Omnichannel Retailing – Importance and Benefits Explained

The retail industry is constantly changing from physical and old-fashioned stores to smartphones, emails, SMS marketing, and more. The advent of digital transformation, Internet connectivity, and mobile technologies have transformed the retail business as well as the behavior of consumers. Consumers today want consistent brand experiences, whether they are browsing social media and websites or purchasing in-store.

What is Omnichannel Retailing?
Omnichannel retailing uses different marketing channels to approach sales that intend to provide a seamless customer experience. As customers converse with brands through several sales and marketing channels (websites, social media, email, apps, etc.), they demand that their experiences flow between different channels effortlessly without any interruption.
Why is Omnichannel Retailing Important?
We live in a “phygital” world that combines physical and digital experiences simultaneously. Instead of a separate physical or digital world, we have a connected world in retail today. If you think you can create an omnichannel experience by simply selling through different channels, you’re mistaken. Omnichannel’s sales and marketing engagement touchpoints are interconnected, creating a seamless customer experience. It focuses on the complete customer experience instead of individual experiences from different channels.

Moreover, customers will spend 15-30% more through omnichannel than multichannel retailing. Studies also show that 75% of consumers visit a store if they know about the store on the web. Through multiple channels, omnichannel retailing amplifies income from online retail as well as boosts significant walk-ins to store, further driving revenue.

Benefits of Omnichannel Retailing
There are myriad benefits of using omnichannel retailing. Let’s look at some of the fundamental ones.

Augmented Conversions and Sales
As omnichannel retailing offers a ceaseless way to purchase, customers are more likely to buy more. You can achieve this by using shared data across different marketing channels. For instance, a loyalty program implemented with retail and online channels can guarantee that customers can redeem and earn more points in a breeze, encouraging them to return to you again.

Increased Customer Loyalty
Customers of omnichannel experience tend to buy more, but they also stick to your brand. A study by Harvard states that omnichannel customers reported 23% more repeat shopping visits to the brand and, that too, within six months after their first omnichannel shopping experience. With increasing loyal customers, you can re-target existing customers by offering them exclusive discounts and offers. Here, omnichannel hits two targets with one arrow – more sales and increased customer loyalty.

Data-driven Insights
As omnichannel retailing enables sharing data and procedures between different channels, you can use customer data collected at each touchpoint and implement smart, data-driven decision-making. For example, website analytics that gives you information on page views, clicks, etc., can be used for precise inventory procurement and merchandising at your physical store. Likewise, brands can leverage feedback collected by in-store sales representatives for targeted marketing promotions and campaigns.

Personalized Shopping Experience Undoubtedly, everybody wants a personalized experience at each step of the buying process. It’s not about just good quality products and services, but more about delivering a valuable experience. Do you get frustrated and close the website when you don’t get anything of your interest while shopping online? Well, that indicates that a personalized shopping experience is a must-have for businesses across industries.

Omnichannel’s integrated channels give necessary insights about customers, ensuring customers find what they want fast, are happy with the experience, and brands witness a higher conversion rate.

Wrapping Up
While omnichannel offers various benefits, shifting from a single-channel strategy can be pretty daunting for brands as it requires a lot of resources, time, and effort. OptCulture’s customer 360 and experience management solutions fill gaps left behind moving to a multi-channel retail solution and help achieve omnichannel retail. You can request a demo and see how OptCulture’s solutions can provide your customers with a seamless shopping experience.