Get the Omnichannel Word Out to Customers
Shoppers that use all your retail channels are your most valuable.
The past two years of lockdowns, social distancing, and other restrictions put a damper on in-store shopping.
Even the most exclusive boutiques began offering curbside pickup fueled by fledgling attempts at e-commerce. Larger retailers augmented their omnichannel offerings and promoted their increasingly frictionless experiences.
Retail Pro Prism facilitates seamless omnichannel operations with a complete view of data from both online and in-store in one place.
Now, as the economy opens up, retailers of any size are looking for the best of both worlds: Online customers who shop in-store. In other words, omnichannel customers.
And so, they continue to innovate on e-commerce strategies while attracting customers back into brick and mortar stores.
Rocky times for stores
The pandemic created an online shopping surge but was difficult for physical stores to navigate.
According to reports, in 2020, more than 8,300 US stores closed, but the following year, that number was down to 5,079. And, according to NBC News, 2021 saw 5,083 stores open.
The challenge lies in being able to connect the dots between the online customers that retailers cultivated during the past two years and their in-store purchases.
Studies have shown that omnichannel shoppers tend to spend more than those who use one channel exclusively, such as online-only customers.
Those who, for example, use an app to browse products, bought online and picked up in-store, or bought in the store and got their purchases shipped are higher-value customers.
While the behavior spans all demographics, it is especially prominent with Millennials and Gen Z.
Promoting omnichannel behavior
Online customers are a treasure trove of information: Data analytics can provide insights on not only the products they’ve bought but also on what they’ve looked at and put into (and removed from) their baskets.
Retail Pro Decisions compiles data across channels, compiles and analyzes it all for you and displays the findings visually, allowing retailers to easily understand specifics of employees and product performance.
Taking that information and using it to tailor an in-person experience is what differentiates an average in-store experience from an extraordinary one.
Most people actually prefer shopping in-store, according to PwC research. The study found 65 percent of consumers shop in-store to avoid delivery fees, while more than 60 percent enjoy the immediate gratification of in-store shopping. Further, 61 percent said they like trying on the item or seeing it in person before buying it.
Great experiences start with seamless processes. For example, customers appreciate the ability to look up in-store product availability online. To incent online shoppers to visit a store for pickup, make it worth their while by offering a discount or special offer.
Use Analytics
Analytics can enable businesses to target a customer with the appropriate marketing message at just the right time, according to where he or she is in the buyer’s journey.
Such targeted campaigns have higher conversion rates than generic campaigns.
Predictive analytics can further help identify trends in consumer behavior, ensuring that retailers with omnichannel strategies remain skilled at understanding and responding to their customers’ needs.
A customer’s journey through online and physical channels must be accurately analyzed and captured to deliver a more personalized shopping experience.
Retailers can also provide a consistently personalized ‘VIP’ experience to each customer with automated marketing with the option for custom dynamic promotions, such as Opt Culture for Retail Pro.
