Omnichannel Commerce: Providing a Seamless Customer Experience from Web to Mobile to Brick & Mortar Locations

The more channels through which your customers can interact with and find your brand, the more sales you’re likely to make. This article is designed to help you gain a deeper understanding of omnichannel commerce. We’ll cover the benefits of omnichannel solutions, the challenges associated with the omnichannel strategy, and how to overcome them to increase sales and provide an exceptional customer experience. 

What is Omnichannel Commerce?

Let’s begin with a simple omnichannel definition, for anyone looking to get a basic understanding of the term. If we break the word into two parts, “omni” and “channel,” the meaning becomes fairly self-explanatory. “Omni” means “all.” In this context, the term “channel” refers to how a transaction is completed. For example, if a customer makes a purchase using a mobile device, “mobile” would be the channel. Omnichannel commerce, therefore, refers to selling via all channels, so in-person purchases are also applicable. The channel in this circumstance would be your brick-and-mortar store.

Examples of Sales Channels

There are many channels available that can help you reach new and existing customers. Here are just a few examples to consider.

1. Your ecommerce store, via desktop.
2. Mobile app and mobile visits to your ecommerce store.
3. Email and social media.
4. Third-party run online marketplaces, including Amazon, Etsy, etc.
5. In-person visits to your brick and mortar store.

Is an Omnichannel Strategy Right for My Business?

The answer to this question is simple. Whether you run a B2B, B2C, or B2B2C business, omnichannel commerce can help you reach more customers and increase revenue. No matter how big or small your business is, organizations of every size should consider using omnichannel solutions to compete in their market. 

Benefits of Omnichannel Commerce

If you aren’t already selling via all channels, now is the time to start. Here are just a few reasons why.

Increase Sales

First and foremost, omnichannel commerce leads to increased sales. With a brick-and-mortar store alone, you’re missing out on countless ecommerce sales from those who will never have the opportunity to visit your physical store. With an ecommerce store suitable only for desktop users, you’ll miss out on potential customers shopping on mobile devices. Create an omnichannel strategy to ensure you’re accessible wherever your customers need you.

Improve Brand Recognition

An omnichannel approach to commerce can help you ensure your brand stays at the forefront of your customers’ minds as they research their options and get ready to make a purchase. It can also ensure brand consistency and improve brand recognition.

Stay Competitive

Shopping online makes it easy for customers to compare prices at competing stores, but you can’t compete if you can’t be found. Use as many channels as possible to combat this problem. Choose an ecommerce platform that enables omnichannel commerce to target customers on desktop, mobile devices and in-store. Sell on marketplaces and apps to make the most of the phenomenal technology used by Amazon and other big name brands. 

Omnichannel Challenges

The benefits of omnichannel commerce are well worth the effort, but it’s important to be aware of the challenges you may encounter along the way. You’re most likely to experience issues relating to the management of additional channels and omnichannel marketing.

Management Challenges

The idea of managing multiple channels can be overwhelming, but this can be overcome with careful planning and allocation of tasks and responsibilities. Choose an ecommerce platform that will support omnichannel commerce, make order management easy and provide reporting tools. Also, remember to integrate every platform you use with Google Analytics for greater insight.

Omnichannel Marketing Challenges

It’s important to ensure brand consistency across channels while tailoring content to each audience. Customers should enjoy a cohesive experience whether they are visiting your store on a mobile device, on a desktop computer or in person, at a physical brick-and-mortar location. 

Choose the Right Ecommerce Platform for Omnichannel Commerce

Choosing an advanced, capable ecommerce platform on which to build your online store is your first step towards omnichannel commerce success.

ROC Commerce is a cutting-edge omnichannel ecommerce platform that can enable B2B, B2C and B2B2C businesses to seamlessly transition from selling on a single channel to mastering omnichannel commerce. In fact, ROC stands for Real OmniChannel. ROC can provide a seamless experience to customers online and offline, by integrating with back-office systems. With ROC, whether a customer places an order with a sales rep, walks into an outlet store or makes a purchase online, all information will be available via your online portal.