5 Omnichannel Tips to Ensure a Successful 2021

Omnichannel has moved beyond a retail buzzword into a success strategy and survival tip for businesses of all kinds as the lingering impacts of 2020 roll into 2021. Successful omnichannel retail strategies will be a requirement for retailers seeking to meet customer demands in 2021 and beyond. Businesses that skip out on the shift to a unified shopping experience may find themselves falling behind.

Here are the top 5 Omnichannel tips that will help to ensure a successful 2021 and beyond...

Connectivity between online and physical presences

One of the key elements of a unified customer experience is consistency across platforms. Whether it’s your website, mobile app, or brick and mortar store, or social media channels, content should be consistent. Product descriptions, sales, pricing, etc. should be consistent no matter which platform your consumers choose to shop from.

Inconsistent pricing in your physical stores versus online can lead to customer dissatisfaction and cost you sales.

Make use of available tech to keep information and inventories consistently updated across channels as well. This includes individual brick and mortar stores. Nothing frustrates a customer faster than driving to a different location only to be told the item isn't in stock after all. 

Consistency is a major customer retention point.

Personalized Experiences

Omnichannel retail models are all about putting the customer at the center of the sales model. When there are multiple shopping platforms to access the same company, make use of the data your customers provide to make a truly personalized experience. Using customer relationship management systems to analyze relationships between customers and businesses, you can suggest products similar to previous purchases, offer 1 click “buy again” of products that require refills, and so on. 

Demonstrating that your company has been paying attention to your clients' needs and facilitating their purchases gives an overall personalized experience. It’s the modern digital answer to a favorite restaurant server knowing their regular drink order.

Data Sharing Across Channels

In order to facilitate the omnichannel experience, you’ll need to make certain there is seamless data sharing across all physical and digital channels. Doing so will make targeting your clients’ needs, preferences, and sales history consistent and accurate. This requires regular and up-to-date data about customers, and smooth data integration from e-commerce systems and apps to in-store systems as well. 

Make use of analytics and tools available to make data visibility work for you.

Encourage Engagement

Whether your business uses app notifications, proximity reminders, or emails about sales and other marketing tools, a good policy for a successful omnichannel experience in 2021 is regular engagement with customers.

There are a variety of ways to achieve this, including engaging on social media platforms, emails, notifications, and event organization. How you go about this step is less important than actually implementing it in some way that resonates with and engages your customers the most.

Send Reminders Based on Browsing History

This is one of the most effective omnichannel tips on this list...

In a world where many shoppers browse for items on their phones, only to become distracted by something else, a follow-up email or in-app suggestion might be just the extra push your customer needs to complete the purchase. This tip incorporates the personalized experience, data sharing, and engagement encouragement all rolled into one.

Customers presented with the same desirable item multiple times are more likely to make the purchase, and when all of the platforms share the correct data your client gets the full benefit of an omnichannel retail experience.