Whether you’re a small, medium-sized, or enterprise business, your customers probably expect an  omnichannel shopping experience. Kylie Schafer, practice lead at Summit Advisory Team, talks with Lori about the benefits of omnichannel commerce and gives some advice for getting started.

Omnichannel in a nutshell

Kylie explains that omnichannel is all about “cross pollination” between sales channels. For example, customers might be able to buy something online and return it to the store, or view their online purchase history and in-store purchase history side-by-side. 

In a broader sense, though, omnichannel is “just good retail.” The best brands “meet the customer where they are [and] help them shop the way they want to shop.”

Why invest in omnichannel strategies?

Why use an omnichannel fulfillment approach? The answer is simple: “Your customers expect it. … They expect things to be fast. They expect things to be easy. They expect minimal friction.” Through every stage of the customer journey, from purchase to returns, buyers value a seamless shopping experience—and omnichannel is the best way to provide one.

Getting started with omnichannel 

If you’ve never used an omnichannel strategy before, or want to level up your current processes, what should you do? Kylie offers the same advice for every business, regardless of size. She says, “The first thing I always encourage … is starting with a proper strategy. Why do you think you need to do this? What are your customers telling you? What are your main competitors doing? Where do you want to be?” 

Links

• Connect with Kylie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylieschafer/ 
• Connect with Summit Advisory Team on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/summit-advisory-team-llc/ 
• Visit the Summit Advisory Team website: https://summitadvisoryteam.com/