How an Omnichannel Strategy Paves the Way to Retail Growth

Omnichannel is a buzzword in today’s world where the internet and eCommerce have changed how we shop. But what is this buzzword and what exactly does it refer to?

In the days of the past, brands used to emphasize the store experience to become successful. However, even now when eCommerce has revolutionized our purchasing behaviors, an omnichannel strategy that includes retail experience is still relevant.

Omnichannel retail example

Nowadays, people shop quite differently than how they did in the past. You can better understand today’s market through some omnichannel retail examples. So, here’s an omnichannel retail template most relevant to today’s customers.

Imagine a customer wanting to buy a pair of athletic shoes. Before heading to the retail store to check and purchase the product, the customer might look for the product, its variants, and its reviews online. Once they have a few options, they might head to the store to check out the product. The in-store experience is as important as a smooth online experience to convince the customer to purchase the product. Now, the customer might get the product in-store or opt for an online shopping discount.

Retail omnichannel trends

Because omnichannel retail is a new concept, brands are setting new trends to improve the brand experience.

Data-driven personalization: In today’s world brands are using data to personalize the customer’s shopping journey so customers feel a personal connection to the brand. This strategy includes offering personalized discounts to customers and creating marketing messages that resonate with them. Mobile apps are a great way to gather this data.

Improving the physical store: Even though online shopping continues to grow, physical stores aren’t dead! In 2024, we’ve seen a lot of brands that started digitally, opening brick-and-mortar stores. The stores are replete with experiences like social events and product trials that contribute to the shopping experience.

Beyond reality: Many brands are now using Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to allow customers to virtually try on clothes or see how furniture would look in their homes. Perhaps the most common example of a VR experience is SmartBuy, an online glasses store that offers customers the option to virtually try on the glasses.

Omnichannel retail solutions

Because omnichannel retail is the next big thing, there are a lot of software services that promise omnichannel retail solutions. Here are some of the most popular software services for establishing an omnichannel retail strategy:

BigCommerce: BigCommerce has partnered with Feedonomics to create the perfect omnichannel retail experience for its customers. BigCommerce now offers inventory syncing so the offline and online sales are always in sync. It also offers seamless integration of multiple storefronts so the brand can deliver a consistent shopping and customer service experience to the customer.

Pimberly: One of the most common challenges that brands face with an omnichannel retail strategy is an inconsistency of product data. However, with Pimberly’s PIM system, brands can create a single source of truth that feeds multiple channels, retail or online. It also helps streamline operations for a successful omnichannel strategy.

How to deliver an omnichannel retail experience

An omnichannel strategy is nothing but the seamless integration of all the brand’s touchpoints. This means that wherever a potential customer interacts with the brand, they find a similar, fulfilling experience. However, this omnichannel approach is easier said than done.

Imagine a superstore having 50+ stores across the country with the requirement that each store’s prices be in sync. Is it possible?

While this might not have seemed possible before, now that cloud computing and AI are here, we can imagine this as a reality. One solution that has brought this to reality is a cloud-based digital asset management system that Pimberly offers.

With the power of AI and digital asset management, it has become easy for retail solutions to offer an omnichannel strategy.

Future of omnichannel retailing

Now that we’ve talked about how cloud-based systems have made it possible for businesses to develop an effective omnichannel retail strategy, let’s talk about the future of omnichannel retailing.

While AI and Augmented Reality (AR) have already become a part of the retail experience today, in the future, AI will further enhance omnichannel strategy. We know that Pimberly is already using its patented AI technology to create product descriptions that perfectly describe the product. However, advancements in AI could lead to predictive marketing, in-store robots, and even smarter voice assistants.

Predictive marketing: Predictive marketing means that based on your purchase history, your favorite store recommends products when there’s a need to restock them.

In-store robots: In-store robots could help with checkouts and improve the retail shopping experience to complement the online experience.

Smarter voice assistants: Imagine a smarter Alexa that could guide you on what suits you while you’re shopping. These smarter voice assistants could also make use of VR and AR to show the customers how they could use a certain product and how it would improve their lives. Voice assistants could also use predictive algorithms to suggest grocery orders when you need them.

How to run an omnichannel retail business?

Running an omnichannel retail business would be hard work, especially now that retail trends are ever-evolving. The key to surviving in this omnichannel retail world is to develop a retailing strategy that is always keeping check of the newest trends, especially the trends that competitors adopt.

However, the best way to run an omnichannel retail business is to stay ahead of the curve, adapt to new technology, and make sure data is the key to making strategic decisions.

Importance of omnichannel retailing

The rule of 7 in marketing asserts that a potential customer makes a purchase decision only after interacting with the brand at least 7 times. Because of the competition and marketing clutter in the world today, it is believed that this rule of 7 will soon become irrelevant.

