Remember the days when shopping meant picking through clothes on racks in a crowded store? Though brick-and-mortar stores still have their charm, in 2024, savvy shoppers like your customers will have a whole new world at their fingertips. Today’s shoppers are everywhere—browsing online, visiting stores, and engaging on social media. To win their loyalty, a scattered approach just won’t cut it. In 2024, retailers will need omnichannel retail solutions, including omnichannel retention, which is more important than ever.
An industry study shows that 73% of customers like to shop through multiple channels, like online and in stores. Omnichannel retail makes this easy by giving shoppers a smooth experience no matter how they shop. Moreover, companies that have a strong omnichannel retail strategy retain almost 89% of their customers, compared to only 33% of companies that don’t.
Studies also show that shoppers who prefer omnichannel shopping spend more money overall, with a greater transaction size and CLV (customer lifetime value). How can you achieve this for your brand? By creating a seamless experience across all channels, you’ll keep customers engaged, happy, and coming back for more. This translates to boosted sales, brand advocacy, and a thriving business.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the world of omnichannel retailing. We will show you how you can implement omnichannel in retail and transform your customers shopping experience with ETP’s V5. We will further demonstrate how you can use this strategy to create a seamless, super-convenient shopping journey for your customers, no matter how they like to shop.
What exactly is Omnichannel Retail?
Omnichannel Retail is a concept where a customer can use more than one sales channel, such as brick & mortar stores, e-Commerce/Internet, mobile (m-Commerce), social commerce, and more, to research, buy, collect, and return or exchange products from a retailer. Irrespective of the purchase channel, the customer has a consistent and integrated experience.
Moreover, omnichannel retailing is a consumer-centric approach that is a logical evolution of multi-channel retailing. It refers to implementing strategies, a variety of engagement tools, and a seamless approach to the customer experience across all accessible shopping channels.
Benefits of implementing omnichannel retailing for retailers
Omnichannel retail solutions offer organisations a two-fold benefit. Firstly, they facilitate the centralisation of business operations and the implementation of infrastructure improvements. Secondly, they empower organisations to deliver a consistent customer experience, thereby acquiring customers, retaining them, and ultimately increasing sales.
- Improvement in consumers’ perceptions and satisfaction
- Single identity for the customer across channels
- Single customer loyalty program across channels
- Access to inventory visibility and ATP across channels
- Transparent pricing and promotions across channels
- Collecting customer information for a targeted marketing strategy
- Enhanced productivity, greater sales, higher margins, and a wider presence through new income streams
How Can You Implement Successful Omni Channel Retailing in 2024?
Customers today expect a smooth shopping experience, no matter how they choose to interact with your business. This is where omnichannel retailing comes in. But with so much to consider, how can you make it work for you?
Think Customer Journey, Not Channels
Forget just being present online and offline. In 2024, it’s about creating an omnichannel retail experience across all channels. Imagine a customer browsing on their phone, finding an item, and then easily buying it online for in-store pickup. That’s seamless!
Here’s how to get started:
Unify Your Data: Ensure all your channels (website, stores, social media) have the same product information, pricing, and promotions. One version of truth keeps things clear for you and your customers. This can be easily done with the ETP omnichannel retail solutions that perform the role of a central server at the head office. It holds the consolidated data of the retail stores: sales, payments, inventory, employees, prices, promotions, customers, etc. This facilitates the exchange of transactional information among different store servers. It also provides the function to centrally create and manage key master information.
Embrace Personalisation: Use data to understand your customers’ preferences. Recommend products they’ll love, offer targeted promotions, and make them feel valued. With ETP omnichannel retail software, you can deliver personalised offers and recommendations to your individual customers. Personalisation enhances customer satisfaction and increases the likelihood of conversion.
Make Shopping Easy: Provide options like “buy online, pick up in-store” (BOPIS) and easy returns across channels. Let customers choose how they interact with you.
Leverage Technology: Use AI for features like product recommendations and streamlined checkout. Explore contactless payments for faster transactions.
Don’t Forget the Human Touch: While technology is important, friendly and knowledgeable staff are irreplaceable. Train your staff to understand the omnichannel retail business and assist customers effectively.
By focusing on a cohesive customer journey, you’ll create a winning omnichannel retail strategy in 2024. Remember, it’s all about making it easy and enjoyable for customers to shop with you, however they choose.
ETP Group’s expertise in omnichannel retailing solutions
ETP V5, our enterprise-class omnichannel retail solutions, seamlessly integrates critical functions like Point of Sale (POS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), inventory management, marketing, and business intelligence (BI)—all under one roof. This empowers retailers to bridge the gap between online and offline experiences, enabling a truly unified customer journey.
