Omnichannel retail is a powerful strategy for retailers. It combines what customers see online with how they experience shopping in-store.
Omnichannel retail is all about creating a unified and cohesive shopping journey across online, mobile, and brick-and-mortar stores. It’s important to recognize that most shoppers often switch between digital and physical marketing during their purchasing process.
While it may seem easier to quickly update the online and mobile channels, keeping brick-and-mortar stores up to date and consistent with the digital mediums poses a huge challenge.
Let’s dive into the three pillars that help successful retail stores keep up with the digital world.
Consistency
The true magic of omnichannel retail happens when the digital and in-store experiences seamlessly align. Brands that excel in this aspect create a powerful connection with their customers.
For instance, a customer might browse a brand’s website, add items to their cart, and then visit a physical store to try those items.
If the in-store experience is consistent with what they saw online, it reinforces the brand’s credibility and strengthens the emotional bond with the customer.
Agility
It’s incredibly challenging to keep up with the latest trends online. Digital trends and seasonality move faster thanks to social media and influence buying decisions more than ever.
For example, fast fashion is skyrocketing, and everyday food and beverages can become an overnight sensation on TikTok. (Remember this one from 2020?)
Visual merchandisers are in charge of retail store planning and are on the front line. It’s become increasingly difficult to keep up with in-store displays based on shopping trends.
A lot goes into planning stores, like creating the plans, properly communicating them, managing compliance, and tracking results.
One of the greatest skills that brick-and-mortar stores can benefit from is to remain agile and quickly adapt.
Customer Data
Much like marketing and sales data that are collected online, in-store marketing campaigns and POP content should be tracked to prove effectiveness.
However, tracking offline customer behavior and display effectiveness isn’t as easy as it is to track engagement on LinkedIn.
A challenge that visual merchandisers face is being able to show that their displays were effective in driving sales. Understanding how the customer can be driven to the store to make a purchase, rather than online, is a great way to take advantage of the omnichannel experience.
Omnichannel Retail Solutions: One Door
Understanding the main pillars for driving in-store success is one thing, but how can retailers tie the digital world into their stores while remaining agile?
This is where visual merchandising solutions, like One Door, help. One Door provides large retailers with the tools they need to bring their digital presence to life in-store quickly and efficiently without sacrificing design or consistency.
One of the challenges retailers face is keeping their in-store displays up-to-date with the latest promotions, trends, and seasonal changes. One Door’s solution streamlines this process, allowing retailers to easily update and customize their in-store displays to match their digital marketing efforts.
Through easy-to-use planogram editors; direct-to-store communication; and reporting analytics, messaging and visuals are consistent across all channels.
Additionally, One Door helps visual merchandisers with access to data analytics to optimize store layouts, product placements, and compliance. This means customers are more likely to find what they’re looking for.
This improves their overall shopping experience and positively impacts the visual merchandising team’s goal toward revenue.
By seamlessly integrating their digital presence with in-store merchandising, retailers can provide a cohesive journey for customers.
Keeping up with the digital world is a challenge for visual merchandisers. However, brand consistency across channels builds trust and loyalty, and personalized digital interactions make the shopping experience more engaging.
Visual merchandising solutions, like One Door, ensure that the digital and in-store experiences align seamlessly. This ultimately benefits both retailers and customers alike. In today’s competitive retail landscape, embracing omnichannel strategies is necessary to thrive and succeed.
Are you ready to seamlessly integrate your online and in-store experiences? Contact One Door to schedule a demo for your retail team.