Insight: the future of retail is the connected customer experience
I recently attended the Omnichannel Summit hosted by The Retail Bulletin and it was a fantastic opportunity to network with likeminded retailers and industry specialists. During the day, I was engaged in (not for the first time over the last year), a lengthy discussion, debate, and deliberation with my peers around ‘Omnichannel’.
Omnichannel enables retailers to seamlessly engage with their customers across all channels. It can significantly improve the customer experience by ensuring that as customers move from channel to channel, their context and history moves with them. Consumers today expect this type of seamless experience from the companies they interact with most frequently. The promise of omnichannel back to the retailer has always been a better customer experience, barrier-free or frictionless shopping and enhanced brand differentiation.
The digital revolution has raised the bar for retailers. A retailer may offer a smartphone app, same-day delivery, personalised recommendations and even mobile or contactless payments, but if these capabilities don’t blend seamlessly across multiple channels, the customer experience will be inferior to that of a competitive brand who may do some or all these things well.
