When it comes to talking about omnichannel strategies, the first thing that needs to be addressed is defining exactly what omnichannel means.
There are a number of different ways to think about omnichannel, but the way Buxton thinks about it is understanding how a customer uses and receives a brand – whether it’s online, in-store, or through a catalog.
And the purpose behind having a good omnichannel strategy is to understand not only what those different channels are, but also to understand the interaction between them to achieve a true 360 degree view of what your customer looks like and how they use your brand.
But with omnichannel strategies come all kinds of challenges.
Many retailers are struggling with either the application or the execution of different omnichannel strategies – in fact 94% of retailers are facing significant barriers to becoming an integrated omnichannel company.
That’s not to say though that there aren’t opportunities.
That challenge also means that there’s a potentially huge upside in understanding what customers you’re not currently reaching and the additional revenue you could get from integrating your different retail channels.
Retailers currently lose an estimated 6.5% of their revenue due to a lack of omnichannel readiness – meaning, customers are wanting to use different channels to purchase, but most retailers aren’t doing a good job of speaking to those customers.
So let’s get down to the nuts and bolts.
What are the main things preventing retailers from implementing a true omnichannel strategy and from actually understanding how customers are using different channels? Three of the most common barriers to implementing an omnichannel strategy are:
- Achieving a detailed, unified customer view
- Overcoming data silos
- Optimizing your real estate portfolio
While I’m sure you knew the answer to that question, do you know how retailers can solve for those problems?
If your answer is no, take a few minutes to watch our webinar Using Analytics to Make Omnichannel a Reality. In this 20-minute, on-demand webinar, we explore those 3 barriers in more detail and how to overcome them.
