Omnichannel commerce is not a new thing. Larger retailers have embraced this technology for years now, with smaller retailers just a step behind them. Offering a seamless customer experience across all your touchpoints (online, offline, marketplaces, etc) is a given in today’s market. Australians in particular have embraced the marketplace economy - retailers need to be where their customers are shopping or they’ll lose not only the sale, but the customer as well.
Omnichannel is also known as ‘Brick and Click’ which is a business strategy that integrates online channels such as ecommerce websites, social media, email and digital ads to brick-and-mortar physical retail stores.
By blurring the distinction between online and offline channels, brands are able to convert online visitors into physical shoppers - unifying strategies and tactics in digital marketing and physical retail marketing. Popular omnichannel features include BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store - better known as click & collect), instore returns (regardless of place of purchase), view store inventory online, click & reserve and many more.
The modern consumer journey has become more complex than before- with this, consumer expectations are also growing. Research shows that 81% of consumers research a purchase before heading instore and spend 79 days gathering information before making large purchases. If you’re not meeting the customer where they are, you’ve already lost.
Physical stores are a great way for brands to differentiate themselves and offer their customers an amazing brand experience. Allowing customers to see, touch and interact with physical products increases brand loyalty and customer relations. The offline experience needs to match the online experience however - this is where omnichannel comes into play.
For retail brands that are looking into their next phase of growth, omnichannel has become an essential strategy. Below are some of the key benefits of an omnichannel commerce strategy:
Customers are becoming increasingly savvy in researching their products to make the best purchases. 79% of prospective consumers prefer looking at big-ticket items online before they commit to purchasing offline. Customers today are constantly subconsciously shopping - especially when they are on social media. Having an omni-channel strategy means consumers learn about products before they even see them in store.
Having an omnichannel strategy means brands can reach more consumers that they typically would with a single channel strategy. Even big brands that are already well-established and highly rated benefit from omnichannel strategies, particularly those that allow consumers to walk in-store and try on products to get their best fit. Make up, fashion, tech and various other industries all take advantage of digital marketing tools to promote in-store sales, activities and events. A large portion of sales are closed by allowing consumers to experience the product - when various channels operate in tandem, brands are able to engage with more customers, increase channels and make sales.
Having a physical store will help brands improve efficiency and lower logistical and fulfilment costs. With more businesses becoming reliant on third-party providers to fulfil their orders, there is a growing need to lower these expenses. By offering in-store pick ups, orders can be processed more efficiently and cost effectively to give customers a better experience. These savings can be reinvested into greater incentives or competitive pricing to further drive revenue growth.
SHOPLINE’s omnichannel solution helps retail brands grow their sales with robust integrations across online and offline channels. Bridging the online and offline gap is a key challenge for omnichannel brands, and SHOPLINE is here to help.
With SHOPLINE, your website acts as a launchpad to kick-off your omnichannel efforts. SHOPLINE provides brands with the tools to build a powerful and fully featured website, or migrate from your existing store. From there, SHOPLINE helps your brand to integrate your online and offline presence by managing orders and inventory across all their channels. Manage your Search Engine Optimisation and use intelligent advertising tools to grow your traffic on SHOPLINE’s powerful dashboard. At the same time, measure your performance with the Shoplytics analytics tool.
Social media is becoming increasingly ubiquitous and customers are subconsciously shopping when they browse their favourite content on these sites. With SHOPLINE, your business can be connected to social commerce channels such as Facebook and Instagram so that you can sell there. Engage with your audience across all social media channels, and manage your Facebook and Instagram messages on one platform. Automatically sync your products and inventory on your ecommerce site with your social selling platforms.
SHOPLINE Point of Sales (POS) acts as a centralised hub to connect physical stores with online sales channels. SHOPLINE POS is a cloud-based system that helps businesses to integrate their online and offline presence by managing orders and inventory across all their channels, including product inventory, stocks, prices, order status, shipping status, and customer information. This hub also allows you to have an overview of your physical stores with your online stores - you can track performance across stores, transfer product inventory and manage inventory. Also, grow customer loyalty across channels with unified membership management.
In addition, SHOPLINE’s platform offers a wide range of flexible omnichannel fulfilment solutions, allowing your customer to select the delivery option that suits them best - home delivery, express delivery, click & collect, parcel locker collection and more. These delivery options by SHOPLINE help to create seamlessness between physical and digital storefronts. SHOPLINE has also partnered with a wide range of fulfilment providers such as Australia Post, Shippit and Sendle.
Try SHOPLINE with our free 14 day trial. Explore all the features of our omnichannel solution and see where it could take you business.
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