How important is omnichannel customer engagement strategy?

Omnichannel shopping experience is the latest buzzword in retail, and rightly so because it streamlines both online and in-store customer experience. Basically, omni-channel is simply a multi-channel sales approach that provides the customers with a unified shopping experience. For instance, a company can put strategies in place to achieve a convergent sales and customer experience via its social media, email marketing, mobile marketing and well-designed website, among other channels.

The state of omnichannel shopping

Infographic source

Retailers who have omnichannel customer engagement strategies in place enjoy an impressive 89% customer retention rate compared to only 33% for companies with weak Omnichannel strategies. Many retailers who haven’t implemented omnichannel strategies yet are looking to implement one.

Despitethe fact that only 45% of retailers see omni-channel as their top priority, many retailers feel that they are lagging behind this important retail customer engagement strategy. In a recent study by SPS Commerce over 37% feel like they haven’t nailed their long-term omnichannel strategy yet. So if you haven’t implemented omnichannel, you are not alone.

According to Hubspot, shoppers who shop both online and in-store have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who use only one channel. 71% of US shoppers say they have bought an item online and picked it from the brick-and-mortar store.

How Smartphones influenceomni-channel experience

According to Mintel, 53% of shoppers say convenience is the number one factor they consider before making a purchase. For that reason, smartphones are becoming big influencers of omniachannel shopping experience. Nearly 71% of shoppers cite their smartphone as their most important tool when it comes to doing research about a product or a retailer. Moreover, 28% of US retail sales are influenced by smartphones.

What happens when you are not omnichannel?

Did you know that the opportunity cost of not being omnichanel is a 10% dip in revenue? Apart from lost revenue, your customer experience could also suffer if you have weak omnichannel. 89% of customers hate it when they have to repeat their issues to multiple customer representatives.

Moreover, 64% of customers expect to receive seamless customer service regardless of which channel they are using.

And considering the fact that 98% of customers switch between devices on the same day, it pays for companies to have extremely strong omnichannel customer engagement.

Top omnichannel retail capabilities

According to digital shoppers, a strong omnichannel:

  • Offers the customers the ability to check availability of products prior to making visiting a store.
  • Offers the customers the ability to make product reservation online and pick it later from the store.
  • Enables companies to store customer information across various channels.
  • Enables companies to offer consistent personalized customers services across multiple channels.
  • Makes it possible for companies to use social media to serve customers.