Omnichannel refers to a comprehensive approach that combines various sales, customer service, and marketing channels to provide a seamless and cohesive shopping and communication experience for customers. It encompasses physical stores, e-commerce websites, mobile applications, social media, email, phone, and more.

India\'s e-retail market is projected to reach a substantial $57-60 billion by 2023, showcasing remarkable growth of $8-12 billion annually since 2020. This surge in omnichannel adoption in India stems from a prominent consumer behavior of "research online, buy offline," or vice versa.

Consequently, this trend is compelling digital brands to establish physical stores, while traditional FMCG companies are venturing into the online arena for the first time. This strategic shift empowers customers with unprecedented shopping flexibility, enabling them to purchase anytime and anywhere. E-commerce currently accounts for approximately 7-8% of all sales but is rapidly expanding and becoming an integral part of the overall shopping experience, embraced by technology-savvy consumers.

This evolving landscape underscores the need for a unified physical and digital approach, commonly referred to as "phygital," particularly for burgeoning digital-first brands.

What is Omni Channel?

In today\'s business landscape, the concept of omnichannel has gained significant importance. It involves integrating various customer interaction channels to deliver a comprehensive and unified experience. Unlike the traditional multi-channel approach, omnichannel provides multiple touchpoints for customers while prioritizing consistency and personalization across all channels.

There are three aspects of Omni Channel  every brand has to master :

There are three aspects of Omni Channel  every brand has to master : 

1. Omni Channel Marketing : Where customers are influenced by TV, Social, Digital marketing. 
2. Omni Channel Sales : Where customers can buy online, stores, marketplaces, or on calls. 
3. Omni Channel Servicing : Customers can interact with the brand across all channels and served equally. 

Omnichannel is a response to changing consumer behavior, which often involves researching products and making purchases through multiple channels. Businesses that successfully implement omnichannel strategies can enhance customer loyalty, increase sales, and improve overall customer satisfaction by providing a convenient and tailored experience across all touchpoints.

Why are companies going omni-channel?

In the evolving digital landscape, customers expect convenience, personalization, and a consistent experience across various channels. Omni channel strategies align with this need by offering a seamless customer journey, resulting in enhanced customer satisfaction, loyalty, and increased sales.

• Improved Customer Experience: By adopting an omni channel approach, companies can provide a seamless customer journey, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.
• Increased Sales: Omnichannel customers tend to spend more than single-channel customers, providing businesses with greater sales opportunities.
• Data-Driven Insights: Omni channels generate valuable customer data, informing marketing efforts, product offerings, and strategic decision-making.
• Market Expansion: Omni channels allow businesses to tap into new markets and reach a wider audience, maximizing visibility and brand reach.

Channels act as touchpoints for customer engagement, influencing their purchasing decisions, repeat business, recommendations, and social media mentions.

In today\'s fast-paced business environment, staying ahead of trends is crucial. Companies that adapt quickly to evolving customer expectations and leverage omni channel strategies can secure a competitive advantage and drive long-term success.

Offline to Online

One way that brick-and-mortar businesses can expand their growth is through adding an online store. This is because of the phenomenal growth of the e retail market. By expanding their brick-and-mortar businesses beyond the geographic limitations of their storefronts, retailers can tap opportunities by reaching new audiences and potential customers.

Examples of brands who expanded from offline to online

• Decathlon, a renowned sports retailer, allows customers to browse and purchase products both online and in-store.
• Offline retail stores like Croma, Reliance Digital and Vijay Sales have forayed into online channels.
• Reliance brands like Jio, Trends also provide customers with a seamless experience across their online platform and offline stores.

Online to Offline

While the D2C model has helped new brands scale rapidly online, expanding into offline channels has become imperative for the next growth stage. Key factors pushing D2C brands towards adoption of offline models include :

• Access and Experience: Offline stores enable customers to touch, feel, and experience products first-hand before purchasing, building more trust and comfort, especially in categories like apparel, cosmetics, and food.
• Mainstream Adoption: Digital-native consumers were early adopters of D2C brands. However, offline retail is critical for appealing to mainstream audiences.
• Cost Efficiencies: Establishing offline distribution networks leads to cost efficiencies compared to pure e-commerce models, which rely heavily on last-mile delivery.
• Market Penetration: Online sales are predominantly concentrated in Tier 1 and 2 cities. Offline retail is crucial for deeper penetration into Tier 3-6 towns and rural markets.

