Although online shopping meets certain needs, a brand’s physical outlets serve a different purpose. A store is somewhere for consumers to have a conversation about a product line. Yet more importantly it’s also an expedient location to easily return an unwanted item or resolve an issue immediately – a level of convenience that simply cannot be found online. Rather than competing against one another, the two sales channels are symbiotic. Online and in-store needs to exist side-by-side, and operate without separation, which has become the crux of the modern omnichannel retail experience.
If a consumer wants to browse and view a product they’re interested in via the online store on their laptop, buy it using their smartphone, have it delivered to their home, then decide to return it by visiting their local store, they should be able to. If nothing else, omnichannel is about creating parity between the online and in-store shopping experience, and it has never been more important than it is now.
As a concept, this is nothing new. However, many retailers have been looking at omnichannel in the wrong way and are still considering their different sales channels (including online and in-store) as separate entities rather than a single unified representation of their brand. This has been a fundamental barrier to creating a consistent and joined up omnichannel effort that truly delivers on modern consumer expectations for convenience. The adage goes “the customer is always right,” but retailers are not adhering to this if their customers are demanding fluidity between in-store and online shopping yet being denied that very privilege.
Fortunately, retailers are now waking up to this reality. Omnichannel is driving a transformation within the industry and all players need to look at building a consistent and fluid experience across all interactions between their brand and the consumer. By using the right technology, it’s not only possible to create a joined up retail experience that will help brands reach the right consumer, with the right message, at the right time, but also eliminate the concept of different sales channels once and for all and replace them with a single brand experience, regardless of where that interaction takes place.”
By Terry Hunter, UK MD, Astound Commerce
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