Omnichannel Retail Strategy: The What, Why, How to Meet the Needs of Shoppers

All of us have heard people uttering the word “Omnichannel.” It sounds new and revolutionary. But, want to know what it is? 

In the growing digital industry, it becomes hard to differentiate actual actions from buzzwords. If we add to that, the word “multichannel” comes to our mind and confuses us in understanding how both are different. 

Therefore, this write-up tells you about the what, why, and how of Omnichannel retail strategy to meet the customer’s needs from start to end. 

In this blog, our e-commerce developers from the top e-commerce web development company India will brief you:

• What is an Omnichannel Retail Strategy?
• Single Channel vs. Multi-Channel vs. Omnichannel Retail 
• Merits of Omnichannel Retail Strategy 
• Omnichannel Retail Strategy Example 
• How to Create An Omnichannel Retailing Strategy 

What is an Omnichannel Retail Strategy? 

An omnichannel retail strategy is a marketing and sales approach offering customers a fully integrated shopping experience. The omnichannel strategy focuses on customer experiences across several areas involving web, mobile, and brick-and-mortar devices. 

With a genuine omnichannel retail strategy, you can deliver a consistent brand experience to the customers and build relationships that can transcend channels. It should also focus on optimizing the business model using comprehensive integration of the data and channel diversification. 

Want to use Omnichannel Retail Strategy for your business? Find the right solutions at the best e-commerce website development company in Bangalore and get the desired profits. 

Single Channel vs. Multi-Channel vs. Omnichannel Retail 

• Single Channel 

It is a business type to sell products and services through one channel like a retail store.  

• Multi-channel 

Multi-channel is a business type to sells products and services through multiple channels such as e-commerce websites, marketplaces, and brick-and-mortar stores.  

• Omnichannel 

It is a business type that provides seamless shopping across all channels such as online stores, physical stores, mobile apps, catalogs, and marketplaces. 

In Omnichannel, customer interaction changes the customer experience of the product and the brand. 

Merits of Omnichannel Retail Strategy

Here are some key benefits of creating an omnichannel retailing strategy- 

1. Personalized Customer Journey 

An omnichannel retail strategy captures customer data to create detailed customer segments that lead to customer shopping journeys. 

2. Increase in Sales 

Through multiple channels, an omnichannel business can reach a customer base. As a result, it will make more sales and improve the lifetime value of the customers. According to a study, omnichannel users spend 20% more than single-channel customers. 

3. Better Customer Experience 

There are times when customers want options to interact with different brands. Using an omnichannel approach, users can get engaged on several channels and get a consistent experience that improves customer satisfaction and engagement. 

4. Easy to Improve Inventory Management and Optimize Stock Levels 

An omnichannel retail strategy allows the business to understand the organization’s inventory and let it fill product and service orders from anywhere. 

5. Helps in Gaining a Competitive Edge 

Around 80% of the shoppers in a physical store browse online retail channels before making a purchase decision or while getting a product or service. 

6. Offer a Consistent Brand Experience 

The omnichannel retailing strategy offers a unified brand experience across all the platforms. It can help you build customer loyalty and trust. 

Omnichannel Retail Strategy Example 

Here are questions surrounding an omnichannel retail strategy:

1. Can your customers browse a product in-store, scan it with the mobile app, and add it to their bag to purchase later in a new size? 
2. Can customers browse the online store for new styles, explore them on social platforms, and get an in-store coupon to redeem whenever they want? 
3. Can the users search for the products in online shopping stores or others, and then buy them in person? 
4. Does the data easily connect with in-store purchases to allow customers to get notifications when similar styles are released? 

So, the customers should do all these things and also many more. To illustrate more, let us look at an example starting from discovery to checkout and more. 

Steps to Create an Omnichannel Retail Strategy 

Developing a customized user journey across all marketing and sales channels as part of an omnichannel retail strategy is also known as orchestration. 

The main motive for orchestrating the omnichannel strategies is unique for the business because you will select marketing and sales channels that match your objectives and goals. Thus, your organizational operations will vary according to the business requirements. 

Step 1: Segment Your Potential Customers 

One can segment the customer base in several ways. You will have to know which will work best for your organization. Market segmentation is finding different groups in your target market to personalize your offering to the customers. 

Segmenting the users can help you create a tailored and better strategy to find distinct groups rather than a broad option. Some of the essential factors by which business owners can segment their customers are- 

• Income 
• Values 
• Online Behaviour 
• Geographic Region 
• Generation Gap 
• And Interaction with Marketing Campaigns 

Step 2: Determine Which Channels Customers Use 

According to the business size and target, business owners adopt new channels in various ways. They begin with the broadest possible platforms such as Google, Amazon, or Facebook, and as they grow, become more specific and targeted, growing into channels such as Snapchat for Gen Z and Mercado Libre for LATAM. 

For instance- if you buy a gold ring, there are countless places you could look depending on what type you are looking for. 

• If you want something fashion-forward, browse Instagram or Pinterest for refreshing ideas.
• Want something high-end and perfect for your finger, visit a brick-and-mortar store to see and feel what you want.  

It is like with every product and every target market. To reach users at the right location, know where they buy, how they behave, and what lets them buy the specific product. Use analytics to determine which channels are profitable to acquire new customers. 

Step 3: Map the User’s Journey 

Knowing the customers and channels they shop in is essential. It is not all. Business owners should know how and what the customers are doing. Mapping the customer journey can provide insights into the customer’s thought process and let businesses know what is working for them and what is not.  

Let us now consider the previous example of that gold ring we discussed earlier, and imagine you are searching for a modern option. Here is one possible user journey from research to purchase. 

• Search gold rings on Pinterest and Instagram. 
• Research for some eye-catching brands. 
• See retargeting advertisements for jewelry brands that look perfect to you. 
• Sign up for e-mail newsletters from a few websites. 
• Consider reviews and feedback from potential customers. 
• Finally, find the perfect fit for you and make a purchase. 

Multiple ways can divert or reorder the user journey as the customer always expects a seamless experience. 

Step 4: Offer Cross-Channel Customer Support 

With customers looking for the most convenient way to purchase the products, the same goes for customer support. If you want to double down on the presence on several channels, provide the desired support to the users. For this, you can offer cross-channel customer support that lets the organization skip some of the issues and help out the customers, regardless of what they want and what channels they are using. 

Providing users with high-quality and consistent support can increase their lifetime value and turn them into loyal customers. 

Step 5:  Testing

Testing is a continuous process for the omnichannel retail strategy. The two main types of testing are-  

• Browser testing to see the interaction of users with the site. 
• Software testing to know customer decisions handled by the website. 

Test everything. Focus on experimenting with content, subject lines, and offers. Test the segments and determine whether the customer segment is better for targeting or not. 

Conclusion 

Customers want a seamless omnichannel retail shopping experience. Business retailers in today’s time adapt to new user needs and behavior to understand their target customers. Therefore, an omnichannel retail strategy should be comprehensive and holistic. Also, it depends on a foundation fully supported by four sales channel pillars- marketing, advertising, operations, and shipping. 

Want to know more about omnichannel retailing strategy, contact the web developers at the leading e-commerce website development company in your city to get all the doubts clear.