Over the past decade, technological advancements have drastically changed how consumers shop. Gone are the days when a friendly salesman and a toll-free number were enough to satisfy the buying demands of consumers. With the emergence of multiple platforms, consumers now have a plethora of options to purchase items.

In today’s digital age, shopping is no longer confined to a physical store. Instead, you must adopt various channels to meet your customers’ needs. It led to the “omnichannel” strategy to offer a seamless shopping experience across multiple platforms. Companies that excel in omnichannel customer engagement experience an annual revenue growth of 9.5%.

Sales professionals always prefer to have meaningful conversations with potential customers. However, in today’s digital age, connecting with customers through traditional sales channels alone can be challenging in today’s digital age. Here, we will discuss how Omnichannel sales can help you increase sales conversations.

An omnichannel approach to sales

An omnichannel sale is an approach that utilizes multiple channels to connect with your potential customers, such as email, social media, phone calls, or other self-service options. It aims to provide your customers with a seamless experience across all channels, allowing them to engage with your company in their preferred way. 

According to a study by Harvard Business Review, customers who shop across multiple channels have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who shop in a single channel. Additionally, a study by Google found that customers who shop across multiple channels are four times more likely to purchase than those who shop in a single channel.

So, in today’s digitally savvy world, you must have a customer-centric approach and deliver unified, targeted, and relevant communication at every customer touchpoint.

Retail
We are moving towards a combined world of “phygital” that combines the physical and digital realms, where there is no longer a clear distinction between the physical and digital worlds in retail. 

The omnichannel retail approach involves interacting with customers through various physical and digital contact points. As customers navigate these different channels, their data and applications seamlessly transfer.

eCommerce
Unlike multichannel eCommerce, which is more channel-centric, omnichannel eCommerce focuses on delivering a consistent brand experience irrespective of the channels. It is a customer-centric approach focusing on providing a high-quality customer experience.

Omnichannel trends shaping retail and eCommerce

Omnichannel sales help improve sales conversations by enabling companies to connect with customers in their preferred channel. Also, it helps build trust and credibility, often leading to increased sales conversations.

Based on research conducted by eMarketer and Statista, it is projected that by 2023, online retail sales will reach $6.51 trillion, and eCommerce websites will account for 22.3% of the overall retail sales. 

Omnichannel retail trends
Some of the emerging trends in omnichannel retail are the following:

• Today, more digitally native brands are entering the offline brick-and-mortar space. In addition, the growing preference for hybrid shopping channels is changing the role of physical stores.  
• Retail stores are emerging as one of the several touchpoints in customers’ buyer journey. In the post-pandemic world, with the loosening up of restrictions, physical retail grew faster than eCommerce, with even GenZ shoppers preferring to shop in physical stores. In addition, customers are now looking for in-person brand experiences, including showrooming.
• Offline and online have become one continuous customer experience with the new trend of online browsing and buying in-store or vice-versa. Hence, Buy Online, Pickup In-store [BOPIS] has emerged as a retail resolution to offer customers a flexible blended shopping option.
• Today, Direct-2-Consumers retail brands that sell their products directly to consumers without using a third-party retailer are also becoming popular.  

Omnichannel eCommerce trends
Some of the emerging trends in omnichannel eCommerce include the following:

• An emerging trend rising steadily in eCommerce is financing for the purchase. Omnichannel is all about conversions, so to fight the increasing number of cart abandonments, eCommerce brands are also facilitating “Buy Now Pay Later.”
• Influencers play a significant role in helping brands sell products as they have a more engaging niche audience for brands to leverage. Additionally, with Social Commerce on the rise, brands-influencers partnership is becoming a viable option to increase sales.
•  Social selling with the help of video content is emerging as a trend in eCommerce, with 50% of consumers confirming that watching a video before purchasing helps them decide on the product and brand to buy from.

Best practices for implementing Omnichannel sales

You must follow some best practices to implement omnichannel sales that, include the following:

• Have a unified view of your customers: Collect data on their preferences, behaviors, and interactions with the company across all channels.
• Provide targeted and relevant communication: Use the data collected to provide personalized messaging at every touchpoint.
• Ensure messaging is consistent: Ensure that the messaging is consistent across all channels to provide a seamless experience for customers.
• Measure success: Continuously measure the success of the approach and make necessary adjustments to improve results.