Examples of brands who expanded from online to offline

• A social proofing of e-retailers goes a long way in embedding a brand in a customer’s mind and explains Lenskart’s foray into offline retail in a strategic and phased manner after launching in 2010 to becoming the largest optical retail chain in India.
• Nykaa opened up offline stores to further solidify their presence in the beauty space.
  Other brands which have expanded offline include Caratlane, Sugar Cosmetics, GIVA among many others.

These moves are aimed at building awareness and trust, responding to customer preference of trying a product before purchasing, valuable in-store services, and building brand equity.

Omni Channel Marketing vs Omni Channel Sales: Understanding the Differences

With omni-channel selling, customers can use several sales channels to help them make a single purchase, from doing their research and finding what they’re looking for, to eventually placing an order. All of these sales channels must be integrated in order to be classified as an omni-channel strategy (Source: Zoho.com).

Omnichannel Marketing Strategy is a way for brands to promote their products or services across multiple channels including social media, tv, sms, whatsapp, email leveraging unified messaging, visuals and offers. Omnichannel marketing is the effective guidance of customers to the right product and/or service that they are looking for with the right amount of service. It incorporates the seamless integration of all channels that a customer engages with, carrying forward the customer’s preferences and settings.

“Customers also engage with 3 to 5 channels when they make a purchase or resolve a request.”

Whereas, a market study conducted with respondents across 18 nations asserts that 77% of Indians prefer to shop from a brand that has an omnichannel presence (Source: Economic Times). Younger buyers and Gen-Z especially prefer omnichannel marketing and retail options and look for a hassle-free experience in shopping. This cohort also spends a significant time on social media channels and they engage with companies and brands online, often engaging in conversations with them especially on X (formerly Twitter). 

Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Google Search are platforms that allow brands to not just advertise but also sell seamlessly, either by routing a customer to the brand’s app or website, or through their marketplaces.

Key aspects of omnichannel marketing that make for a truly exceptional service for customers:

• Personalized marketing agenda for each customer with autonomy to opt in or out of channels that they want to receive messaging from
• Enhancing customer experience with relevant messaging and product recommendations
• Create digital touchpoints along with in-store capabilities: mobile apps, digital displays, interactive screens, tech-enabled associates, and point-of-sale
• Creating an ecosystem around your brand that extends beyond product and focuses on innovative offers, content and community interactions
• Leveraging USPs by creating a separate channel for specialized products or service

Zomato went from being a food delivery app to developing an ecosystem around food and cuisine with a focus on marketing across multiple platforms and innovating with content and influencer marketing through blogs and videos, that elevated the brand beyond mere delivery and a personalization through AI-powered restaurant recommendations and deals cemented in customer loyalty.

Assessing the Impact of Multichannel Integration in Business

Measuring the impact of an omni channel business requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account various metrics and analytics. Here are some key metrics to consider:

1. Sales and Revenue: Tracking the overall sales and revenue generated through different channels can provide insights into the effectiveness of the omni channel strategy.
2. Customer Engagement: Monitoring metrics such as website traffic, social media interactions, and email open rates can help gauge customer engagement across channels.
3. Customer Satisfaction: Collecting feedback and conducting surveys can help measure customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.
4. Omni Channel Conversion:  As customers get influenced from one channel and they complete the purchase on another, understanding Omni Channel Conversion of online to offline and offline to online is key. 

Utilizing tools like Google Analytics can provide in-depth data on customer behaviour, conversion rates, and channel performance.By analyzing these metrics and leveraging advanced analytics, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their omni channel performance and make data-driven decisions to optimize their strategies.

Conclusion

The future of businesses is neither pure online or pure offline, businesses to grow and survive will have to be Omni Channel in true sense. 🛒The omni-channel approach, far from being a mere buzzword, is revolutionizing customer-business interactions. Advancements in technology have made omni-channel solutions affordable and accessible, particularly for smaller businesses. Leveraging cloud-based platforms and data analytics, businesses can efficiently manage multiple channels without significant capital investments. By integrating online and offline experiences, utilizing digital marketing channels, and measuring impact through analytics, organizations foster a customer-centric strategy that drives growth and success.

Going forward, businesses cannot rely solely on online or offline modes; to thrive and grow, they must embrace a genuine omni-channel approach.

At DAIOM we offer consulting services around driving marketing efficiency and omnichannel growth . To know more about how your brand can build effective omni channel strategies,  write to us at [email protected]