Sources: (Commbox, Maxicus, CX Today)

The above-mentioned omnichannel commerce statistics prove that it is the right time for retailers and ecommerce brands to expand their businesses with the omnichannel model without losing any customer experience. If you are confused about expanding growth rapidly by using automation solutions, get a free demo trial and consult with our specialized team. 

<div id="How_Omnichannel_Commerce_Works" fs-test-element="How_Omnichannel_Commerce_Works"></div>

How Omnichannel Commerce works?

The omnichannel approach allows businesses to get insights on how to create unified content and offers that will encourage their customers to engage themselves in shopping more, both on-line and also at the physical stores.

Your customers expect a personalized experience at every channel. Today’s customers don’t just want quality products, they want them quick and be able to get information about the products quickly. They want to visit the website and search products easily, compare prices, and see the recommendations.

Omnichannel commerce creates a seamless connection between various channels at once. Whether a customer is reading a product review, browsing a brand on social media, reading a magazine article, clicking on an email, visiting the physical store or viewing a video on a website, an omnichannel strategy will provide a unified, personalized experience through the customer journey for your customer. It can also strengthen your brand by creating consistency between your physical store and online experience.

The customer has much more power within the sales funnel. Omnichannel strategy has to focus on the entire consumer journey, not only each separate channel. This strategy improves convenience for customers while saving on shipping, warehousing costs and administration costs.

With an omnichannel approach to your business operations, you can connect different sales channels. Through an omnichannel strategy, customers can return or receive products through various channels like in physical stores or online.

Omnichannel commerce provides a unified experience because a customer is able to complete a transaction after using different channels for each step. For example:

1. A consumer adds a product to the shopping cart through a website. 
2. Later, he / she uses a mobile app to add more products to the cart before returning to the website later that day to complete the purchase.
3. A consumer begins the return process through the website and brings the product to a physical store.

<div id="Your_journey_as_an_Omnichannel_Customer" fs-test-element="Your_journey_as_an_Omnichannel_Customer"></div>

Omni Channel Customer Journey 

The Customer Journey of Omnichannel commerce involves building multiple interactions over numerous channels. User interactions may begin and halt on various channels.

Consumer behavior changes increase the complexity of providing a good customer experience. The key to success lies in optimizing omnichannel retail operations. Here is an example of how you can optimize and connect multiple channels.

Engaging Buyers Throughout The Omnichannel Journey

Nowadays, the customer journey has turned increasingly complex between physical and online channels. The challenge is to provide seamless customer experiences as most retailers fail to reach buyers on every channel and device.

Omnichannel Personalization

For achieving omnichannel personalization experiences in your current business environment, you should identify the touchpoints of your current audience. Then you need to connect digital and physical channels with a centralized solution that will provide you with a complete omnichannel commerce solution, offering real-time analytics of all your commerce operations.

<div id="How_Omnichannel_Commerce _Different_From_Multichannel_Commerce?" fs-test-element="How_Omnichannel_Commerce _Different_From_Multichannel_Commerce?"></div>

How Omnichannel Commerce Different From Multichannel Commerce?

In a multichannel strategy, a brand is present on multiple channels and consumers use various channels to interact with the brand. Examples are websites, physical stores, social media channels, mobile apps etc. But customer experiences are fragmented on each channel.

But in recent times, customers want a unified experience instead of a fragmented experience. That is why Omnichannel commerce is needed. In Omnichannel commerce all channels are integrated through an Omnichannel ecosystem, which provides a seamless experience to customers.

An Omnichannel strategy expects that customers may start searching on one channel and move to another on their online purchasing journey. Omnichannel completes a multichannel strategy and optimizes it for today’s customer.

Like Omnichannel, multichannel strategy involves selling of products through various different sales channels. The difference is that, with multichannel, retailers manage each channel separately, whereas omnichannel provides centralized data management that connects all channels, so customers have a consistent experience at every channel.

<div id="Benefits_of_Omnichannel_Commerce" fs-test-element="Benefits_of_Omnichannel_Commerce"></div>

Benefits of Omnichannel Commerce

Cohesive Message

One of the main benefits of omnichannel commerce is giving a unified messaging about the brand. No matter which channel your customer experiences your brand, the messaging is always the same.

