What are the three characteristics of Omni channel retailing?
"Omnichannel." You’ve probably heard and read this buzzword many times — in your sales meetings, on your favorite marketing blog. Occasionally, you might even drop the word yourself. Show
But when the word is everywhere, it can get confusing what people actually mean by it. In this blog post, we'll answer the question "what is omnichannel?" once and for all, and also explain the difference between omnichannel, multichannel, and single-channel commerce. Find out what an omnichannel customer experience means for your business today — and in the future. What Is Omnichannel Commerce?Simply put, omnichannel retail (or omnichannel commerce) is a multichannel approach to sales that's focused on providing seamless customer experiences, whether the customer is shopping online from a mobile device, on a laptop, or in a brick-and-mortar store. According to Harvard Business Review, 73% of all customers use multiple channels during their purchase journey. The State of Commerce Experience 2021shows that almost half (44%) of B2C buyers and 58% of B2B buyers say they always or often research a product online before going to a physical store. Even when in-store, they will still go online to continue their research. These e-commerce trends show that only when customers have gathered as much information as possible from a variety of sources to support their purchase decision will they decide to buy from a retailer. So, a good omnichannel strategy is to focus on the entire customer experience — not the customer’s individual experiences on different channels. What Is The Difference Between Omnichannel and Multichannel?Let's break the terms down individually:
Now, let's see what omnichannel commerce can do for your business. Read this next: The State of Commerce Experience 2021 [Analyst study with Forrester] Benefits of Omnichannel CommerceOmnichannel Commerce Benefit #1: Better Customer ExperienceWhat do your customers expect? Number one on the list is a unified experience. According to UC Today, 9 out of 10 consumers want an omnichannel retail experiencewith seamless service between communication methods. As the number of touchpoints increases, so does the need for a seamless integration from one touchpoint to another, whether it's a social ad, an email newsletter, a mobile push notification, a conversion with your chatbot, or a face-to-face chat with your store staff. By breaking down the walls between the channels in a business, the consumer is empowered to interact with a company in a way that feels natural to them. Omnichannel Commerce Benefit #2: Increase in Sales and TrafficWhile making your sales strategy omnichannel-ready isn’t that simple, it’ll definitely be worth your time and money. A study of 46,000 shoppersshowed that omnichannel customers spend more money than single-channel customers. And with every additional channel they used, the omnichannel shoppers spent more money in the store. Customers who used four or more channels spent an average 9% more in the store compared to those who used just a single channel.
Not only do omnichannel customers spend more, they're also more loyal to your brand. The same study shows that within six months after an omnichannel shopping experience, these customers had logged 23% more repeat shopping trips to the retailer’s stores. They were also more likely to recommend the brand to family and friends than those who used a single channel. With an engaging brand story, you can stop pushing discount coupons, mid-sale campaigns, and other traditional marketing tricks. Focus on customer loyalty and your brand will be safe. This means that an omnichannel strategy will not only increase sales, but it will also improve your customer loyalty. Sounds good, right?
Retailers who are able to track their customers over different channels can better serve their consumers with a more personalized experience. The omnichannel approach allows businesses to gain insights on how to create content and offers that will encourage their customers to shop more — not only online, but also at the physical stores. Personalization in Omnichannel CommerceYour customers expect a personalized experience at every channel and touchpoint. Today’s consumers don’t just want quality products — they want them fast and to be able to get information about them quickly. They want to go to your website and be able to search products easily, compare prices, and see personal recommendations. Among this overload of information, personalized content is crucial in attracting consumers’ interest. While all other information hits them in the face and still gets ignored, personalized content talks directly to them. It’s become even more critical to offer personalized omnichannel experiences to your shoppers since 74% of online consumers get frustrated with websites when content appears that has nothing to do with their interests, and frustrated shoppers don’t buy. This means that personalization is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must for today’s businesses. And this is where properly managing your data becomes key. You'll want to power your technology with a customer data engine that can take all your data, then visualize and activate it for omnichannel orchestration and personalization. In this way, you can learn what your customers desire and personalize content for them at scale. As a result, your customers find what they need much faster, are more satisfied with their shopping experience, and businesses see a higher conversion rate. How Do You Create an Awesome Omnichannel Strategy?Changing your single-channel strategy from web-only or store-only to a multichannel or even omnichannel experience takes a lot of time, effort, and resources. But it will be worth it. Here are 5 high-level steps to start off an omnichannel strategy that works for your brand:Get to know your customer: Don't make assumptions. Research your target audience's interests, behavior, and needs. Ask them questions, invite customer feedback, and leverage social media and social listening tools. Select the right channels: Find out where your customers are and what they're doing. Choose a clear purpose per channel: One channel mainly for interaction, the other for news updates and so on. Connect all channels: This is the hard part and only works if you execute it perfectly (omnichannel only). You'll need the right technology to follow your customer across all touchpoints: from reading reviews on your website, seeing social ads, or window shopping at an online marketplace to finally purchasing at your physical store. Maintain your channels: There's no time for leaning back — keep on testing and improving your strategy. Document these touchpoints well to serve your customers best. This way, you'll create a loyal customer who keeps coming back for more. What's Next in Omnichannel Commerce?Web-only brands are now investing in physical stores. Take Amazon, which opened their first brick-and-mortar store in Seattle in 2015 and is expanding rapidly ever since with over 460 stores in the US, Canada, and the UK. It's clear that the Amazon HQ understands that the future of shopping is connected. And of course, mobile apps are getting more and more important too. Customers don't go anywhere without their mobile phone. Powerful app features enrich the omnichannel shopping experience by connecting online and offline touchpoints. For example, having a mobile barcode scanner for looking up product details and ordering out-of-stock products online while being in-store. Lastly, the importance of customer service as part of the omnichannel experience continues to rise. IBM shows that AI-powered, automated customer service is the future. This doesn’t mean that human service agents aren’t needed anymore. According to IBM, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation will give human agents context to understand who they're talking to. Also, chatbots and social media will continue to play a big role in being in contact with your customers at any time. In digital retail especially, tapping into a cohesive e-commerce ecosystem will be an important way of staying connected with customers. To do that, you'll need the power of a Commerce Experience Cloud that combines product discovery, customer data and marketing automation, and headless content management to achieve true personalization. Customers now expect to reach their go-to brands whenever and wherever. Being reachable for your customers at the channels of their preference is crucial for a complete omnichannel experience — even after purchase. Examples of Successful Omnichannel ExperiencesStaples
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