Omnichannel in retail or how to be close to the customer 24/7
The rapid development of technology opens up new opportunities for doing business. An online presence and a large network of offline stores no longer provide a competitive advantage. The future lies in omnichannel in retail. How does it help increase sales and profits? How to implement the principle of omnichannel in retail, and what are the advantages? Read in our article!
What is omnichannel in retail?
Sales are always communicating and meeting customer needs. Previously, one channel of communication and sales was available - traditional retail stores. In multichannel sales, retail interacts with the consumer through the site, e-mail services, chatbots… And this, it would seem, is enough. But omnichannel in retail is a qualitatively new step, and here's why.
The prefix "Omni" itself means "everything". Omnichannel retail - combining all channels of communication with the client into one, and the ability to ensure continued interaction with the consumer and a seamless transition from one channel to another. This preserves the history of orders and communication with the customer, which allows the retailer to predict customer expectations and work effectively with possible negatives.
Omnichannel and multichannel: what's the difference?
Multichannel retail uses all the advantages of technology, allows retail networks to meet customer needs through any convenient way of communication: by phone, through a website or robotic systems. And all these channels are managed separately.
Omnichannel retail is an improved model of multichannel, in which all communication channels are fully integrated. This gives the consumer the opportunity to shop without hindrance, and the retailer can offer the best customer experience.
Advantages of introducing omnichannel in retail
The consumer always seeks the best terms of purchase: high quality, reasonable price, related service, and loyalty programs. Omnichannel retail allows you to combine marketing efforts and produce the best possible business response to changes in consumer behavior.
So what does a retailer get from omnichannel?
- the ability to sell more goods, as the products are available for order 24/7 in any convenient way for the buyer;
- synchronization of all channels, regardless of whether they use a joint management strategy or a separate distribution of inventories;
- understanding "how the customer thinks" to improve customer service.
The experience of recent years has shown how important it is for a business to remain strong in the face of the challenges of the future. This requires maintaining flexibility, adaptability, and prompt decision-making in important retail business decisions. Such mobility provides continuous collection and fast processing of large data sets, and IT solutions for business automation are the best in this.
How to introduce the concept of omnichannel in retail?
Centralized purchasing and sales data management is important for the quality implementation of omnichannel. For the retailer, this means blurring the distinction between physical stores and online sales channels.
Managing purchases from various channels and uninterruptedly fulfilling orders is not an easy task for retail. The buyer can start searching for the product on the Internet, getting to your site, and complete the ordering by phone or through another channel. Your task is to be close to your customer and aware of his order throughout the chain. Consulting for Retail business process automation solutions will help you with this.
Our portfolio includes all the tools for implementing omnichannel in retail:
- Get a holistic view of your customers with Loyalty Program Automation systems.
- Ensure the availability of goods in the warehouses and shelves of retail stores with solutions for forecasting demand and replenishment.
- The optimal range for your customers, taking into account preferences, seasonality and many other factors, forms the decision of Category management in retail.
- Maintain a competitive advantage by offering the best prices for the entire range. All price lists, taking into account the rules of pricing and restrictions, form a solution for pricing management.
You can focus on strategic planning for omnichannel business, as all customer profile data and preferences are stored and processed by the automation system. IT solutions from Consulting for Retail provide users with convenient reports for decision-making or perform customized actions in automatic mode. Business process automation solutions allow you to take full advantage of omnichannel. And this expands the opportunities for interaction with the buyer and, consequently, increases sales growth and business profitability.
Want to know more about how our company's business consulting services and solutions help retailers increase productivity and turnover? Write to [email protected] or fill out the form below.