Omni-Channel Retailing - Information

Over the past few years, the use of omnichannel retailing has increased massively, seeing more retailers moving from just brick-and-mortar stores to having a massive online presence with an eCommerce site and even venturing into the mobile apps market place. The increase has seen the most well-known brands using omnichannel techniques throughout their stores, usually through the use of different touch points such as tablets in the store, where their customers can browse the website, buy clothes and comment on the business itself. The main goals of the omnichannel experience and retail are for the retailer to be anywhere their customers are, allowing different options as to where the customer can purchase from. Increasing different shopping channels are popping up, but only around 20% of retailers consider selling using omnichannel and being high in their priorities. This has decreased over the years and now is at its lowest point, highlighting that even with omnichannel potential most retailers are focusing on individual channels instead of merging them. There is a treasure trove of merging benefits of having an omnichannel strategy and if done correctly can see an increase in sales and revenue on the business. Some of the benefits are:

• Custom Offers - With your customer base growing due to multiple locations your data is coming from, you are able to benefit from a higher volume of data and as a business, you can use this to your advantage. You will be able to personalise offers through each prefered channel allowing for higher chances on click-through and conversation.
• Upselling - shoppers on omnichannel on average spend more in store and even more online than shoppers who only use a single channel. Use this to your businesses advantage to offer customers the best upsells that work for the products they're purchasing.
• Less abandoned carts - the day of one device shopping has come to an end, shoppers now on average start on one device and then finish their purchase on another, they use around 10 - 12 sources to help make a decision on why and how they should make their purchase. Ensuring your customers find the right information on your brand/store is key and using omnichannel will help with this.
• Customer focused content - having data is great, but you need to make sure you use it to target your customers and their interests. Know their devices and offer the best UX for each style of shopping the customer uses.

Not using omnichannel? Want to join in and start offering omnichannel in your retail store, here are a few key points to get it running smoothly offering your customers the best experience possible:

• Organization - If your business isn't organised it can affect how efficiently you can target your desired customers. Running your business smoothly and having your business optimised is key to ensuring omnichannel is a success.
• Customer Data - Make sure your customer analytics are set up and funnels correctly enabled. Without tracking your customer data you won't be able to offer the best experience for your target market.
• Good data - your data is key when making key decisions in regards to your omnichannel make sure the data you are using is effective and reliable. If you use bad or poor data, it will result in poor outcomes.

The use of an omnichannel strategy within your organisation and business can be a complicated one, with so many factors to consider for success. The potential benefits could be a huge benefit to your business and can help improve customer satisfaction. For information on how we can help you implement an omnichannel to your business, contact us on 0330 2232 139 or send an email to hello@awaredigital.co.uk.