The Indian retail scene is witnessing a dramatic transformation. Step by step, offline retail is making room for online retail, and in the same way, online brands are opening up physical stores.

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The Omni channel presence of retail brands has helped customers get what they want on priority convenience, a unique shopping experience, assured order fulfilment and same-day delivery.

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More and more retail brands have joined the omnichannel bandwagon and are reaching customers where they are to meet their demands more effectively. We will discuss the unique omnichannel retail strategies of the top 3 Indian brands and the lessons to be learnt from them.

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Lenskart

Omni channel eyewear brand Lenskart is revolutionizing the eyewear industry in India. Its rapidly growing business reaches out to 1,00,000 customers a month with +900 physical stores and online platforms (Android, iOS, Msite & Desktop) by following a unique omnichannel retailing strategy of combining online business, uniquely designed physical stores, and mobile apps. 

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Lenskart omnichannel retailing strategies

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3D Try on feature

Lenskart's 3D try-on feature enables it to provide novel offline experiences to app and desktop browsing customers seeking to virtually try out stylish frames and test the look & feel of their faces before buying them. 

This feature helps Lenskart simulate a virtual store environment where a customer can try out different Lenskart frames anytime, from anywhere, without physically visiting the Lenskart store.

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Boost new & repeat purchases using retail store & mobile app

Customers who visit Lenskart's retail store can book their free eye test and can try on different frames to find the one that suits them the best. The stores create a reliable touch-feel-try in-store experience that helps the eyewear brand acquire new customers.

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However, customers may desire more designs and stylish frames than what is available in-store. So, how can Lenskart cater to these customers with limited in-store inventory? That's where the Lenskart app comes into play with unlimited product options that make repeat purchases much easier for returning customers. 

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Lessons to be learnt from Lenskart's omnichannel strategy

Customers can try & buy unlimited Lenskart products: Technology makes it possible for every customer to achieve the impossible feat of virtually trying on a vast collection of branded eyewear from anywhere, anytime and shop the desired product without being physically present at Lenskart retail stores.

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Trust digital channels to get more business: Retailers can think beyond brick-and-mortar stores to welcome and engage returning customers. Even digital channels like mobile apps can help retail brands get more business from repeat customers.  

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Bata

Bata India is one of the largest retailers and leading manufacturers of footwear in India. It registered nearly 35% revenue growth at INR 2,300 crore on March 31, 2022, backed by improved consumer sentiments. 

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The omnichannel retailing strategy is an essential part of Bata's marketing strategy and is used extensively in Bata India's retail stores to reach, attract, and engage online and offline customers.

Bata omnichannel retailing strategies

Bata Club on WhatsApp:

Bata Whatsapp is an easy one-stop-shop launched, keeping customers' shopping convenience in mind. The chat shop on Bata enables customers to shop from their nearest Bata store without physically visiting it.

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Just message, call, or video chat with a Bata footwear expert, select your favourite pair of shoes and get them home delivered within a few hours.

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Omnichannel Delivery Enables Experiential Stores

Experiential retail plays a bigger role in Bata's omnichannel strategy as the premium footwear has opened a 6000 sqft experiential outlet in India. The store features omnichannel enablement to deliver any chosen shoe not in stock directly to the customer's home. More experiential Bata stores are expected to be added in 2022-2023.

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From Anywhere to Anywhere (FA2A)  

Bata's program- "From Anywhere To Anywhere' (FA2A) bolsters the omnichannel approach and provides customers with their desired products delivered directly to their doorstep.

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Features of the FA2A program:

Fulfill orders from other stores: This omnichannel approach allows a Bata store to fulfill the customer's order even if the product they desire is out of stock at that location. The store the customer visits can still process the order and have it delivered to their home or the showroom.

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Easy online returns: Again, in the case of online orders, if the customer receives a faulty pair or has size issues, they can go to a nearby Bata store and get a new product as a replacement.

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Video: Bata FA2A Campaign

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Lessons to be learnt from Bata's omnichannel strategy

Ensure an unforgettable shopping convenience: With hyperlocal delivery features, encourage your customers to shop at the nearest Bata store. Customers can easily connect with their nearest Bata retail store on WhatsApp and get their orders home-delivered quickly and without having to visit the store in person.

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Never miss a customer due to lack of inventory: The top footwear brand can effortlessly engage customers in-store, capture lost sales, and fulfill customer orders even if the product's desired size, colour, or style is unavailable in the Bata store, positively impacting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

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NYKAA

Nykaa is India’s beauty behemoth and gives customers the ultimate convenience and choice to buy Nykaa products wherever they want. It is valued at +$8.3 billion and has seen enormous success post its broad adoption of the omnichannel retailing strategy. 

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Nykaa omnichannel retail strategies

Exciting store formats: Nykaa operates in an industry where a physical product trial is highly critical before purchasing a beauty product. So Nykaa Luxe and Nykaa On Trend stores serve as the first touchpoint for customers to visit, touch, feel, and experience beauty products shopping from Nykaa stores or the Nykaa app/website.

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These stores are equipped with hyperlocal delivery and accept endless aisle orders, making their entire online assortment available to the customer.

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Curation of unique omnichannel content: Nykaa curates unique omnichannel content for each type of channel, such as Beauty Book articles, Routine Finder, Youtube videos, and Buying Guides for app and website users. 

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fThe Beauty Book attracts 7.5 million views and 400,000 visits per month. YouTube and Instagram produce web series, educational brand collaborations, YouTube make-up masterclasses, and tutorials.

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Nykaa's routine finder tool allows the customer to create a personalized wellness routine and garners close to 15,000 visits per day across all platforms, of which 90% are through the App users and 10% are website. 

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Virtual Try-on of products: Nykaa's virtual try-on technology uses an advanced face tracker algorithm that detects the lips, eyes, cheeks, and hair of the online customer and applies virtual cosmetics to give a real-time, true-to-life view, look, and feel of the beauty products.

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Lessons to be learnt from Nykaa's omnichannel strategy

Fastest order fulfilment: Retail stores can be transitioned into mini-warehouses and can be actively used to fulfil customers' orders using hyperlocal delivery.

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Let customers experiment with their looks: It is possible to create an immersive experience using virtual try-on technology that helps customers safely try thousands of cosmetics online and experiment with new looks and styles.

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Cross-channel strategy to engage your customers: Design a cross-channel content strategy that works flawlessly to analyze the customer's requirements, answers their queries and works on providing the solution to every problem.

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Signing Off

As the retail industry in India advances, many brands are partnering with top omnichannel solution providers to regain lost ground and win customers' attention.

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Well-known retail brands like Diesel, Paul Smith, Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss, Turtle, GAS, Hunkemoller, Brooks Brothers, and Steve Madden have reaped significant benefits from Fynd Omnichannel solutions and seen an increase in conversion rates, ROI, and discovered new revenue streams.

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‍Book a demo or contact us today to find out how you can effortlessly turn your retail brand into a high-performance omnichannel brand.