Here are six conditions needed to ensure customers get the best experience from the switch
OVER the last decade, e-commerce has accelerated so fast that it’s led many to believe that brick-and-mortar stores will no longer be relevant in the future. But in recent years, a new buzzword being thrown around in the marketing world–“omnichannel”–has proven otherwise.
The omnichannel approach refers to a retail approach that seamlessly combines different sales channels, such as physical stores, online stores, and mobile apps, to provide customers with a cohesive and unified shopping experience. Retailers that have long been in the business, especially those that operate as family businesses, are invited to see their physical and online channels as complementary to their business growth rather than as diametric opposites that require a retailer to pit all their hopes on one or the other.
With the flexibility that the omnichannel retail model offers customers, especially in countries like the Philippines, the future of retail seems to lie in that particular combo of offline and online approaches. According to figures published by Business Insider, shoppers using multiple channels, on average, spend 4 percent more in a physical store and 10 percent more when shopping online. More importantly, omnichannel customers tend to visit a physical store 23 percent more frequently within a period of 6 months.
Ultimately, an omnichannel strategy stands to generate more loyal customers than relying on stand-alone online or offline stores. But while the benefits of omnichannel retail models are undeniable, seamless integration across multiple channels is not without its challenges, and legacy businesses like family-owned companies may initially struggle with doing business differently. Let’s cover these challenges one by one:
ONE. Providing a seamless checkout process to customers
One of the challenges in an omnichannel retail strategy is delivering a seamless checkout experience on all platforms, whether in your store, on your e-commerce website, on your mobile app, or through social media. Customers have high expectations and consider frictionless and streamlined checkout experiences across all channels as the norm. However, this can be difficult at first for exclusively physical retailers to provide, with each channel utilizing different checkout interfaces.
One solution is to partner with a reputable financial technology or fintech company that can provide the best payment gateway solution for your online channels, as well as reliable hardware and point-of-sale system (POS) integration for your physical store. Your top choice in the Philippines should be Maya Business for solutions like Maya Checkout for your website and the Maya Terminal payment card machine for your physical store. With one solutions provider to handle payments for both your online and offline stores, you’ll have an easier time streamlining the different aspects of your omnichannel operations and may soon be known as a trustworthy omnichannel retailer.
TWO. Understanding customer behavior
Next, to realize the full potential of omnichannel retail, a business will need to study its customers’ buying behaviors more closely. Some questions that would be of interest to family business retailers and their contemporaries are the following:
- From what marketing channel did they initially discover the brand?
- Did they go to the site using links on social media post?
- How often do they buy from the physical store, and have the same products started to build demand online?
- Are customers seeking out omnichannel shopping experiences like in-store pickup for online purchases?
In previous years, customers needed to answer pen-and-paper surveys for retailers to get their answers. However, these days, you can track customer behavior through marketing attribution tools and attribution links. Through these tracking systems, you can unlock a better understanding of your customer’s shopping journey from start to finish and at what point they’ll want to be in your physical store, on your e-commerce store, or both. This will allow you to form actionable insights that you can use to refine your omnichannel strategies.
THREE. Offering multiple fulfillment options
In the age of e-commerce, where options like same-day delivery are commonplace, customers expect their orders to be delivered to their doorstep almost instantaneously. However, when you’re a small business or a family-run business running an omnichannel operation for the first time, totally error-free fulfillment can be tough to guarantee.
All the same, it’s good to start offering customers the flexibility to choose from options such as buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), curbside pickup, and same-day delivery to enhance their shopping experience. Just remember that it will demand well-coordinated logistics infrastructure on your part.
To be able to successfully execute an omnichannel strategy, you’ll also need to optimize your inventory management and streamline your fulfillment processes to meet your customer expectations. You will also need to learn how to minimize costs and maximize efficiency under the omnichannel model, as these two things may mean different things for purely brick-and-mortar operations. These will be valuable lessons, however, once your business has taken off and brokered new connections with a new generation of customers.
FOUR. Synchronizing inventory management
One of the core business aspects you’ll have to get right in an omnichannel retail model is synchronized inventory management. Nothing will frustrate your customers more than ordering an item that’s actually not in stock. Once you make the shift to omnichannel, you’ll need to be conscientious about maintaining accurate inventory levels and ensuring product availability across both your physical and digital storefronts.
While you may need to invest in upgrading your inventory management systems, having synchronicity across your channels will pay off in the end, with satisfied customers coming back for your products and supporting you across more than one channel.
FIVE. Utilizing data analysis as effectively as possible
Now that it’s easy to obtain omnichannel data on customer behavior, conversion rate, cart abandonment, and the like through modern-day data analytics tools, the question now is how can you use these insights to effectively drive growth for your business.
An agile business wastes no time implementing strategies gleaned from data analysis. As an entrepreneur leading a business like a family-run store, you’ll need to learn how to flex your analytical muscles to determine courses of action that will drive up your business growth.
SIX. Creating a unified customer experience
The ultimate goal of the omnichannel retail journey is to provide your customers with a unified customer experience. From browsing your product lines on your website to paying for the items in your physical store, your customers should be able to go through their shopping experience without encountering delays or roadblocks that could turn them off.
It will be tough to impress your customers through your newest channels the same way you might have in your physical store. On top of being consistent with your service and your stocking processes, remember to infuse your omnichannel operations with the things that your business is best known for–like a personal touch, exceptional knowledge of your products, and legacy values from your first generation of leaders.
The transition from traditional brick-and-mortar retail to an omnichannel model presents its fair share of challenges for businesses like family-run retail companies, but it also offers immense opportunities for growth, innovation, and competitive differentiation. It will be easier to navigate the complexities of the omnichannel model if you address the challenges head-on and leverage the right mix of technology, strategy, and customer-centricity. Ultimately, your business will emerge stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to meet the evolving needs of today’s consumers for at least another generation.
