Omnichannel is the next trade marketing term we will address. Previously, we took on the term ‘phygital’. You can read about it on our blog: https://perfecta-retail.com/phygital-what-is-this-beast/
What is omnichannel?
Omnichannel is a marketing and sales strategy that aims to provide customers with a consistent and integrated shopping experience, regardless of the sales channel they choose. Therefore, in an omnichannel approach, retail outlets and other businesses, combine their sales channels, including stationary shops, online shops, mobile apps, social media, and more, to allow customers to move freely between them, without sacrificing consistency and quality of service.
Customer benefits
With an omnichannel approach, customers have the opportunity to shop across channels, using different devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers or traditional shops. Customers today expect flexibility in how they shop, and an omnichannel strategy helps to meet these demands.
Consumers therefore gain access to the same products, prices and promotions across every sales channel, with their purchase data and history shared across each channel. This allows for a more personalised shopping experience, as well as a better understanding of customer behaviour and preferences, which in turn helps businesses to better plan product and promotional offers.
So, omnichannel is an approach that helps businesses deliver a consistent, integrated and personalised shopping experience to customers by combining different sales channels so that consumers can move freely between them, without sacrificing service quality.
Retailer benefits
Omnichannel does not only benefit shoppers. The approach also helps retailers, and in several ways.
Firstly, omnichannel allows the integration of different sales channels, such as stationary shops, online shops, mobile apps and customer service centres, into a coherent and complete system. This makes it easier for customers to move between the different sales channels and continue their shopping experience where they left off.
The second benefit is an understanding of shoppers’ behaviour and buying preferences. This enables retail chains to adapt their sales and marketing strategies to the needs and expectations of their customers.
Thirdly, omnichannel enables a more personalised and effective approach to customers. Retail chains can provide personalised product recommendations, promotional offers and other information that is tailored to each shopper’s individual preferences.
And it all boils down to one thing: the omnichannel approach helps retailers to increase sales, improve customer service and build customer loyalty.
Omnichannel and the organisation of shop space
The organisation of the shop space is crucial for the successful implementation of an omnichannel approach. As part of this strategy, shops must enable customers to easily navigate the store and access products across all sales channels. Therefore, it is important that the organisation of the shop space is integrated with other sales channels and allows customers to access products at different stages of the shopping experience.
One way of organising shop space in this approach is called ‘showrooming’. This involves stationary shops using their space to display products and allowing customers to order and purchase online. In this way, customers can conveniently view and try out the products in the shop and then purchase online.
Another approach is the so-called ‘webrooming’. In this case, customers browse products in the Web shop and then go to the stationary store to see the products live and make a purchase. In this way, the organisation of the shop space must take into account the needs of customers who visit the stationary shop to make a purchase. Store furniture, which can generally be described as ‘self-service kiosks’, is useful for this purpose.
The outlet’s offer is displayed on their screens and the customer can conveniently browse it without having to search for the product of interest in the shop. Once the product has been selected, the shop staff delivers it directly into the waiting consumer’s hands, after which they can proceed immediately to a quick payment via the same kiosk. This is a great convenience and time-saver for both the customer and the retailer.
Another important aspect of organising the shop floor in an omnichannel approach is to enable easy access to product information. Retail outlets need to provide customers with easy access to product information and availability across all sales channels, such as using QR code labels to quickly download product information from a mobile app.
It is also important that the organisation of the store space is consistent across all sales channels. This means that products must be readily available and easy to find across all sales channels, and shops must provide a consistent product presentation and brand image.
In an omnichannel approach, technology plays a key role. A smart manager can use virtual shop tours or mobile apps that allow customers to scan products and get more information to organise the shop space so that customers can find the products they need more easily and quickly, and at the same time feel that they are using state-of-the-art tools.
Omnichannel is yet another manifestation of the digital revolution that retail is currently undergoing. As a producer of retail furniture, Perfecta is closely examining the new possibilities so that our customers are not caught off guard by the future.
