All you need to know about omnichannel retailing
Shopping was simple—visit a store, try products, and buy face-to-face. Today, we shop across multiple platforms, thanks to technology, but with so many channels, managing everything can get chaotic for sellers.
To stay organized, omnichannel retailing offers a streamlined approach. By adopting its strategies, retailers can keep up with modern shopping habits.
Ready to dive in? Start by understanding omnichannel retailing and finding the right tools to make your path to success clear and efficient.
What is omnichannel retailing?
Omnichannel retailing is the act of retail selling on all channels to tailor a seamless shopping experience for customers. By using a fully integrated, consumer-first approach, retailers can offer a complete end-to-end consumer journey, providing a consistent and continuous brand experience while building a personal connection with each customer.
Why is omnichannel retail important?
Today, many retail companies have incorporated the multichannel model by promoting their products on various platforms, including online and offline stores. It is often an attempt to push sales and increase exposure for their products. Customers can then choose to buy from whichever option they prefer.
However, issues arise when companies struggle to update real-time stock balances or manage more than one marketplace with consistency.
They have to come up with a structure or use tools such as the Salesforce integration to make sure that there will be no mistakes or disorders causing penalties such as insufficient stock for customers, delayed responses on various platforms, or waste of expenses on channels that generate no return.
As sales, marketing, and customer services are made accessible on multiple outlets, the analytics and performance can also become confusing or troublesome to handle.
The time, effort, and organizational skills required to combine everything for review will eventually create increasingly burdening tasks. This means that more manpower is needed, and the costs for all these can be daunting.
Moreover, the lack of efficiency in multi-warehouse management can also lead to a delay in delivery or slow service, adding more unhappy customers to the pile of worrying setbacks. Over time, it can even affect brand reputation and bring detrimental consequences that no brand would ever want.
Nevertheless, there is a practical solution to this tricky situation. Keep reading to find out more!
Difference between multichannel and omnichannel retailing
Omnichannel retailing, an all-in-one model that integrates a greater range of channels, has been designed to free businesses from troubles and offer customers a frictionless shopping experience. It is an innovation that most retailers now use to boost sales growth rapidly without being bothered by the risks of customer churn during expansion.
On the other hand, multichannel retailing is more scattered, although it also involves selling through more than one channel or platform. The differences between omnichannel and multichannel retailing are minor, but the outcome generated from increased efficiency and improved workflow is significant.
If you’re part of the retail industry but have not dipped your toes in the omnichannel strategy, it’s time to explore its countless benefits!
Find out how ZENXIN Organic flourished with its extraordinary omnichannel approach.
I highly recommend SleekFlow to fast-growing SMEs. It helps manage a large customer base daily and streamline workflow efficiently.
Ellen Lau
Director of Training and Operations Excellence
Benefits of omnichannel retailing for customer experience
In a world where customers can’t survive without having both in-store and online shopping, retailers must learn to take full advantage of the omnichannel approach. Its great deal of benefits include:
Boosted sales with a seamless retail journey
A higher level of customer satisfaction
Quicker responses to customer inquiries and requests
Stronger brand loyalty with personalized customer experience
More coherent workflows and maximized efficiency
Omnichannel marketing is undoubtedly beneficial for digital marketing, customer support, and stock management. Through features such as automation, personalized messages can be broadcasted across whatever channel your customers prefer.
Omnichannel marketing
As 68% of consumers were found to prefer buying from brands that offer convenient communications, having a myriad of communication mediums will surely help accelerate sales by ensuring wide coverage of channels, whether printed brochures or online ads such as WhatsApp broadcasting, Facebook Lead Ads, and many more, brands that utilize the omnichannel approach are bound to gain as much customer attention as possible.
Learn more about strategies of omnichannel marketing.
Omnichannel customer service
Enhancing the customer experience with consistently reliable and fast support across all channels will offer more engaging interactions and improve customer retention. Customer retention is 5 to 25 times cheaper than customer acquisition, and more than half of the consumers will possibly buy from brands that they trust.
Also, omnichannel customer service can be an additional effort to diversify your marketing tactics as delighted customers are more likely to contribute to word-of-mouth marketing by sharing their great experiences with friends and families, verbally face to-face or on social media, indirectly taking on the role of resellers for your brand.
Omnichannel inventory management
With click-and-collect trends on the rise, it can be quite difficult to keep track of up-to-date stocks, especially for sellers of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). The integration of multiple selling platforms into one unified hub will develop an organized, efficient system for inventory management, easing all procedures for faster order processing and delivery.
Top omnichannel retailing examples
1. Starbucks engages customers with rewards and a seamless app experience
Source: Starbucks
Starbucks exemplifies omnichannel retail by seamlessly integrating convenience and personalization across various touchpoints. The coffee giant has mastered creating a cohesive experience, allowing customers to interact effortlessly across multiple channels such as social media platforms, email campaigns, and mobile apps. Starbucks’ omnichannel strategy connects the user experience with the app and in-store interactions.
For instance, customers can use the mobile app to order ahead, ensuring their drinks are ready for pickup in-store while earning rewards for payments made with a Starbucks card—whether physical or digital. This integration allows customers to move seamlessly between the app and in-store visits, enhancing convenience and loyalty.
The mobile app further elevates the experience with features like store locators, gift options, and menu exploration. In-store visits are enriched by app-based integrations such as Spotify, which lets users save songs that are playing in Starbucks locations.
Social media and email campaigns further support this strategy, keeping customers updated on promotions, events, and new offerings.
Starbucks’ strategy demonstrates the essence of omnichannel retail: delivering a smooth, engaging, and connected experience that keeps customers coming back.
2. Timberland enhances in-store shopping with NFC technology
Source: Timberland
Timberland uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to create a seamless and engaging in-store experience. Shoppers can use tablets provided by the store to tap against products and instantly access detailed information without needing to find a store clerk.
