Omnichannel retailing: online and offline integration

The retail sector has been undergoing major transformations, preceded by changes in consumer buying habits, the offline-online boundaries are becoming more and more diffuse, in part, to the effort of businesses to make both channels work in an integrated way, to extend and improve the customer experience.

When we talk about omnichannel, we refer to a sales strategy that considers the integration of all available channels for customer relationships, including physical and online stores, mobile apps, SMS, social networks, etc.

In this way, customer-company communication is not limited to a single channel, allowing effective service through different media without losing continuity, leaving the choice to the customer.

The retail sector is currently undergoing a profound transformation process, and omnichannel is one of the main axes of change.

Omni-channel is a highly profitable strategy for the retail sector. By offering more shopping and contact channels to customers, it expands shopping opportunities. Research by Harvard Business Review revealed that omnichannel consumers spend 4% more on each shopping trip (Customer Journey) than those who shop through a single channel.

Brands that have taken the lead by adapting to the omnichannel strategy are now leading the way in both retail and e-commerce.

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What should you consider when implementing an omnichannel strategy?

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1.MOVING FROM TRANSACTIONS TO RELATIONSHIPS

Customers today are more transactional than ever before. If they don’t find what they’re looking for, or find the prices are high, they’ll leave and shop elsewhere. Loyalty is not something intrinsic to them, but since they are ready to convert, retailers can work on creating long-lasting relationships. Only in this way will you be able to monetize the high acquisition costs in the long run.

If customers feel that they are valued by brands, they are more likely to become loyal and return.

2.PRIORITIZING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Another trend in omnichannel has to do with customer experience. Remember that omnichannel is not only about making things work across all channels, but also about delivering a great experience consistently across all channels.

In other words, having an omnichannel strategy not only means ensuring that customers can make their transactions, but also facilitating their search and purchase processes by getting an amazing experience.

To do this, the best thing to do is to draw your company’s customer journey map, a tool that will allow you to visualize all the phases of the customer’s journey when interacting with the brand, the points of contact, the channels through which they interact, customer pain points, as well as the measurement of each of these stages.

3.ALLIANCES BETWEEN COMPANIES

Partnerships can save time and money. This is why it is one of the trends in omnichannel. Improving online shopping has been a challenge for many retailers, especially since many of them lack the capabilities to do so. An increasingly used short-term solution is to obtain the capabilities of other companies.

4.AUTOMATE PROCESSES

Managing different channels can be chaotic without automation. Businesses should automate as many processes as they can, and those that can’t should be delegated to other skilled people. Another trend related to automation is integration. Channels should communicate with each other, so you can leverage data together to improve the customer experience.

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5.ONLINE SHOPPING, PICK UP IN-STORE

Another omni-channel trend in the retail sector is the type of purchase that merges online shopping with a visit to the store. This is known as BOPIS (buy online, pickup in store), that is, buy in store online and pick up in store. Many shoppers like this option because they can receive their purchases in a short time and also save money by avoiding shipping costs.

If you want to retain customers, stay current in the market and implement the latest trends, it’s time to start, adopting omnichannel strategies will help you a lot and even more if you do it with the help of an expert.