What is Omnichannel Retail?

What is Multichannel Selling?

Retail inventory management solution needs to be dynamic. We are keeping ahead of the curve.Multichannel selling is simply selling products using multiple sales channels. Do you sell on just one website? If so, you’re not a multichannel seller. But, if you sell on your website, a mobile-enabled site, a Facebook Shop, and Amazon, you’re a multichannel seller. So, we can say that multichannel selling is reaching buyers on two or more sales channels and these can be connected or not.

How Do These Concepts Differ and Why?

Multichannel selling is always part of an omnichannel strategy. But, simply selling products on multiple channels doesn’t create an omnichannel experience. To do that, your sales channels, payment methods,and other aspects of your business must connect so that no matter how your buyer interacts with your company, it’s seamless to them.

For example, let’s say you run a natural foods specialty store and you sell through your:

Retail store

Online store

Facebook Shop

Selected products listed on Amazon

Mobile app with a customer shopping list feature

Plus, you market to customers using:

Weekly Specials email

Facebook posts featuring items in your Facebook Shop and healthy recipes

Printed coupon inserts in all shipped orders and in-store purchases

A loyalty programs

Congratulations! You’re already a multichannel seller since you sell to customers in four ways: a storePOS53, website pos53.com, mobile app, and even a

Facebook Shop. Plus, you have a nice email and social marketing strategy that keeps your customers engaged, updated and coming back.

But does that make you an omnichannel retailer? That depends. Do your sales channels and other marketing engagement points all work together? If you’re not sure, here are five questions to ask:

Can your shoppers place an online order and select in-store pickup?

Can shoppers click on a sale item in an email to add it to their mobile app shopping list?

Can your store clerk look up a customer’s mobile app shopping list in-store for them?

Can shoppers log in to your website and see past purchases, whether made in-store, online, or via your Facebook Shop?

Does your loyalty program update points and rewards to your customer’s mobile app?

An omnichannel retailer can answer yes to each of these questions. All of their sales and marketing engagement points are interconnected. This creates a seamless customer experience that is the heart of an omnichannel strategy.