Omnichannel eCommerce Strategy 101

A well-developed omnichannel eCommerce strategy is essential to providing seamless shopping experiences to diverse audiences across multiple platforms. We’ll take a look at why it matters, a few winning strategies to try, and a couple of examples. 

---

Web browser. Brick and mortar. Mobile apps. AR/VR. Kiosk – the list goes on. When it comes to ways to shop, your customers have countless options. Seamlessly integrating them all for a singular, all-encompassing experience is necessary to maximize their satisfaction and your profit. It also requires a careful omnichannel eCommerce strategy.

Let’s take a look at why omnichannel eCommerce can benefit your brand, why strategy matters, and cover three key approaches you can apply to your organization. We’ll also look at a few examples from leading brands. Let’s dive in!

Section titled What is omnichannel eCommerce? What is omnichannel eCommerce?

Omnichannel ecommerce is the process of using multiple channels to provide your customers with one holistic experience, delivering engaging content and collecting relevant data regardless of how they access your brand.

For example, a company might primarily interact with customers through their website. However, they might also offer a mobile app. Customers would be able to start their shopping experience on the app and have it carry over seamlessly to the website. It might remember things such as their last viewed items, purchase history, and demographics. The result is a personalized experience that can continue across any touchpoint they choose to use.

Section titled Omnichannel eCommerve vs multichannel eCommerce Omnichannel eCommerve vs multichannel eCommerce

Omnichannel eCommerce and multichannel eCommerce are similar, but with a critical difference: multichannel is just having multiple channels of engagement with your users. However, they are siloed and exist independently from each other. By contrast, omnichannel is the process of using those multiple channels to create one unified experience for your users.

Section titled Why does omnichannel eCommerce strategy matter? Why does omnichannel eCommerce strategy matter?

With a far-reaching, future-forward approach, omnichannel eCommerce is a key way to boost your brand’s success. There’s a lot of potential! However, unlocking it requires careful planning and execution. Applying a strategy that can maximize that potential is crucial, for both positive results as well as the most efficient use of your team and their resources.

Section titled Strategy creates a carefully enhanced customer journey Strategy creates a carefully enhanced customer journey

High-quality customer journeys are essential to a successful sales pipeline. They guide your users through their purchasing experience based on what content will be most relevant to them. A streamlined omnichannel eCommerce strategy is central to this as it provides a journey that will not be interrupted by switching platforms. 

Section titled It takes personalization to the highest levels It takes personalization to the highest levels

Dynamic personalization targets your users with what you have to offer based specifically upon their unique needs. Omnichannel eCommerce strategy can make sure the highest possibile levels of personalization occur by gathering data across all devices in use. Moreover, this also makes it possible to deliver that personalization to users no matter where they access your brand.

Section titled 3 key omnichannel eCommerce strategies 3 key omnichannel eCommerce strategies

Here are three omnichannel eCommerce strategy suggestions to apply to your organization.

Section titled 1. Research customer behavior across all platforms 1. Research customer behavior across all platforms

Omnichannel work includes collecting data from each channel you provide to your users. The point of holistic approach means using this information from different sources to create one picture of your user and their interest regardless of where they access your brand.

However, it can also reveal important differences between how people are using your different channels. For example, you might uncover that you are making the most sales on your mobile app. This might lead you to invest more in its development or conduct research to see if there are elements from the app that you might be able to apply to the web browser. Taking note of your data per channel in addition to the overall view can help improve your entire marketing ecosystem.

Section titled 2. Embrace the right technology 2. Embrace the right technology

Omnichannel eCommerce and the strategies to help it succeed are relatively modern concepts. As such, it works best with modern technologies that have been designed to support multichannel outreach. 

Headless CMS is a good example of this. Headless CMS makes it easy to create a centralized repository of the data your omnichannel approach collects. That way, you’re always working from one single source of truth. This produces consistent, professional content no matter where your users are accessing it from. 

Another way headless can support an omnichannel eCommerce strategy is through its future-proofed structure. Because it’s based on APIs, it’s always ready to add new channels, regardless of their underlying technology. That means you can continue to expand your omnichannel offerings for users without fear of having to renovate your entire tech stack to do so.

Section titled 3. Stay flexible 3. Stay flexible

Finally, no matter what you’re selling or what your overall marketing approach is, it’s essential to stay flexible. Strategies need to evolve over time because your customers will be doing so, too. 

Channels will grow and shrink in popularity over time. Keeping an eye on how your audience specifically is changing in this way can help you make sure you’re focusing your resources on an omnichannel strategy that’s most likely to reach your users. 

It also helps to keep up with industry news and trends, especially about emerging channels that you may want to incorporate into your brand. For example, augmented reality (AR) has recently made a big splash. Understanding the likelihood of your users adopting it can help you decide if it’s the right time to incorporate it into your strategy.

Section titled Omnichannel eCommerce strategy examples Omnichannel eCommerce strategy examples

Here are a couple of examples of brands that use omnichannel strategies to their advantage.

Section titled Tesla Tesla

Tesla is one of the most well-known brands on the market today. As a heavily tech-forward organization, it’s no surprise that they rely on an omnichannel eCommerce strategy. Part of this includes the use of a digital kiosk system, extended with the help of Storyblok.

By using kiosks, Tesla is able to efficiently maintain and present their vehicle information. It also helps collect customer data via a form. Information from this one source can then be used and applied to other channels. In addition to the omnichannel benefits, the collection is automated, meaning the staff can spend their valuable time focusing on customer service.

Section titled Bols Bols

Bols is a Dutch distiller and alcohol distributer. With the help of digital agency Story of AMS and Storyblok, they powered an ambitious expansion to the US. Part of their strategy included a less technical route: offline marketing. However, just because it wasn’t entirely online doesn’t mean it wasn’t forward-thinking.

Bols innovated by including QR codes on their bottles and cans. That way, even when their users weren’t directly connected to the internet, they still had a way to access the brand whenever they wanted. This helps to tie together the digital experience with the physical one.

Section titled Key Takeaways Key Takeaways

Omnichannel operations are the way of the future – and when it comes to competing, a sophisticated omnichannel eCommerce strategy is necessary. Fortunately, it’s well worth the effort. Striving to understand your customers, choosing the right technology, and staying flexible can help you unleash your brand’s full potential.