What is omnichannel commerce and why does it matter for businesses. How can companies implement effective omnichannel strategies to boost sales and customer engagement. What are the top 5 omnichannel commerce tactics to drive growth in 2023 and beyond.
Understanding Omnichannel Commerce: Definition and Importance
Omnichannel commerce refers to the approach of using multiple sales channels to create a unified and seamless customer experience. This strategy has become increasingly crucial in today’s digital landscape, where consumers interact with brands across various platforms.
Why is omnichannel commerce so important? It allows businesses to:
- Reach customers wherever they prefer to shop
- Provide a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints
- Increase brand awareness on new platforms
- Drive sales and encourage repeat business
- Keep up with evolving consumer demands and expectations
As consumer behavior continues to evolve, businesses that fail to adopt an omnichannel approach risk falling behind their competitors and missing out on valuable opportunities for growth.
Personalization: The Key to Effective Omnichannel Strategies
One of the most powerful omnichannel commerce strategies is personalization. By tailoring the shopping experience to individual customers across all platforms, businesses can significantly boost engagement and conversions.
The Impact of Personalization on Consumer Behavior
Research by Google has shown that personalized experiences can have a substantial impact on consumer behavior. Some key findings include:
- 90% of leading marketers say personalization significantly contributes to business profitability
- Personalized calls-to-action perform 202% better than generic ones
- 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences
How can businesses implement effective personalization in their omnichannel strategy? Consider these tactics:
- Utilize customer data to offer tailored product recommendations
- Implement dynamic pricing based on customer segments and behaviors
- Create personalized email marketing campaigns
- Offer customized promotions and discounts
- Use AI and machine learning to predict customer preferences
Integrating Online and Offline Channels for a Seamless Experience
A truly effective omnichannel strategy bridges the gap between online and offline channels, creating a cohesive brand experience for customers. This integration is crucial for businesses looking to provide a seamless journey from discovery to purchase.
Strategies for Blending Digital and Physical Touchpoints
To successfully integrate online and offline channels, consider implementing the following approaches:
- Offer buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) options
- Implement mobile apps that enhance the in-store experience
- Use QR codes to connect physical products with digital content
- Provide in-store digital kiosks for product information and ordering
- Offer virtual try-on experiences for physical products
By blending digital and physical touchpoints, businesses can create a more engaging and convenient shopping experience that caters to diverse customer preferences.
Leveraging Social Commerce in Your Omnichannel Strategy
Social commerce has emerged as a powerful component of omnichannel strategies, allowing businesses to reach customers where they spend a significant amount of their time online.
The Rise of Social Shopping Platforms
Major social media platforms have introduced robust shopping features, including:
- Instagram Shopping
- Facebook Marketplace
- Pinterest Buyable Pins
- TikTok Shop
- Snapchat’s Native Commerce
How can businesses effectively incorporate social commerce into their omnichannel strategy? Consider these tactics:
- Create shoppable posts and stories on Instagram and Facebook
- Utilize influencer partnerships to showcase products
- Implement live shopping events on platforms like TikTok and Instagram
- Use social media advertising to target specific customer segments
- Encourage user-generated content to build trust and showcase products in real-life contexts
Optimizing Mobile Commerce for Omnichannel Success
With mobile devices accounting for an increasingly large share of online shopping, optimizing the mobile commerce experience is crucial for omnichannel success.
The Growing Importance of Mobile Shopping
Consider these statistics highlighting the significance of mobile commerce:
- Mobile devices accounted for 71% of retail website visits globally in 2020
- Mobile commerce sales are projected to reach $710 billion by 2025 in the US alone
- 54% of consumers use their smartphones to compare prices while shopping in-store
How can businesses optimize their mobile commerce experience? Implement these strategies:
- Ensure responsive design for all website pages and product listings
- Streamline the mobile checkout process to reduce cart abandonment
- Implement mobile-friendly payment options like Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Optimize product images and descriptions for mobile viewing
- Develop a user-friendly mobile app to complement your website
Utilizing Data Analytics to Refine Your Omnichannel Approach
Data analytics plays a crucial role in developing and refining an effective omnichannel strategy. By leveraging customer data and insights, businesses can make informed decisions to improve their omnichannel approach.
