Omnichannel retail is the future of the shopping experience

The average consumer is becoming more and more demanding, thanks to the massive use of the web and the possibility of interacting directly with manufacturing companies. The field of omnichannel retail is at the forefront of daily user management. The field of omnichannel retail is at the forefront of everyday user management.

Ecommerce is transforming our way of understanding the shopping experience more and more deeply.
If the period marked by Covid-19 is teaching us anything, it is that forced imprisonment or semi-imprisonment is radically changing consumer behavior. A reality in which social interaction is a risk, online shopping becomes an ally that increasingly overlaps the more familiar reality of the physical store.

But it remains important for the average consumer to be able to interact with the human being, to view or try a product live, to be advised by someone more “expert”.

An all-round shopping experience

Due to the pandemic, many businesses and brands have chosen a digital strategy to survive. For the more advanced, multi-channeling represented a way to allow their customers to connect to the company both online and offline. Choose a product in a store, but buy it online, or buy online but pick up in a physical store.

Unfortunately, however, often these touchpoint (contact points) do not have a fluid connection between them, and the resulting customer experience is fragmentary, unsatisfactory.
Hence the need for a more widespread approach, through an omnichannel strategy, more in line with the real needs of the digital buyer.

Omnichannel retail

Even more than in other fields, retail sees a desirable future in omnichannel marketing where the resulting approach is uninterrupted, simultaneous and with customer management that is fully integrated between the various interaction systems.

As verified by a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, omnichannel users spend an average of 4% more when shopping in a store and 10% more online than those who shop using only one platform.

The customer journey

The average customer today is more aware and more informed. Online he compares, checks and tries to understand what to do to buy the product he is interested in. Omnichanneling bases its strategy precisely on the knowledge of what customers want today: interacting with companies on multiple platforms and methods, while keeping the brand experience intact.
For some chats, for others emails, still others phone calls or even all three aspects together. Different touchpoints for different customer targets, in a single customer journey that moves from one channel to another according to the needs of the moment.

The omnichannel in the network therefore aims to hit the consumer on multiple areas of interest, starting from his favorite touchpoint, which is obviously not the same for everyone.

Omnichannel customer care: assistance on every channel

Throughout the purchase process, and even after the purchase itself, customer service must therefore represent a focal point of interaction with the customer. Distinguishing yourself from competitors also means having a high quality approach to your users.
Omnichannel assistance can interact with a greater number of customers, and follows their customer journey through different channels, providing immediate assistance regardless of which method of contact has been used.

omnichannel customer support allows you to use any touchpoint, continuously, interconnected and managing everything from a single platform, without interruptions.

As never before, omnichannel is the best solution for quality customer service. Being able to have direct contact, specific help, is a decisive security for the average user.

The advantages of an omnichannel strategy in the retail sector

In omnichannel, the consumer is placed at the center of the process, interacting with the company through multiple options and will experience the same experience on every touchpoint with which he comes in contact, without interruption.
Starting an online business and ending it in a physical store, without starting the process all over again, for example.

The resulting advantages are many and should not be underestimated.

• Customer loyalty and brand reputation
  
  Customers who will receive omnichannel assistance will, benefit from an effective and fast, but above all continuous, customer experience. This will obviously allow to strengthen the confidence of the average user in the brand, who will decide to rely on the company again. It will then be the means by which to create positive external feedback improving or consolidating the reputation of the company.

• Optimization of sales processes
  
  Omnichannel is also a very powerful tracking system, with which to analyze, understand and make the most of customer requests, with a view to long-term customer loyalty. This also allows for the optimization, in the retail sector, of sales: offering apersonalized shopping experience, stimulating purchase, choosing which products to promote based on the customer you are targeting.

Innovation and interconnection with XCALLY

To succeed in this process, it is essential to have a powerful and simple tool, a platform that is able to aggregate and integrate the various information collection and purchase channels through a single software.

XCALLY is an omnichannel contact center software designed to manage, monitor and analyze data from all the touchpoints used by a brand, conveying them in a single system that is easy to use and understand.

This not only simplifies the management of the customer journey, but allows you to monitor and analyze data in a very effective marketing perspective.