Top 5 omnichannel retail trends

“I’ve interacted with social media, I’ve interacted with a call center, I’ve interacted with a store, I’ve interacted with a service center, I’ve interacted with a car, and ordered something in the car. That is an omnichannel presence where everything a person does, can connect them back and they can be part of becoming ambassadors for Tesla because this is awesome!”

George Blankenship, Former VP Worldwide Retail, Tesla

The digitization of society is accelerating at a breakneck speed. 

Testing the resilience of brick & mortar… and the savvy of eCommerce to elevate CX.

Brands are investing heavily in their omnichannel strategy to create a seamless customer experience between online, in-store, and mobile.

73% of consumers use multiple channels during their shopping journey. (HBR)

Omnichannel shopping has increased by 50% last year. (NielsenIQ)

5 omnichannel trends to watch

Trend 1. Connected in-store associates

Equip in-store sales teams with mobile devices to:

- facilitate access to customer data - personalized support 
- optimize occupancy rates - live chat support
- offer appointments - personal shopping 
- promote in-store visits - geolocation features

Trend 2. Web-to-store

“We are all going to have to think very differently, in terms of digital-first.”

Corie Barry, CEO, Best Buy

Nearly 67% of shoppers in the US have used Buy Online Pick Up In Store over the past 6 months.

Digital channels allow retail brands to: 

- Provide live product availability updates

- Attract customers to the store

- Upsell products at the time of order pickup

Trend #3. Augmented reality

“The beauty of AR, in my view, is that the virtual world then becomes an amplifier of the physical world.”

Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

AR addresses one core challenge of online shopping: customer desire to look, touch, feel, & try the product.

An opportunity to recreate the in-store experience at home.

Trend #4. Full-messaging communication

"Digital customer service interactions will increase by 40% in 2021." Forrester

Engage with customers over messaging in addition to traditional calls and emails via rich messaging, voice and video on brand and retailer websites or via messaging applications (Messenger - WhatsApp - Instagram - Apple Business Chat…).

And coming soon 

In-app purchases 

“A key challenge today is payment.”

Marc-Alban Ponthieu, Messenger & WhatsApp Business Brand Dev Lead - S. Europe, Facebook

Trend #5. Live Shopping

A new immersive, interactive, event-driven online shopping experience, at the crossroads of major trends (video, influencers, conversation, eCommerce) that allows one-click purchasing. 

88% of Millennials and Generation Z consumers are interested in live shopping. Forrester Consulting