Key Metrics for Omnichannel Success
When evaluating your omnichannel strategy, focus on these important metrics:
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
- Cross-channel conversion rates
- Customer retention rates
- Average order value across channels
- Channel attribution
How can businesses effectively use data analytics to optimize their omnichannel strategy? Consider these approaches:
- Implement cross-channel tracking to understand customer journeys
- Use A/B testing to optimize channel-specific experiences
- Leverage predictive analytics to anticipate customer needs and preferences
- Analyze customer feedback and reviews to identify areas for improvement
- Monitor competitor performance across channels to stay competitive
Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Omnichannel Commerce
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool for enhancing omnichannel commerce strategies. By leveraging AI technologies, businesses can create more personalized, efficient, and engaging customer experiences across all channels.
AI Applications in Omnichannel Retail
Here are some key ways AI is being used to improve omnichannel commerce:
- Chatbots and virtual assistants for customer support
- Predictive analytics for inventory management
- Personalized product recommendations
- Dynamic pricing optimization
- Visual search capabilities
How can businesses effectively incorporate AI into their omnichannel strategy? Consider these tactics:
- Implement AI-powered chatbots on your website and mobile app
- Use machine learning algorithms to predict customer behavior and preferences
- Leverage AI for demand forecasting and inventory optimization
- Implement visual search technology to enhance product discovery
- Utilize AI-driven personalization engines to tailor the customer experience
Enhancing Customer Service Across All Channels
Providing exceptional customer service across all channels is crucial for a successful omnichannel strategy. Consistent, high-quality support helps build customer loyalty and enhances the overall shopping experience.
Key Elements of Omnichannel Customer Service
To deliver outstanding omnichannel customer service, focus on these essential elements:
- Consistency across all touchpoints
- Seamless transitions between channels
- Personalized support based on customer history
- Proactive engagement and problem-solving
- Self-service options for common issues
How can businesses improve their omnichannel customer service? Implement these strategies:
- Develop a unified customer database accessible across all channels
- Offer multiple support channels, including phone, email, chat, and social media
- Implement a robust CRM system to track customer interactions
- Provide comprehensive training to customer service representatives
- Use AI-powered tools to enhance and streamline support processes
By focusing on these omnichannel commerce strategies, businesses can create a more engaging, personalized, and seamless shopping experience for their customers. This approach not only drives sales and customer loyalty but also positions companies for long-term success in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace.
As consumer behavior continues to evolve, it’s crucial for businesses to stay agile and adapt their omnichannel strategies accordingly. By consistently monitoring performance, gathering customer feedback, and staying informed about emerging technologies and trends, companies can refine their approach and maintain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of commerce.
Remember, the key to successful omnichannel commerce lies in creating a unified, consistent, and personalized experience that meets customers wherever they are, whether that’s in-store, online, or on social media. By implementing these strategies and continuously refining your approach, you can build a robust omnichannel presence that drives growth and fosters long-lasting customer relationships.
What Dominic Nichols’ commitment means for Michigan football
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Dominic Nichols of Oakdale High School, MD runs a drill during the Under Armour Next Football Camp Series in Towson, MD on March 27, 2022. Joe Hermitt | [email protected]
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None of Michigan’s first 21 commitments in its 2024 recruiting class were true edge rushers.
The Wolverines have now picked up two verbal pledges at the position in the past week. Ijamsville (Maryland) Oakdale four-star Dominic Nichols became the latest on Sunday, choosing Michigan over other finalists Wisconsin, Kentucky and Clemson. Here’s what his commitment means for the Wolverines:
- Edge has always been a top priority this cycle for Jim Harbaugh’s program, it has just taken a little bit to create some movement. The dominoes started to fall last week when Brandywine (Maryland) Gwynn Park three-star Devon Baxter became the first to commit.
Nichols, who knows Baxter well, jumped on board Sunday, and Michigan still isn’t done adding at the position in the 2024 class. - The Wolverines also appear to be leading for fellow edge rushers in Deerfield Beach (Fla.) four-star Elias Rudolph and Cheshire (Conn.) Academy four-star Jacob Smith, the twin brother of current Michigan four-star defensive line commit Jerod Smith. Rudolph is set to choose between Michigan, Miami and Pittsburgh on July 3, while Jacob Smith also is rumored to be nearing a decision. Nichols’ commitment also is important because the Wolverines missed out on a key edge target last Thursday when Olney (Maryland) Good Counsel four-star Darien Mayo, a top-200 prospect, verbally pledged to Clemson.
