In this day and age, consumers have a lot of options available for where they shop. In addition to traditional visits to malls and stores, online shopping and research has become the norm. While print media still exists, people get a lot of their information online and via social media. For the retailers, keeping up with promotions, inventory and consumer trends across all the many marketing and sales channels can be very challenging. There is an available solution to this struggle, the Omni-Channel Platform for commerce.
An Omni-Channel Platform allows a retailer to use a single dashboard to coordinate their sales efforts across multiple channels or environments, while synchronizing all promotions, inventory and consumer information. This key functionality streamlines operations to save a lot of time and effort while allowing the retailer to maximize outreach at minimal cost.
Equally as important, an Omni-Channel Platform gives the shopper a single and consolidated view of the retailer. All channels can show, highlight and promote the same items in a coordinated way. That way the consumer can see something online, then find it and buy it in the store, or vice-versa. The message and the pricing can be consistent to make a more seamless experience.
An added benefit with an Omni-Channel Platform is the consolidated business intelligence that can be gathered from all active sales channels. This intelligence can be used to fine-tune promotions, better attracting the target audience and thereby increasing sales.
A true Omni-Channel Platform should have the capability to engage the consumer wherever they are, be it in a digital or physical environment, use the latest retail technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), to provide an outstanding consumer experience and allow customers to share that experience with their friends and family. It should also allow new channels to be integrated easily as sales landscape and your choices change over time.
Not all systems have been created equal. The majority of shopping platforms claiming to be Omni-Channel really only address a limited set online channels, completely disregarding physical stores, mobile applications, social media and interactive media. Before choosing a system, it would be wise to make sure that the platform can be customized to your specific business requirements and grow along with your needs. Be sure to consider the level of difficulty to grow and maintain your system along with the help you may need to do that.
Technology is going to keep advancing, and consumers are going to keep changing. If you would like to know more about the latest retail technologies and how they can be applied to increase your revenue and lower your costs, please contact us for a free consultation.