Creating the perfect store is important. Not only you need to plan carefully your strategy but also to make changes that your business will benefit from and keep the cash flowing in. Therefore, one of the most important issues successful medium and large businesses experience — is their ability to be up-to-date with new technologies.
Online shopping popularity has really grown in the last 10 years with up to 79% of Americans shopping online and 73% of customers shop using both online and offline stores. For example, some of the biggest stores, like IKEA and Campbell, have not only brick-and-mortar, but also online stores. This allows them to meet a lot of customers from the United States, Eurozone countries and also from other worldwide leading cities and increase the sales and profits.
Such stores are known as omnichannel stores as they enable a business to sell its products and services on many platforms both online and offline. Moreover, there is a rise in the number of omnichannel stores across the world.
Integrating Digitalisation
Digitalization and e-commerce have brought a lot of changes in how businesses deal with not only customers but also other businesses. Whether you are a B2B enterprise or you are into retail, you can profit vastly from the benefits that come with digitalization. This is because digitalization provides many tools and platforms that simplify how you deal with your business on all levels.
With many e-commerce platforms available, you can efficiently integrate digitalization into your business. Digitalization also provides many modern tools for sales, like InsightSquared and Troop, that can be used to make sales easier.
Let us look at some of the advantages of using e-commerce platforms:
- Efficient management of inventory
Your inventory is one of your most important prized possessions. Better management will help to improve your business as it allows you to keep track of all business activities.
- Safe storage of information
With the cloud available to you, you can store all your valuable documents in a safe and easily accessible place. Maximize your security to suit the needs of your company. Remember, customers want to be assured of security concerning their information. Creating this safe environment will create a trust between you and your customers and thus will lead to loyalty.
- Larger target audience
Numbers are very important when it comes to selling products and services. The more customers you have means more profit made. With digitalization, you can create an online shop that allows you to trade with so many different customers from different countries. This gives you the opportunity to broaden your market without the need to physically open a store in that part of the world.
- Improved customers services
Apart from offering quality goods, how you treat your customers is a very important factor that drives loyalty. Making sure your customers are well attended to and treated in a special way is very important to them and this is what will allow you to retain them and get new customers.
- Less workforce is required
When you have an online shop or a company, you do not necessarily have to employ a lot of people. Digitalization comes with automation of most business-related activities. For example, you do not have to monitor the function of machinery by yourself as there are many tools that you can use to observe any flaws in the functioning of all machinery. These tools allow you to detect the smallest changes early giving you the chance to resolve the problem way before it gets out of hand.
- Access to what consumers need
With the internet and social media, you can get access to what is trending among a target audience or people in general. Trends, especially, in the fashion or clothing business can be very important and play a major role on how your business will progress.
Producing what is needed currently by a certain group of people can help to direct your business activities, thus, helping you to focus only on what is needed. Digitalization provides an easier way of getting feedback from customers. And CRM tools will help you to improve customer relations.
What’s More?
Despite the rise in the number of online stores, they haven’t overtaken brick and mortar stores. Some people still prefer shopping in offline stores. Here are some of the reasons why:
- Customers can physically touch the product they want to buy,
- There is no need for customers to wait for the product as they receive it immediately after paying,
- Face to face communication is very important for some customers,
- They provide an easier way of returning an item that was previously purchased.
Even with these advantages, some customers still prefer shopping online because of the cheaper prices and shopping at convenience. Some other reasons why customers may prefer online shopping include:
- Variety of products,
- Price comparison,
- Discreet purchases,
- Online support,
- Testimonials.
Therefore, there are so many types of customers. Some prefer online shopping while others like traditional or offline shopping. So why not have something for both. That is where multichannel commerce comes in. It allows you to integrate both your traditional store with a more digitalized shop.
Benefits of Multichannel Integration
Multichannel selling or omnichannel selling is a type of business that allows you to sell your products to customers on many platforms, both online and offline. Multichannel selling is aimed at providing customers with the opportunity to buy the same product from many platforms. This allows retailers to reach more customers from all corners of the earth.
Multichannel involves selling products and services in many locations including websites, traditional stores and any other marketplace like Amazon or Ebay. Multichannel selling is the future of e-commerce, especially, for retailing businesses.
Here are some reasons why you should consider integrating your offline business with an online shop, as multichannel:
- Allows you to have more customers
With customers who prefer online shopping and those you prefer to go to the store physically, you can sell to a larger number of different types of customers. In both cases you would be creating a convenient environment for shoppers, allowing them to shop in a way that suits them best.
- Allows you to establish loyalty
Loyalty will allow you to retain your customers and prevent them from moving to other competitors. This is done by always providing what customers need.
- Prevents you from relying on one source of revenue
By having an online and offline store you have two sources of revenue. Should one fail to be successful, you will have a backup that will keep you in business. Also, having two sources will increase and potentially double your revenue.
- Offers you to make a setup that can be easily done
There are fewer requirements when you start. With an online store, you do not have to employ a lot of people to work for you. Also, you can have the same stock and all you need to do is open a website that will allow you to advertise and market your products to customers.
- Allows you to sell a wide range of items
Multichannel platforms allow you to sell various goods from electronics to groceries. Items like electronics can be purchased online while groceries can be purchased in a traditional store. By using multichannel integration, you will create a place where you can sell so many different types of goods along with services to customers.
- Provides an opportunity for you to have a high ROI
This will allow you to make sure that your investment is worth it. Omnichannel selling can have a positive impact on this part of your business. This also helps you to decide if you should invest in certain products.
Combining Traditional and Modern Stores
Moving from a traditional retailer to a multichannel retailer can be a little bit challenging. But with the right tools, you can get it done in the right way. There are three things you should think about when integrating your retail business:
- Coordination: it helps you to efficiently manage activities in your business and make it easier for you to transition from a brick and mortar to omnichannel enterprise.
- Information: it enhances how you provide information to customers so that customers get the right information about the products you are selling.
- Services: it allows you to provide the best possible services to your customers once they have the information about the products you offer. Offering good services will increase customer loyalty.
The above-mentioned activities also allow you to work efficiently and combine all shopping tools to create a better working environment that will increase your overall success.
Bottom-Line
So, with the ever-changing trends in technology and how they are being applied in business, it is very important for B2B and B2C models to use omnichannel and give the business an opportunity to blossom and really grow immensely.
Adding the benefits of traditional stores and those of online stores will make your business a formidable contender in the retailing world. With digitalization, integrating these two kinds of selling is simplified and possible.
