Omnichannel customer experience has become a priority for brands across all industries. From retail to manufacturing, companies know that customers expect options in the digital age.
This omnichannel trend has been growing for several years, but really took off during the pandemic.
A McKinsey & Company 2021 study found that between 60% and 70% of consumers used both online and offline channels to research and buy products.
Since then, buyers haven’t looked back. Omnichannel is a requirement, whether you’re a retailer or a B2B company. A separate McKinsey study found that B2B customers now regularly use ten or more channels to interact with suppliers, up from five in 2016.
We’ve been covering omnichannel since our site was launched 10 years ago, so it’s hard to choose just a few here. But these are some of our best posts covering one of the hottest topics impacting commerce.
The friction is REAL when it comes to the modern buyer’s journey.
Fortunately, there’s an omnichannel solution. Download the report NOW.
Breaking it down: Omnichannel, explained
This post from top contributor Branwell Moffett, published in 2017, is one of our most-read – and most-copied – articles. He breaks down buzzwords, provides examples, and explains benefits: Omnichannel vs. multichannel 2024: What’s the difference and who is doing it?
Most retailers are now multichannel, where they sell their products across more than one channel. Very few, however, are truly omnichannel. Discover what it means to be considered an omnichannel business.
Tracey Wallace, a stand-out contributor, penned this article that delves further into the omnichannel phenomenon, complete with statistics, examples, and strategic tips:
Omnichannel customer experience: Turning chaos into community
Any aspect of your brand that touches a customer or a potential customer is part of your omnichannel customer experience - and having or not having an omnichannel CX can make or break you today.
In another post on omnichannel, Wallace details omnichannel strategies and provides real-life examples from Starbucks, Disney, and Nike.
Her practical perspective is spot-on: Omnichannel examples: Brands creating their own luck
Online retail and e-commerce require an omnichannel strategy. How do you create one? Learn some of the best omnichannel examples out there.
Omnichannel: Retail and beyond
The retail industry has led the omnichannel charge.
In this post, SAP’s Shayonie Mila Kundu provides a great omnichannel guide for retailers by describing how UK toy company The Entertainer adapted quickly to changing buying patterns during COVID:
How to master omnichannel in retail: 5 steps for CX success
Having an omnichannel strategy is essential for retailers today. What are some key steps for success? One UK retailer offers some lessons to live by.
As the pandemic hit, many grocers had to scramble to meet the demand for online grocery shopping. Now, what was a niche has become mainstream. In this article, Angelica Valentine – who wrote about omnichannel for us back in 2014 – provides expert insight into what grocers need to do to attract modern shoppers:
Hey big spender: Winning the omnichannel grocery shopper
Omnichannel grocery shoppers spend more and are the real growth opportunity. Win them over by providing a personalized, blended online and in-store experience.
As retail goes, so goes the CPG industry. Consumer products companies need to toss out old playbooks and develop new strategies to engage with consumers on multiple channels for direct-to-consumer growth, Valentine explains in this post:
The omnichannel customer and consumer brands: It’s for keeps
Consumer brands must meet modern buyers where they really are to succeed in the DTC world. Find out what it takes to win over today's omnichannel consumer.
In the B2B world, companies also face omnichannel pressure as customers expect the same kind of fast, seamless experiences they have in the consumer world.
This article explains the impact of digital commerce on industrial manufacturers and how they can drive more sales with an omnichannel approach:
B2B manufacturing: Fueled by omnichannel
The future of B2B sales in industrial manufacturing industries is driven by simplification. B2B must learn omnichannel to survive in the digital age.
Not business as usual
The demand for omnichannel experiences is changing core businesses operations, from marketing and sales to service and fulfillment.
The explosion of digital channels creates both challenges and opportunities for marketers.
This post covers the fundamentals that marketers need to know and offers omnichannel tips to ease the transition:
Omnichannel marketing: Definition, examples, strategy
Omnichannel marketing is the strategy and practice through which a brand interacts with its consumers, both off and online.
Omnichannel is a massive shift for the sales profession, which has been so reliant on face-to-face customer engagement.
This article explains what sales pros need to do to effectively engage with digital-first customers:
3 must-have qualities for sales professionals in an omnichannel world
You know that digital disruption has changed the buying process. It has also revamped what is required of sales professionals in an omnichannel world.
Omnichannel means seamless, including consistent pricing across sales channels. But as they ramp up their e-commerce operations, B2B companies can overlook this.
Doug Fuehne of Pricefx explains the risk and what companies can do to avoid it in this post:
Omnichannel pricing: B2B e-commerce requires price consistency
Inconsistent pricing across channels is hurting B2B sales and damaging revenue. Learn the benefits of omnichannel pricing.
The pandemic forever altered delivery and fulfilment for retailers as options like BOPIS became standard.
This article explains the benefits of having flexible fulfillment:
Omnichannel fulfillment: Definition, benefits, strategies
Retailers: prepare for the unexpected. See how omnichannel order fulfillment can help you adapt quickly to sudden market changes.
This post explores how retailers are rethinking their supply chains including inventory management and forecasting to meet the needs of omnichannel customers:
Fortifying the retail supply chain for an omnichannel future
Faced with ongoing uncertainty, retailers are strengthening their supply chain to keep shelves stocked, inventories healthy, and customers satisfied.
Your customers are managing 85% of their relationships online. Omnichannel CX can provide everything they want – and more.
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