The Future Of Big e-Commerce: Creating An Omnichannel Shopping Experience

When you are a startup and working hard to develop your business, you don’t want to fall behind your competitors when it comes to the latest trends, especially in e-Commerce. Recently, online retailers have been focusing on creating an omnichannel shopping experience for their customers. If you haven’t already, it’s time you adapted to this huge game-changer.

Check the stats: 33% of retailers with an omnichannel shopping experience hold onto almost 90% of their customers. And if you thought there is no need to get started just yet, consider this: 87% of consumers don’t think retailers are putting enough effort into creating a seamless experience. It is time to impress your customers.

To make sure your startup delivers a cohesive, streamlined shopping experience for your customers, let’s take a look at the following 5 ways to sell via more than one channel – both online and offline.

#1 Aim For Consistency Across Your Channels

It all starts with how you present your brand across all your channels. This is harder than it sounds at first. But unless you create a consistent and seamless feel and look across numerous channels and platforms, the customer won’t form a memorable, concrete image of your startup in their mind.

In other words, you won’t establish recognition and trust. And this failure can ultimately ruin your goal to get to grips with creating an omnichannel shopping experience.

It’s all about cohesion with your brand – using the same colours, fonts, text, and logos to foster a consistent atmosphere. Your voice also needs to be the same across all your channels, as does your message. Sure, you need to focus on native content, but the core message has to be the same. Otherwise, you won’t look authentic.

#2 Have An Integrated Buying Experience

Remember when you couldn’t order online and pick up in a store? Or how about the days when you could only return an item in-store and not online? So many sources of frustration for the customer!

Sources of frustration that retailers with an omnichannel shopping experience are now eliminating. You need to focus on integrating both the buying and returning experience. If a customer wants to order online but pick up in person from a physical store – and vice versa – make it so they can do that.

Similarly, if a customer wants to order five things in-store all in one go but one of the items is temporarily out of stock, make it so they can afford the last item online.

Also, what if customers want to place an order over the phone with you? They should be able to do it. Click and collect is starting to thrive, so it’s important that you get onboard with it ASAP.

#3 Sell Both Online And Offline

Many businesses make it possible to purchase their products both online and offline. With 75% of shoppers browsing for items online while in a physical store, it’s easy to see why this is important.

Your customers want the convenience of being able to buy anywhere at anytime. If you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, all you need is a simple Point of Sales card reader, which can offer your customers such convenience.

This card reader lets you expand your business, so that you sell offline as well as online. It boosts your flexibility, and is an absolute must for anyone looking to create an omnichannel shopping experience.

#4 Know Your Inventory Inside And Out

Having too much or too little stock can create a cash flow problem for your startup – or leave you with disappointed customers. It’s hard enough managing your stock when there is just the one sales channel, and can be even more difficult when providing your customers with an omnichannel shopping experience.

Making use of software that allows the data of your inventory to be shared in real time across all of your channels will make managing your inventory easier. This means, after a sale in-store or online, your inventory updates automatically and you and your customers always have the right data and information.

#5 Go Mobile

The Millennials have spoken – tablets and smartphone usage is only increasing. As a consequence, customers are now shopping on their mobiles. However, they’re not always buying. 62% of smartphone users have bought with their device in the last year and a half – but that figure is destined to rise.

To encourage shoppers to make the transition from desktop shopping to mobile shopping complete, enhance their experience with single-click checkouts and on-site buy buttons. It makes things much more convenient for them, and speeds up the buying process. Essentially, your aim should be to graduate to a one-payment platform on mobile.

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