Why are Brands Transforming into Omnichannel Brands?
The last decade has seen a dramatic shift in the way consumers shop. We are now forever connected to the internet, and social media is at the heart of our daily lives. With this, consumers are now more informed and empowered than ever before.
This power shift has led consumers to expect brands to be available whenever and however they want to engage. The key to success in today's retail market is to be available in how your customers want and need you to be.
The Need for an Omnichannel Strategy in 2023
According to an International study, nearly 96% of retailers felt that the pandemic hastened their organization's adoption of new sales channels, and 92% stated that investing in omnichannel capabilities was a top budgetary priority for their company in 2022.
Retailers are struggling to impress the demanding customers as they have limited real-time visibility into inventory levels, delivery tracking, and sales metrics across shipping channels. It’s because, in today's tech-savvy world, the customers have infinite shopping choices.
Due to this, they are becoming less attracted to brick-and-mortar stores after the pandemic. Most businesses have shut down their physical brand stores and transformed to digital overnight.
The digital transformation impacted customer behaviour to such a greater extent that purchasers have lost their capacity to inspect and touch things before making a purchase physically, but is dearly missed.
It means that brands must make every effort to replicate the in-person experience as closely as possible in a virtual environment. Today consumers are becoming more familiar with the idea of making purchases online.
They are making purchases based on their affection for a particular lifestyle and are looking for first-hand experiences to connect with businesses. Research says that customers who contact businesses on three or more channels are more likely to purchase more and become loyal to them.
In addition, their Average Order Values (AOVs) are 13% greater than the AOVs of clients of brands that continue to use a single channel of distribution. It calls for a golden opportunity to create an exceptional omnichannel strategy to cater customers, improve customer shopping experience and brand loyalty.
Exciting Read: How to build an omnichannel retail strategy to boost business?
Why are Brands Transforming into Omnichannel Brands?
1) Greater customer retention & loyalty
Omnichannel brands are leading the way in customer experience and loyalty. While it may be too early to declare a winner, it is clear that those companies who leverage their omnichannel capabilities will have an edge. The ability to deliver a seamless, consistent experience across channels wins customers' hearts and minds.
Here is a great example of successful omnichannel experience. Burberry, a luxury fashion brand, is a pioneer in omnichannel retailing. It launched Instagram Checkout in 2015, which allows users to purchase products with a single click without leaving the app.
They were the first to make their entire catalogue available for purchase through WeChat. During a localized Qixi Jie campaign (similar to Chinese Valentine's Day), they received more than 200 million views on the channel, resulting in double-digit quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth in WeChat engagement.
They also developed "B Series," its first social-native product line, which consists of products that are only accessible for purchase through social media channels for 24 hours, one day a month. It is a fantastic technique to generate interest among their target audience.
2) More choices with customers
Omnichannel brands are creating more shopping choices for customers. It is a robust trend in retailing, which started some time back with the introduction of click-and-collect services. But it has now evolved and become much more pervasive.
Customers can use multiple channels to shop: in-store, web, mobile and even through social media platforms such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. The idea behind an omnichannel brand is to create a seamless end-to-end experience for them.
Zalando has set a high standard for omnichannel retail in its home country and throughout Europe. It has introduced several shopping applications, opened pop-up stores, allowed users to have returns picked up at their homes, and partnered with other companies to understand its customers better.
Trending Hot: Omnichannel selling and its immense benefits
3) Building credibility
When an omnichannel brand is consistent, it creates emotional connections with customers, making them feel unique, valued and acknowledged. And when they feel like that, they are more likely to buy from the same brand repeatedly in the future.
Apple is one great example of an omnichannel brand that has built credibility over time through top tier products and industry-leading customer service
4) Reach out to new customer segments
An omnichannel retailing strategy can assist you in reaching these specific client segments In the retail industry. The omnichannel customer data can help analyze the customer journey of
- First purchasers
- Loyal customers
- Purchasers with higher/lower Average Order value (AOV)
- Lapsed purchasers
- Unengaged email subscribers
Using the unified data for above customer segments, retailers can plan focussed marketing campaigns to transform first time purchasers as well as lapsed purchasers into repeated buyers, persuade low AOV customers to increase their AOV and also boost engagement for unengaged customers.
5) Enhances customer engagement
Here is how an omnichannel strategy enhances customer engagement for brands:
Creates a great customer experience:
- It allows customers to leave one channel and continue the experience on another channel where they left the conversation.
- Customer information is available on all channels in an omnichannel strategy. So, they do not have to share their name, address, email id on every channel every time while dealing with the retail brand.
- Customers can experience trouble-free eCommerce shopping while shopping in-store with endless inventory.
- The customer gets the same Quality of Service (QoS), speed, safety and brand trust on every channel
Uses the Right Communication Channel for your Brand
Every retail business can benefit from having a presence on multiple channels. Choosing the appropriate channel for omnichannel strategy is dependent upon three key considerations:
- The purpose of your communication whether the message is personalized or generic, intended to collect sensitive or personal information, or intended to solicit feedback from customers.
- The favoured communication channels of your target audience.
- Your retail brand's principles.
Use of Social Media Strategically
74% of people follow brands on social media, and 96% of these followers interact with the brands via social media. 34.5% of people have social media as their top method of getting customer service from brands, exceeding traditional channels like websites, live chat and email.
Must Read: 5 working strategies to increase omnichannel customer engagement
Conclusion
For e-retailers, omnichannel is not a choice, and it's a must for the growth of their brand. The main reason for this is that today consumers live in a world of instant gratification. They want things, and they want them now.
They would no longer wait for a physical store to open or a product shipped to them. They expect to do everything on their terms and want their favourite brands to give the products when they want them. This blog is intended to help you understand why more & more brands are transforming into omnichannel brands.
We at Fynd have been a constantly evolving, innovating and rapidly growing omnichannel platform. Over the years we have helped +600 brands to transform to omnichannel business and have been providing omnichannel solution like Fynd Store, in-store endless aisle assistive sales solution, omnichannel third party marketplace integration with India’s leading ecommerce platforms like Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart, Ajio, Nykaa, tata Cliq and latest being MagicPin and Trell.
You can also build your omnichannel brand website like https://www.tiffany.co.in/, www.ruosh.com, powered by Fynd’s APIs. If you have an existing website on Magento or Shopify, you can transform it into an omnichannel brand website using our ready to use plug-ins. You can also sell on Fynd.com and reach out to wholesale retailers on uniket.com; our own 3P marketplaces.
The year 2022 was a blast for Fynd! Join the club! Distinguish your brand, grow customer loyalty, in-store & online sales. We extend our generous invite to be a part of the growing Fynd clan. Book a demo or Connect with us today immediately to know about Fynd- India’s largest omnichannel platform.
