Best practices for omnichannel management

When we talk about omnichannel, we tend to imagine that it is a new concept created by office workers. Although this is true to a certain extent, omnichannel retail is also closely linked to the expectations that customers had years ago.

For example, do you remember those times when there were no smartphones and you went shopping and couldn't find shoes in your size? There was no internet to search and find your shoes in another store or through another channel, such as an ecommerce or marketplace. What used to happen in these cases was that the physical store called another nearby store and asked them to save those shoes for you.

So what exactly does this scenario tell us? To make the sale, the stores used the stock of other stores and helped the buyer to get what he wanted. Without knowing it, the company was adopting an omnichannel approach.

And it is that the omnichannel occurs when all your channels work together to offer the customer a fluid and frictionless experience.

If you want to know how you can offer an omnichannel experience to your target audience, here are three tips for you.

Create a network of channels

Omnichannel experiences are incredibly valuable to shoppers today. Thanks to the convenience they get, omnichannel customers spend more than single channel customers: 4% more in-store and 10% more online, according to a . These customers are also more brand loyal, with 23% more repeat store visits in the six months following an omnichannel shopping experience. To seize this opportunity, start with this question: what channels do you want your customers to connect with? When mapping and analyzing this part of the business, think about all the touch points your customers have in their buying process: ads, social and traditional media, stores, warehouses, etc.

You will see that you have many channels and much to do. You will find so many ideas and initiatives to improve your omnichannel connection with customers that the main question will then be: what should you prioritize? Do a cost-benefit analysis and decide what it should be.

Omnichannel focuses on the customer, but don't forget the internal culture

The first tactic that often comes to mind when it comes to an omnichannel strategy is BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store). This is not all that omnichannel can offer, but it is a good first step, and we will cover it in depth below. Before we talk about implementation, though, it's important to note that a key piece of the omnichannel puzzle that business leaders and ecommerce managers sometimes forget is company culture and employees. Technical integrations, ecommerce technologies, and big marketing strategies can only take you so far: To be successful in omnichannel, you'll need the buy-in of those executing your vision—your store associates. If they see ecommerce as a threat, it will emerge very soon.

What should you do?

First of all, when planning the implementation of BOPIS, both physical stores and warehouses must be your allies: they are two of the stakeholders that must discuss your channel strategy in order to collaborate properly.

Second, depending on your culture, you can implement incentives for BOPIS sales, or even more: all online sales, made through BOPIS or home delivery, will be added to the sales of the nearest physical store. While this involves commissions, the store operations team will also be responsible for purchases and returns made online.

And last but not least, you need to establish which stores will be your “hubs,” which means asking yourself how you are going to implement last-mile or store-to-store order delivery. Does your operations team have a plan? How are you going to separate the stock and where is it going to be located?

Plan a strategy with your team, test it and improve it. Don't be afraid to make a mistake whenever your team wants to come out stronger than before.

We started using ecommerce technology in the mobile app, but it was very difficult to do everything we wanted, like show product ratings and price tags. We needed a bigger architecture and the integration with the points of sale (POS) was not the best. We completed parts of the project, but with long delays. Thus, it is important to have an open information architecture and be willing to use third-party technologies, such as the ones we have at VTEX, which will help you implement your omnichannel strategy.