Ecommerce is not enough; your business needs an Omnichannel strategy

Ecommerce is not enough; your business needs an Omnichannel strategy

“Getting into data, analytics, or mobile isn’t even a decision anymore, so we should stop calling it e-commerce and call it just commerce.”
– Chris Fletcher, Research Director at tech research company Gartner, Inc.
 

 

In this age of multiple touch-points, the consumer no longer differentiates between online and brick-and-mortar stores, and so it’s up to the business to offer an integrated brand experience. Is it any wonder then more and more retailers are drawing up an omnichannel strategy? Research too reiterates the need for integration across platforms. Read on to know why an omnicommerce strategy is the need of the hour for your retail business.

 

Omnipresence

According to a Google report, for much of the 2014 Christmas and New Year festival season, mobile shopping clicks exceeded those on the desktop as shoppers made their purchase decisions on the go.It’s simple: make yourself available whenever and wherever the time-pressed, spoilt-for-choice customer is shopping. If you don’t, someone else will.

 

Increase in revenue

Three out of four shoppers who find local retail information online are more likely to step into the store, reveals a Google study. And research by market intelligence company IDC has found that shoppers who buy both online and in-store have 30% higher lifetime value than those who stick to one channel. In another study Aberdeen Inc. found that companies with a strong omnichannel strategy retained 89% of their customers as compared to the 33% retained by those with a weak strategy. There’s no arguing with this: an omnichannel strategy is a worthy investment.

 

More efficiency, lower costs

Omnichannel retail calls for integration of information of all resources. While businesses have so far managed each channel separately, consumers now want access to products irrespective of which store or warehouse they may be in. Making this available call for integration which, when used effectively, can reduce costs, make available specific products and offers, and lead to higher customer satisfaction.

Forrester Research predicts that annual online sales will touch $370 billion by 2017, thus outpacing sales in physical stores. “Besides the significant advantages omnichannel retail offers, it comes down to this: if a business wants to stay relevant, it will have to adopt an omnichannel strategy,” concludes Arun Kumar, Head of Ecommerce practice at Embitel Technologies.

Embark on an omnichannel strategy with SAP hybris, agile software and a market leader in commerce solutions. Embitel provides customized omnichannel hybris implementation for your business. For more details, write to sales@embitel.com

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