In today’s world, omnichannel retailing is important because it allows the customer to interact with the brand at multiple touchpoints, giving them more holistic shopping experiences. An example is that a customer gets to know about a brand via influencer marketing. They search for more product reviews to get informed about the product. They look where the product is stocked to check it out too see if perhaps there is an online purchasing discount.

More channels means more markets – each with their own requirements

The variety of marketplaces showcases how omnichannel retailing works. However, brands are now more focused on personalized experiences to set their omnichannel retailing strategy apart from the competition. Today, brands have launched their apps and are prompting users to create profiles to offer them loyalty discounts and personalized recommendations. They gather user data to further categorize their target audience and give them offers that are better than what the competitor is offering.

For instance, if a customer searches for hair-related solutions on a brand focused on healthcare, it is only fitting that they get product recommendations related to hair and discounts to propel them to make the purchase. For brands, this means more profitability.

Advantages of omnichannel retailing

We know now how important omnichannel retailing is to brands. Here is a summary of the advantages that brands reap through omnichannel retailing:

• Businesses have more knowledge about the customer journey to create better shopping experiences.
• Omnichannel businesses understand and meet customer expectations better than single-channel businesses.
• Omnichannel buyers spend more and are more loyal than single-channel customers.
• The presence of a physical store allows businesses to personalize interactions between the brand and the customer.
• Businesses with an omnichannel presence have a stronger brand reputation that allows them to stay ahead of the competition.

Implementing an omnichannel retail strategy

Businesses now know that an omnichannel strategy is much more effective than a single-channel or a digital channel presence. However, implementing an omnichannel retail strategy requires investment. But what’s even harder is that running an omnichannel retail model requires a solid operational infrastructure.

Here are some of the main challenges businesses face while implementing an omnichannel retail strategy:

Data silos

One of the main challenges that businesses face when going omnichannel is data handling. While online businesses only have to handle data management over multiple online channels, omnichannel businesses have to ensure that data is consistent over offline and online channels because inconsistencies can confuse customers and damage brand trust.

Inventory management

The inventory over offline and online channels is the sale. So, a cross-channel collaboration requires a data management system that manages product information including details and inventory data in near real-time to avoid stockouts and customer frustration.

Organizational Silos

A successful omnichannel approach requires all the departments including marketing, sales, IT, and physical store operations to work together. If these departments are divided into offline and online channels, it will cause discrepancies in data management and strategies which are bound to affect brand image.

Omnichannel marketing for retail

An omnichannel retail strategy is most successful when combined with a marketing strategy that promotes an omnichannel presence.

Market the seamless experience

Marketing could prompt customers to visit in-store for unique shopping experiences. Marketing can also emphasize how customers can shop on their terms, whether they prefer shopping online or in-store.

Leveraging the customer data

Omnichannel businesses have access to customer data through multiple channels. So, they have a great option to leverage this data to personalize marketing messages.

For instance, the customer could scan an app when shopping online to redeem points they have gathered from online and in-store shopping. Their shopping history in-store could help marketers offer personalized discount vouchers for shopping or offering special discounts on birthdays and anniversaries.

Omnichannel support options

It is also up to marketing to make it easy for customers to reach the brand through their preferred channel. For instance, if they ordered a product online but want to return it, they should be able to do so through online and offline channels.

All these omnichannel marketing strategies help in the overall success of omnichannel retailing. However, for measuring success in omnichannel retail, you can use profit metrics, customer loyalty metrics, and operating metrics to assess the ROI of omnichannel retailing.

New omnichannel technology in retail

While it is up to marketing to generate omnichannel customer engagement, software services like Pimberly and BigCommerce can help bring about operational and data efficiencies. It is through these software services that businesses can bring about a digital transformation in retail.

These software services offer AI and other new technologies to help improve the brand’s overall omnichannel strategy.

Summary: Challenges in omnichannel retailing

Omnichannel retailing is the next big thing in retailing. So, even though eCommerce is booming, retail channels have not yet lost their charm. Customers now want to interact with brands on multiple levels before making a purchase decision. However, the challenges with omnichannel retailing do not allow businesses to grow and make the most of this strategy.

While there are a plethora of challenges in integrating offline and online retail channels, there are a lot of software services like Pimberly and BigCommerce that help handle the marketing and operational side of things. Cotton Traders and LoveShopping are two of the several case studies on omnichannel retail that have succeeded in omnichannel retail by using Pimberly’s advanced DAM, PIM, and patented AI systems.

If you want to implement an omnichannel strategy for your brand, connect with Pimberly to get a demo of the software and learn how it can help you elevate your retail and online business to the next level.