Understanding Customer Journey

Omnichannel commerce allows your company to collect and merge consumer data from multiple channels. This gives you a full picture of what types of customers are interested in your brand and their behavior, which helps you understand the customer journey.

Personalizing Customer Experience

Only by understanding the customer journey can you personalize your customer’s experience. Omnichannel commerce allows you to create a personalized experience, which is essential to omnichannel customers.

Increase in Sales and Traffic

Studies show omnichannel customers spend more money than single and multi-channel customers. With every extra channel they used, the omnichannel shoppers spent more money in the store. Companies with strong omnichannel customer engagement experienced a 9.5 per cent increase in annual revenue. 

Boosted Customer Royalty

Not only do omnichannel customers spend more, they are also more loyal to your brand. They are also more likely to recommend the brand to family and friends than those who used a single channel. Companies with the best omnichannel customer engagement strategies turns 89% of buyers to loyal customers. 

Improved Data Collection and Analysis

Retailers who are able to track their customers over different channels can serve their consumers better.

Improved Order Fulfillment

Omnichannel commerce allows you to connect different sales channels. These operations improve convenience for consumers while saving on shipping, warehousing and administration costs

<div id="Omnichannel_Commerce_Examples" fs-test-element="Omnichannel_Commerce_Examples"></div>

Omnichannel Commerce Examples

Maria B is a Pakistani clothing brand. Maria B needed a solution to seamlessly integrate a POS with an inventory and order management platform and a customer rewards program. XStak provided a modern POS system, an omnichannel inventory and order management system and a loyalty management system.

Chase Up is one of the largest departmental stores of Pakistan, having six stores in Karachi, one in Multan, one in Faisalabad and one in Gujranwala. Chase up offers a complete shopping experience, with everything under one roof, from grocery to garments to crockery and much more.

Chase Up needed a solution for a quick commerce management. XStak provided them a modern hyperlocal commerce management solution which helped them reduce their delivery time from days to hours.

The special features of XStak Omnichannel Commerce products for Maria B and Chase up give a unified Omnichannel experience connecting all channels and integrating all modules, which personalizes customer experience with a cohesive message. This increases sales, boosts customer royalty, improves data collection, analysis and improves order fulfillment.

<div id="Omnichannel_Platform" fs-test-element="Omnichannel_Platform"></div>

Omnichannel Platform

An omnichannel platform helps retailers customize their marketing strategy based on the customer's location and device. For example, suppose a customer is viewing products on a retailer's website but is also considering buying them offline from a physical store. In that case, the omnichannel platform can automatically add items to the customer's online cart. This way, the retailer can track potential sales and increase customer loyalty by providing them with an enhanced shopping experience.

Here are two ways Omnichannel eCommerce helps retailers:

Keep Customers Engage

Customers with a seamless and dynamic experience across all channels are more loyal and likely to return. The omnichannel platform allows businesses to personalize the buying experience for each customer, making them feel like VIPs. In addition, by providing real-time updates on product availability and discounts, retailers can keep customers engaged even when they're not in the store.

Boosts Sales

Omnichannel eCommerce makes it easy for customers to purchase products anywhere and anytime. With no need to queue or search for a salesperson, omnichannel shoppers are likelier to make a purchase quickly and easily.

Moreover, omnichannel ecommerce is an excellent way for retailers to increase their profits and reach more customers. Businesses need to ensure they are using all available channels to reach their target audience and maximize profits.

Read More: Payment Gateways For Ecommerce Businesses In Pakistan

<div id="Solutions_for_Omnichannel_Commerce" fs-test-element="Solutions_for_Omnichannel_Commerce"></div>

Omnichannel Commerce Solutions

XStak helps you conveniently manage all commerce operations including, your physical stores, online stores, social media platforms, and mobile devices.

Customer Experience:  Have an integrated shopping experience across all channels.

Recommendation Engine: Deliver an omnichannel personalized experience and increase your brand's engagement with customers.

Ensure Smooth Integrations: Experience real-time integration through secure API endpoints to ensure reduced time to market.

Artificial Intelligence: Use Artificial Intelligence to forecast demand based on various factors, including marketing campaigns, date and time, customer demographics, and seasons.

Business Intelligence: Explore and analyze real-time data from all channels to maximize your business performance.

‍