Endless Aisle
With ETP V5’s Endless Aisle, your physical store limitations vanish. Customers can browse a vast online catalogue, even for items you don’t carry in stock. Here’s how ETP’s omnichannel retail software benefits you:
- Increased sales potential: Capture every sale by offering a wider product selection, even if it’s not physically on the shelf.
- Reduced stock management burden: No need to stock every variant of a product, freeing up valuable store space.
- Improved customer satisfaction: Happy customers who find what they’re looking for are more likely to return.
Click and Collect
Commonly these days, customers will go online to check in-store inventory before they even go into a physical retail store. These strategies allow such savvy customers to be able to go online and purchase or reserve an item that is already available in-store. ETP also offers this order fulfilment method of omnichannel retail, which is also, at times, referred to as ISPU (In-Store Pickup). How does this benefit retailers?
- Increased foot traffic: Customers pick up online orders in-store, potentially leading to impulse purchases.
- Improved order fulfillment efficiency: Pick and pack orders efficiently with real-time inventory visibility.
- Reduced delivery costs: Eliminate the need for individual deliveries for click-and-collect orders.
ETP V5 omnichannel retail software ensures smooth order management, real-time inventory visibility, and efficient fulfillment, making clicking and collecting a breeze for both you and your customers.
Unified Inventory View
With ETP V5 omnichannel retail solutions, retailers can eliminate inventory silos, giving you a single view of all your stock across online and physical stores. This translates to:
- Reduced stockouts: Accurate real-time inventory prevents lost sales due to out-of-stock situations.
- Improved order fulfillment accuracy: Fulfill orders efficiently without the risk of overselling or delays.
- Smarter inventory management: Optimise stock levels based on combined online and in-store demand.
Easy Returns
ETP V5 simplifies the return process, keeping customers who prefer omnichannel shopping happy and reducing your burden:
- Improved customer experience: Hassle-free returns encourage repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.
- Reduced return processing costs: Streamlined return process minimises staff time and resources needed.
- Potential for restocking and resale: Returned items can be restocked online or in-store for further sales.
Click and Deliver
ETP V5 facilitates Click and Deliver, allowing you to compete with other online omnichannel businesses:
- Offer convenient home delivery: Cater to customers who prefer the ease of home delivery.
- Expand your customer base: Reach a wider audience beyond your physical store location.
- Increased sales potential: Tap into the growing market of online shoppers.
Single View of Customers
ETP V5 shatters data silos, providing a unified view of customer purchase history, preferences, and behavior across all channels (store, app, social media). This empowers omnichannel businesses like yours with:
- Personalised marketing campaigns: Craft targeted promotions and recommendations based on individual customer data, leading to higher conversion rates and sales.
- Cross-channel marketing opportunities: Identify customers who interact with your brand across various channels and tailor marketing efforts for maximum impact.
- Improved customer segmentation: Segment your customer base based on detailed profiles, allowing for more effective marketing strategies.
Build Loyalty
Want to simplify the management of your single customer loyalty program across channels? ETP V5, an omnichannel retail software, helps manage your loyalty programs seamlessly across all channels—stores, mobile apps, and social media. This translates to:
- Targeted rewards: Design personalised reward programs based on individual customer behavior and preferences, fostering stronger engagement.
- Increased customer lifetime value: Loyal customers spend more, and ETP’s omnichannel retail software helps you cultivate that loyalty with personalised rewards.
- Reduced churn rate: Understanding customer preferences allows you to offer incentives that keep them coming back for more.
Channel-based Promotions
ETP’s omnichannel retail software goes beyond just basic promotions; our promotional planning management empowers you to craft targeted promotions for each channel (online, mobile app, in-store). This allows for:
- Data-driven promotions: Track performance and optimise campaigns in real-time, ensuring maximum return on investment (ROI).
- Increased sales conversion: Deliver the right offer to the right customer at the right time, leading to higher sales and conversions.
- Reduced marketing waste: Eliminate generic promotions and focus on targeted campaigns that resonate with specific customer segments.
Customer Feedback
Many retailers struggle with gathering cross-channel customer feedback. ETP’s omnichannel solutions bridge the gap by providing actionable insights to:
- Identify areas for improvement: Analyse customer feedback to pinpoint operational inefficiencies and enhance the customer experience.
- Optimise store productivity: Use data to streamline processes and improve in-store efficiency.
- Data-driven decision making: Make informed business decisions based on real customer feedback, not just assumptions.
By leveraging ETP V5’s omnichannel customer data capabilities, you gain a deeper understanding of your customer base, allowing for targeted marketing, enhanced loyalty programs, optimised promotions, and data-driven operational improvements. This ultimately translates to increased sales, customer retention, and overall business growth.
Unlock the full potential of omnichannel retailing for your retail business with etpgroup.com. Book a free demo today!
