In a previous blog, we saw how in retail, building the right omnichannel strategy is everything. Today we’ll discuss some omnichannel strategies that retailers of today can/must use to be successful.
Google’s e-Conomy SEA 2022 report speaks about how SouthEast Asia is three years ahead of the projected time in reaching $200 million in gross merchandise value in 2022 itself. GMV is defined by Investopedia as “the total value of merchandise sold over a given period of time through a customer-to-customer (C2C) exchange site.” GMV is a strong growth signal of how well a company is performing w.r.t revenue, and is also an indicator of the rising digital adoption in consumers all across the world.
Google’s report emphasizes the undertaking of laser-focused marketing strategies in order to take advantage of the plethora of opportunities the region’s digital economy offers.
Sticking to our topic, what are some of the omnichannel marketing strategies that retailers can utilize to elevate their performance and grab market share in huge markets such as SouthEast Asia? Let’s explore:
Omnichannel Strategies in Retail
- Ensure Performance Across Channels
Being present on all channels is not enough; performance consistency and focus on delivering the best possible experience to customers, regardless of the channel they choose to interact with your brand, is an important yet very overlooked aspect of an optimal customer experience.
Just fathom this, how many retail brands do you know that have a super-fast mobile shopping experience going on, just like they provide on desktop? Very few, in my own experience. Those that do, like Myntra, are far more conducive to natural mobile search and purchase than other prominent brands in the Indian market.
Between two apparel websites that offer almost the same products, how much of a differentiator is mobile & app speed to you? (image format)
- Ensure Consistency Across Channels
Again, criminally underrated, because most brands are present just for the sake of being present, without care for ‘how’ they appear to the customer. It’s a very myopic outlook, which can be tackled by building a very strong brand identity system. A brand identity system is a set of brand guidelines that include logos, symbols, characters, and more, basically designed to keep the brand experience consistent, literally everywhere. Think of brands like Pepsi or Coca-Cola. They have been delivering a universally consistent brand experience for decades now.
Consistency is not limited to branding. Retailers need to ensure that their in-store offers are consistent with their online claims. Similarly, the customer should feel a sense of service efficiency when interacting with your brand across all online channels, and in-store.
It’s easy for consumers to spot which brands are genuine in building a top-notch omnichannel experience for their customers, and which are just ‘ticking the boxes’. And once you lose the attention of the customer, he’s as good as gone.
- Use Technology
By 2030, 125 billion devices are estimated to be connected using IoT, putting the number at 15 connected devices per user to handle. Your omnichannel strategy must consider the new wearables such as smart watches, to deliver increasingly personalized services, as customers are demanding. The data on personalization is there for all to see. A staggering 8+ people out of 10 are willing to share their personal details if they are treated to more personalized (read ‘better’) deals from brands.
If you are behind on providing fully functional and maintained payment gateways on all fronts and automated chatbots, we take it you haven’t begun to use technology, but most chances are that you have done that. Those are staples today, but remember that the companies who adopted them first got the first-mover advantage. Updating to the next steps such as integrated shopping experience on new wearables will one day be as important as payment gateways.
- Learn From The Best
One of the best ways to stay ahead of the competition is to benchmark the best and replicate contextually. The consistency, performance, and technological advancement that Amazon has displayed through Amazon Prime is exemplary. Bringing customer data out of siloes from across devices and channels and connecting them, offering benefits and membership discounts, excellent product service at costs customers are willing to pay, are all elements of a revenue-generating omnichannel experience.
Speaking of retail, Nike offers one of the best in-store + online integrations in the world.
Credits: LinkedIn Pulse
The omnichannel retail infrastructure that Nike has put together is the very definition of seamlessness. Whether one is at the store, shopping online, or wants the product delivered to their home or the nearest retail store, everything feels automatic. It’s so good, you don’t notice it.
Take an Interactive Product Tour of Explorazor.