- Nichols, who is ranked as the No. 433 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite index, is on the bigger side for an edge prospect at 6-foot-5, 252 pounds. Because of his frame, Michigan’s coaching staff compared him to Aidan Hutchinson and Mike Morris. Obviously, if he can be as productive as either of those two players during their prime, that would be a massive win for Michigan.
- Although Michigan has had some notable misses on the recruiting trail this month, it is still way ahead of where it was last year. When July 2022 rolled around, the Wolverines only had six commits in their 2023 class and only picked up one pledge during the always-important recruiting month of June. Harbaugh and his staff have 23 commitments in the 2024 class, including six this month with several days remaining.
- Michigan’s 23 verbal pledges is tied with Minnesota for the second-most in the country. By the time fall rolls around, Michigan’s class could be close to being wrapped up. The Wolverines could add another commit on Thursday, when Belleville four-star linebacker Jeremiah Beasley is set to announce his decision. Michigan appears to be the leader there.
Nichols, who knows Baxter well, jumped on board Sunday, and Michigan still isn’t done adding at the position in the 2024 class.
(Highlights embedded with permission from Hudl)
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Omnichannel commerce: 5 strategies to grow your business in 2023
Consumers are discovering products and making purchases across more platforms than ever, and they expect businesses to meet them there as they do. Providing a seamless sales experience across multiple channels is the new norm, and to stay competitive in 2023, businesses need to leverage omnichannel commerce strategies to keep customers engaged.
What is omnichannel commerce and why does it matter?
Omnichannel commerce is the method of using multiple sales channels to create a seamless customer experience. An omnichannel commerce approach helps businesses reach customers no matter where they shop — whether it’s in person, through an eCommerce store, on social media platforms, or through their mobile devices — and helps connect the dots to engage customers and drive purchasing decisions.
Omnichannel commerce tools enable businesses to keep up with consumer demand and give them an opportunity to raise their brand awareness across new platforms, to increase sales and to drive repeat business.
5 omnichannel commerce strategies to grow your business
From reaching customers through multiple sales channels to creating a cohesive brand experience, these five strategies will help you create a successful omnichannel commerce approach.
1. Personalize the commerce experience across platforms.
Why: As consumers shop across new platforms, commerce personalization matters. Personalization encourages purchasing decisions and can help drive customer loyalty. Google found that 63% of smartphone users are more likely to purchase from companies whose mobile sites or apps offer them relevant recommendations for products they may be interested in, and Segment reported that nearly half of customers would likely become a repeat customer if a brand offered them a personalized experience.
How: Leverage multiple channels to personalize the shopping experience for customers and demonstrate that your business is paying attention. Tools such as Square Online help customize the eCommerce and mobile shopping experience by allowing customers to create an account on a business’s site to track their purchase histories, orders, and payment information. Customer accounts also make it easy for returning customers to reorder their favorite items.
Use banners or pop-ups across your online store to highlight new products, top sellers, or sales that customers may be interested in. Leverage email or text marketing to follow up with customers after they’ve made a purchase or to recommend new products to a segmented audience based on their purchase histories.
2. Expand with social commerce tools.
Why: Consumers are shopping on social media platforms in increasing numbers, and the social commerce industry is projected to grow three times as fast as traditional eCommerce to reach $1.
2 trillion by 2025. Between the personalized shopping experience that takes place on social apps and the impact of influencers and user-generated content, social media platforms have become the go-to place for shoppers to browse, discover, and purchase. Selling on social channels — also known as social commerce — can connect a business with a new, wide range of customers that span age demographics and purchasing power.
Sprout Social reported that when asked which communication channels give brands the best opportunity to connect with their customers, consumers rated social media as number one. Consumers want to see and connect with brands on social channels, and when they feel connected to a brand, some consumers will increase their spending or buy from that brand over a competitor.
How: There are plenty of ways to get started with social commerce. You can start to build awareness with your target audience and boost your social media presence through social selling tactics, or you can sync your eCommerce store to social media platforms to create a storefront and make your posts shoppable.
Allow customers to easily follow your business on social channels by offering scannable QR codes at your checkout counter or on your eCommerce store.
Once social shoppers complete a purchase, follow up with them through text or email to encourage them to leave a review or to offer a chance to join your loyalty program for exclusive offers. User product reviews on social media channels are essential to build trust among your customers, but these reviews can also be used as testimonials across your eCommerce store or email marketing campaigns.
