What is Omnichannel retailing and why is it important?
The word omnichannel is one of the biggest buzzwords in the retail industry at the moment, but what does it really mean? Omnichannel is perfectly defined by TechTarget as a multichannel approach to sales that seeks to provide the customer with a seamless shopping experience whether the customer is shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone or in a brick-and-mortar store. Essentially it is all about the customer, and their experience with you.
Creating a seamless experience across channels is important because customer’s expectations have dramatically changed in the last decade, with customer’s expecting a seamless, faultless and efficient sales experience and transaction whether it’s online or in-store. Retailers need to be aware of the importance of this phenomenon for many reasons.
1. The customer experience is an integral part of retail business
Technology is advancing at a phenomenal rate, and consumers are quick enough to keep up with these trends. Consumers easily pick up their smartphones and check for products online at the click of a button. These omnichannel consumers expect an efficient experience from your brick-and-mortar store as well as from your online presence. To achieve a full omnichannel seamless experience, and to fully engage with customers, retailers need to provide customers with product and brand information across multiple platforms.
2. Customer’s purchasing habits
Customers no longer just go into a brick-and-mortar store and purchase everything there. The omnichannel customer chooses to purchase from your business in the most convenient way for them and retailers need to be aware of this. Having an omnichannel presence means customers are able to purchase items from your online platform for your store, as well as your brick-and-mortar store. This way you are not losing out in sales opportunities and are capturing any potential sales across multiple channels.
3. Using a software to manage efficiency of omnichannel retailing
Management software for your omnichannel retailing is more important now than it ever was before. A software system like Ordorite can help you manage your product catalogue in one single location, synchronising all your products be it online or in-store on all your sales channels, allowing you to see live stock at any time. Customer’s information and orders also reside in one location, so it’s easy for you to manage your order processes efficiently and effectively.
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