This approach gives customers independence while still offering support when needed.
Personalization software also provides tailored product recommendations, creating a unique and interactive shopping journey that learns each shopper's preferences.
By highlighting overlooked products and personalizing the experience, Timberland ensures customers feel informed and valued during their visit.
3. Uniqlo integrates digital and physical shopping for a seamless customer journey
Founded in 1949, Uniqlo is known for its high-quality casual wear at affordable prices, and it is backed by a strong brand promise that is integrated across all company functions. From product planning to customer service, Uniqlo ensures every touchpoint aligns with its commitment to exceptional customer experiences.
This focus has helped Uniqlo become the world’s largest apparel chain in just 24 years. Uniqlo’s omnichannel strategy uses an O2O (online-to-offline) approach to connect digital and physical shopping.
At the heart of this is the Uniqlo mobile app, which bridges their e-shop and retail stores. Customers can move effortlessly between digital platforms, like social media and the app, and their in-store experience.
By syncing in-store interactions with digital tools, Uniqlo drives membership growth, app engagement, and sales. Customers enjoy a smooth, efficient shopping journey across all channels.
Uniqlo’s O2O strategy also provides valuable customer insights. By tracking data from digital touchpoints and in-store visits, Uniqlo gains a complete view of customer behavior. This helps them personalize experiences and refine their strategies for even better service.
Uniqlo is very successful in running its O2O strategies. It uses online and offline marketing to complement each other. It is ingenious in taking advantage of getting access to data through their touchpoints. We strongly advise retailers to learn from Uniqlo and get started to adapt similar omnichannel marketing strategies. - Karena Tseung, APSIS Professional Services Consultant
How do you build your omnichannel retail strategy?
A solid omnichannel marketing strategy helps you engage with customers, grow revenue, and build trust. In order for an omnichannel retailer to be successful, you need to:
Personalize communications and support: Gather customer data across channels and customize your messages. Personalized WhatsApp broadcasts or discounts based on their preferences can make all the difference.
Use interactive tools: Add reply buttons and list messages to engage customers. Interactive content is a game changer, driving twice the engagement of regular content.
Leverage chatbots and live chat: Provide instant, round-the-clock support with chatbots and live chat. Quick responses build trust and turn first-time visitors into loyal buyers.
Supercharge your social media presence: Be present where your audience hangs out. Automate responses and engage directly to turn followers into long-term customers.
Map out a comprehensive customer journey: Make the buying process easy from start to finish. Ensure every touchpoint leads smoothly to the next, helping customers complete their purchases quickly.
Get started with SleekFlow to become a top omnichannel retailer
Having seen the difficulties and hardships retailers, e-commerce, and O2O businesses are going through, SleekFlow has established an omnichannel all-in-one platform to assist them in overcoming these challenges and demanding customer requirements.
Other than the free plan with no expiration, there are also omnichannel retail solutions catered to a wide range of business needs, making the achievement of success in omnichannel retailing straightforward and effortless.
All-in-one omnichannel inbox for chat management
Business-to-consumer (B2C) or direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses often involve a large number of customer-facing tasks. This unquestionably includes online inquiries or order requests from various social media or messaging apps.
On SleekFlow, employees can simultaneously log in to the same business account for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, and more to handle conversations and reply to customers as quickly as possible. From the customers’ end, they will just be communicating through their own preferred channels. Customers can be satisfied without retailers going through the hassle of signing in and out of various social media accounts - it’s a win-win situation!
Already on most social media platforms? Explore the importance of social CRM.
Generate more profit with payment links and product catalogs
According to Shopify, impulse buying accounts for 40% to 80% of purchases. If sellers create a path that requires little consideration, consumers will naturally buy more to make their day better.
Using product catalogs and payment links on SleekFlow’s all-in-one inbox, the sales team can guide customers from product exploration all the way to checkout and payment within just a few clicks. The convenient and frictionless experience can even cultivate brand loyalty where the customers return for more purchases.
E-commerce store integration for order management
Native Shopify integration allows sellers to manage orders with the most convenience and the highest level of efficiency, as the order details will all be displayed right next to the chat. This means that when customers reach out to ask about products or order status, the customer support team can instantly attend to them by referring to the details on the same page.
In addition, automated abandoned cart reminders can be sent out to offer discounts and encourage customers to check out right away. While half of the consumers who received abandoned cart emails will most likely complete the purchase, brands should make good use of this opportunity to give the customers a final push. Also, since WhatsApp messages have an open rate of 98% as compared to just 22% for emails, retailers must seize the opportunity to recover lost revenue.
Read more about how the SleekFlow-Shopify integration can benefit your business.
CRM integration for greater customer satisfaction
Consolidating customer details into a single profile is also one of the most efficient omnichannel retail strategies.
On SleekFlow, you can integrate your Salesforce or HubSpot CRM system to view all the details and purchase journeys right next to the chatbox. No matter where the customer chooses to reach out to your brand, all the information required can be accessed within seconds on the same platform.
Learn how you can include WhatsApp Broadcast into your HubSpot Workflows with integration (upcoming feature).
Detailed analytics for better workflow
Online shopping is all about ease and convenience these days. Shoppers expect merchants to respond faster, understand their personalized demands, and assist with consistency and accuracy. This means that precise and comprehensive analytics are essential to studying customer behaviors and preferences.
Analyzing the buyers’ path to purchase from the numbers and data collected is extremely useful in refined targeting, as brands can then land themselves with those who are already interested in their products, expanding the customer base and generating more sales in the shortest time possible.
Want to outcompete your peers with SleekFlow's help?
Book your personalized demo with SleekFlow today and unlock the potential of seamless communication
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