Why Omnichannel Marketing is The Future of Retail

Omnichannel marketing is all the rage right now. From international coffee chains like Starbucks and Aussie retailers like Fantastic Furniture to all-round entertainment giants like Disney, everyone is using omnichannel to boost brand engagement and increase sales. But what exactly is an omnichannel experience and how can it benefit your retail business?

What is omnichannel?

Omnichannel is a multi-channel sales approach that provides a seamless experience whether the customer is shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, via phone or in a brick-and-mortar store.

With omnichannel, every part of the process is designed to provide an integrated experience. Every channel should be interconnected, engage the customers at a holistic level and ensure a positive experience with the brand. Well-designed omnichannel marketing develops a strong relationship between consumer and brand and gains commitment and loyalty from the customer.

Many confuse omnichannel with multi-channel. While they do bear some similarities, multi-channel marketing refers only to a company’s ability to interact with customers on various platforms such as print, website, events and retail location. Omnichannel is about using multiple channels together to provide a seamless shopping experience. A very simple form of omnichannel for example is enabling customers to order a product using a mobile app and picking it up later in the store.

Why should you go omnichannel?

In a digital age where millennials are the dominant consumer generation, flexibility, convenience, and variety are key components of the shopping experience. The modern consumer doesn’t prefer one form of shopping over another. In fact, according to Google’s Consumer Insights, 76% of US shoppers over the age of 18 use three or more channels to do their shopping. That means that over three-quarters of your potential customers are using smartphones, browsing retail sites and visiting actual stores to do their shopping.

Omnichannel allows you to not only provide the services and options that modern consumers desire but also to capitalise on modern browsing & purchasing behaviours to reach new audiences, convert them into customers and boost your sales.

Today’s customers aren’t afraid to go and look in store for their products but they will check ahead of time if the trip is worth it and are also likely to check for a cheaper price elsewhere before, during or after their visit. According to a report by AMP Capital last year, 61% of Australian Future Shoppers (Gen Z) are likely to research online while in-store compared to just 36% of Current Shoppers. The same report showed that 83% of Australian Future Shoppers would like to check stock availability online compared to 78% of Current Shoppers.

Consumers also expect personalised content when shopping. According to Google, more than half want relevant deals from sites they visit regularly and reminders of where they left off last time they visited a site. Furthermore, 4 in 10-holiday shoppers want retailers to remember personal details like previously purchased items and sizes.

Providing a seamless approach from personalised ads on social media and relevant discount newsletters right through to in-app purchasing and click & collect, omnichannel gives you an opportunity to reach new audiences and deliver a superior and tailored service which will gain loyalty and repeat business. And according to a report by Fifth Quadrant, 57%of Australian consumers are willing to pay 10% or more for better customer service to providing an all-round, convenient and customer-focused omnichannel experience is worth your while on many different levels.

Examples of effective omnichannel experiences

Disney

It should come at no surprise that Disney is at the top of the class when it comes to the school of omnichannel.

When booking a visit to one of Disney’s parks, you start on their website which is highly mobile-responsive. Once you’ve booked your trip, the My Disney Experience tool allows you to organise every aspect of your trip from restaurant reservations to purchasing a Fast Pass, all ahead of time.

Once you’ve arrived in the park, you can use your mobile app to locate all of the rides and attractions and it generates an up to date estimated wait time for each one.

Meanwhile, the Magic Band Program allows you to pay for food, enter your hotel room, connect Disney PhotoPass images to your account, pay for merchandise and check in at Fast Pass entrances, all from a wrist-band. It also unlocks special and personalised surprises throughout the resort.

All of the elements here work not only to make the experience as convenient and seamless as possible for the customer, but they also give Disney several opportunities to encourage more spending. By allowing customers to make purchases from their wristbands and encouraging visitors to make plans ahead of time, they are not only increasing their sales but are also gathering valuable information about their customers that they can then use to offer personalised marketing and tailored services which will most likely increase sales even further.

Starbucks

The Starbucks App is another prime example of omnichannel.

From within the app, customers can locate their nearest store and pay for their drinks (including tip) ahead of time so that their order is ready to go upon arrival. It also includes a feature that identifies the songs that are playing in the store and saves them to the customer’s Spotify playlist.

The app also acts as a rewards card which can be checked in store, on the phone, via their website or on the app. Any changes to the card’s value get updated across all channels in real time, making the sales cycle and shopping experience completely seamless.

Best Buy

This is a fantastic example of how a company used an omnichannel retailing strategy to turn their business around.

After losing $1.2 billion in sales in 2012, the electronics retailer learned that customers would go into their physical stores to get a good look at their products but then go home to compare prices online and ultimately buy elsewhere.

In order to regain their customers, they updated their website, reduced the number of clicks it took to purchase a product and added the option to buy online and collect in store. They also merged their retail stores and online shops so that inventories were shared across both channels. Furthermore, in order to compete with eCommerce giants like Amazon, they introduced a price match guarantee and offered faster delivery.

By Q1 of 2018, they reported 7.1% growth in sales which was their strongest effort since 2005. Many believe this was largely due to their new omnichannel strategy.

How to utilise omnichannel marketing in your business

An omnichannel sales approach comes hand in hand with omnichannel marketing. By delivering personalised brand messaging across multiple channels like social media and e-mail, you can build customer loyalty and drive sales.

Providing mobile channels for your customers as part of your omnichannel approach is more important than ever. In the past two years, Google searches for “shopping app” have increased by 90% whilst searches for “online shopping” grew 180%. So whether that’s to compare prices or to receive next day delivery, shoppers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices for shopping assistance.

Having an app for your business is not only a fantastic way to gain commitment and loyalty from your customers, but it also enables you to gather an enormous amount of invaluable information about purchasing habits and browsing behaviours which you can then use to improve and personalise your services and drive sales.

Whatever strategy you choose, providing a holistic and personalised user experience with consistency across all channels is key. So whether that’s re-marketing ads or sharing videos on social media, everything should be interconnected, relevant to your target audience and add value to their experience.