Omnichannel retailing is not just about online or brick-and-mortar stores, but it is a combination of both. It’s about creating an integrated retail environment that allows for better customer service and engagement through online and offline interactions. It’s about connecting all the touchpoints that customers are using to interact with your brand and making sure that there is consistency across those channels.

There are many benefits to omnichannel retailing including increased revenue, higher conversion rates, improved customer satisfaction and loyalty levels as well as greater overall efficiency in operations

Channel Unification

Merchants must understand that their customers want to shop in-store and online at the same time and have access to all products in both locations. Customers expect to find what they want when they want it — whether that’s online or in-store — no matter where they are at any given time of day or night. The success of every retail business relies heavily on the customer experience and how inventory plays a key part in it. The future of retail is omnichannel, meaning retailers need to offer customers multiple ways to shop: online, mobile devices, social media sites, etc., while being able to track their inventory across all channels from one location (i.e., a central hub).

The goal of inventory management is for a business owner to maintain an optimal level of inventory on hand at all times. This allows them to cater to the needs and demands of their customers while saving money by avoiding overstocking or understocking. After all, the business owner is getting the inventory for a specific price and must be able to successfully turn it over in order to:

1. Pay for the expense

 2. Provide the exact product that the customer wants

 3. Make a profit while continuing to turn over the product successfully

Ultimately, a business owner’s ability to optimize their inventory management will lead to an improvement in customer lifetime value. 

Clienteling

A successful inventory management strategy means always having the exact product available for customers to purchase. But in today’s retail landscape, that’s not enough to keep bringing them back in. Yes, your customers know they can rely on you because you carry the product at all times. After successful inventory management, the key to improving customer lifetime value is by clienteling — getting to know your customers personally and delivering a curated shopping experience that complements their purchases online or in-store.

The internet has allowed consumers to shop on their terms and be able to filter their preferences as they please. Businesses are now able to track their customers’ preferences through the data that is collected each time a customer purchases a product online.  This can then be used to curate a memorable in-store experience for its clients. Providing quality service with products or other services offered is another way to differentiate oneself from the next competitor and improve their customer lifetime value.

Omnichannel retailing is essential in today’s retail business landscape because it increases sales, improves inventory turnover and increases operational efficiency. These KPIs are fundamental to the success of every retail business, which is reliant on the business owner’s ability to identify them and make choices based on actionable insights from their customer and inventory catalogs. Now a business owner has a strong visual of what their inventory management should be, but also a personalized understanding of their customers and how they shop.