Several companies, including Sephora, Starbucks, and Disney, have successfully implemented Omnichannel sales strategies. Sephora, for example, offers a seamless experience across all channels, allowing customers to purchase products online, in-store, and through their mobile app. Starbucks uses its mobile app to provide a personalized experience for customers, allowing them to place orders, earn rewards, and receive customized offers. Disney utilizes the MagicBand, a wearable device enabling guests to access all aspects of their experience, from park admission to ride reservations.

It necessitates a consistent, all-encompassing experience across in-store, curbside, and online platforms for omnichannel retail or eCommerce to be successful.

“Retailers who offer a seamless and integrated customer experience across all touchpoints, including online and offline, will reap the benefits of increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and sales.” – Chris Piggott, Director of Digital Strategy at Vaimo.

Must-have Omnichannel solutions to boost your sales

You can implement an effective Omnichannel sales approach, leveraging tools and technologies such as customer relationship management (CRM) software, marketing automation software, and self-service options. CRM software allows you to collect and analyze customer data while marketing automation software enables you to provide targeted and relevant communication. Self-service options such as chatbots can provide 24/7 customer support, allowing customers to engage with your company on their preferred channel.

Synchronous and Asynchronous support for Omnichannel

Synchronous communication is a real-time exchange with a defined beginning and end, often characterized by prompt response times. Depending on the software utilized, it involves phone calls, live chat, or other messaging channels. In synchronous conversations, agents may use phrases such as “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”, “Are you still there?” or “If I’ve resolved everything for you, please click ‘end conversation’ in the top right corner of your screen?”. At that point, the conversation is considered concluded.

On the other hand, email is an excellent example of asynchronous communication, which is more open-ended and typically has slower response times. After responding, a conversation may be marked as “resolved” in the ticketing system, but customers can easily reopen it by writing back with additional questions. In this form of communication support, customers can initiate a chat with customer service while visiting your website. They can then navigate away from the site and return later to resume their conversation with support.

Good omnichannel customer service experience must efficiently support synchronous and asynchronous communication for Omnichannel retail and eCommerce. Effective customer support and service can only boost your retail or eCommerce sales. 

Navigate the challenges of implementing an Omnichannel sales strategy

Firstly, an effective omnichannel sales strategy lets you meet your customers in their preferred channel by providing a seamless experience across touchpoints. Secondly, it allows you to collect valuable customer preferences and behaviors and deliver targeted and relevant communication. Finally, it increases customer satisfaction, thus leading to an increase in sales and revenue.

However, there are some challenges in implementing an Omnichannel sales approach, such as the following:

• One of the most significant challenges is ensuring the messaging is consistent across all channels. To overcome this challenge, you must develop a clear messaging strategy and ensure to overcome this challenge that all employees are trained on it.
• Secondly, collecting and analyzing customer data across all channels often becomes challenging. To overcome this challenge, you must leverage CRM and marketing automation software to collect and analyze data, allowing them to provide targeted and relevant communication.
• Finally, you must track metrics such as customer retention, customer satisfaction, and sales conversations to measure the success of your Omnichannel sales strategy. You must utilize good data analysis tools to analyze customer behavior and adjust your strategy accordingly.

To summarize

Omnichannel sales, after all, is a customer-centric approach that provides a seamless experience to consumers across all channels for the retail and eCommerce industry. Assistance and advice for consumers delivered across a smooth and integrated network of devices and touchpoints are called omnichannel customer care. With effective omnichannel customer service, you can ensure that your consumers have consistently positive experiences, regardless of the communication medium they use. 

After all, as Ben Davis, Editor of Econsultancy says, “An omni-channel approach is not just about having a presence across multiple channels. It’s about understanding how those channels work together to deliver a seamless and consistent experience for the customer.”

As the retail and e-commerce market continues to evolve, an omni-channel approach will become increasingly necessary for businesses to stay competitive and meet customer expectations. 

If you are looking to adopt an Omnichannel approach seamlessly to elevate your retail business, call us for a Free Consultation. Conneqt with us to learn more of our retail solutions and services.