3. Connect with customers through mobile devices.
Why: Mobile commerce, also known as mCommerce, is growing rapidly and is projected to account for 44% of retail eCommerce sales by 2025. The Square Growth of Mobile and Conversational Commerce report found that 98% of consumers want to connect with businesses through their mobile devices and that 30% of consumers expect to shop more on their mobile devices in the coming year.
Offering a mobile-friendly shopping experience is essential to drive sales and repeat customers. Businesses that provide a fast and seamless experience on mobile devices have a better chance of customer conversion, and according to Google, 29% of consumers said they’d leave a site or an app if it doesn’t satisfy their needs.
But customers don’t just use mobile commerce to make purchases — they also use their mobile devices to browse, research, and contact businesses. Square found that many consumers use mobile commerce to connect with businesses through email and text messages, appointment and order notifications, loyalty messages, scanning QR codes, and more.
How: Mobile commerce tools can help your business connect and interact in real-time with customers. First, it’s essential to ensure your site or eCommerce store is mobile-friendly and optimized for mobile use. Square Online offers an app-like mobile shopping experience for customers so they can access your online store from mobile and navigate your store like they would an app.
Next, consider places where connecting with your customers through mobile devices can help boost engagement and customer satisfaction. That could mean using text marketing to send notifications or loyalty updates to customers, adopting QR codes across your business to drive awareness, or creating an enhanced mobile shopping experience to accompany your social commerce strategy. Mobile commerce is a flexible and growing sales channel that can help connect the dots in your wider omnichannel commerce strategy.
4. Use loyalty and discount incentives to drive sales.
Why: There’s endless competition in the commerce landscape, so adopting strategies that will help your brand stand out and encourage customers to return to your business can impact your bottom line significantly. Promotions and discount incentives can help convert shoppers into customers, and rewards from loyalty programs can turn those customers into repeat business.
Fifty-eight percent of consumers said that an exclusive offer would increase their likelihood of purchasing, and another 41% said that they would seek out something new to buy just to use the offer.
Square found that customers who were enrolled in a Square Loyalty program were twice as likely to be repeat customers and spent 37% more than customers who weren’t in a loyalty program.
How: Discount, promotion, and loyalty incentives can be leveraged across any of your omnichannel platforms, making these tools especially useful to reach customers across channels. Using Square Marketing, you can create digital coupon campaigns to be sent to customers via text or email, or generate one-time, unique coupon codes to share across social platforms to drive traffic to your eCommerce store. Offer discounts as incentives to encourage shoppers to take an action, such as signing up for your newsletter or leaving a review. Be sure to advertise your promotions across your sales channels, whether that’s in-store, online, or through marketing campaigns.
When a customer makes a purchase, offer them a chance to sign up for your loyalty program so they can accumulate points, receive rewards, or be part of exclusive offers.
There are plenty of ways to structure a successful loyalty program, so consider what makes sense for your business and what type of loyalty incentives will help drive sales. Like discounts, advertise your loyalty program across channels and give shoppers a taste of what they’ll receive if they sign up.
5. Offer simple ways to pay across all channels.
Why: Customers want options when they pay, whether they’re making purchases in person, online, or through text. Debit and credit cards are still the most popular form of payment among U.S. consumers, but digital payments and buy-now, pay-later services are rapidly gaining traction as go-to payment methods.
Projections from eMarketer show that there will be 6.5 million new mobile wallet payment users per year from 2021 to 2025. The Square Future of Mobile and Conversational Commerce report found that from January 2020 to February 2022, Afterpay spending grew 660%, driven by high-intent millennial and Gen Z shoppers.
Once a customer makes it to the purchasing stage, it’s smart to give them multiple payment options and a seamless payment experience to reduce abandoned-cart items and to ensure that your checkout experience is consistent across platforms.
How: Offering Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Afterpay for in-person and online sales gives customers familiar and quick checkout options while providing payment links on social channels, text, or email helps direct customers to your online checkout page to complete their purchases. If you operate in person or at a temporary location, you can leverage QR codes to take customers right to your online checkout page to make quick payments.
If your online store or online checkout page is hosted by Square, you have the built-in option to accept online and in-person payments across channels with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App Pay, and Afterpay for a faster and more flexible checkout experience. With Square Online Checkout, you can generate payment links and QR codes to sell anywhere you do business.
