ECOMMERCE: HOW TO ACHIEVE THE SUCCESS OF AN OMNICHANNEL STRATEGY
The coronavirus pandemic has not only consolidated electronic commerce but has also taken it to the highest levels in its history. The need caused by the confinement has made the consumer trust more and more in online stores. However, to maintain the high level of consumer demand in this medium, it is essential that brands understand the need to establish the appropriate omnichannel strategy.
Martín Malievac is director of research and development at the company Napse, a provider of omnichannel IT tools to accompany the retail industry in its digital transformation. And he has analyzed the trends and challenges of e-commerce, focusing especially on the user experience in online shopping.
Online shopping is increasingly omnichannel
In Malievac's opinion, the main advances and trends in retail are specifically oriented towards the design of a complete and personalized experience for the user. This process can only be achieved based on the data that allows the identification of the client through each interaction with the brand to offer an adequate response to their needs.
The specialist believes that, in a certain way, the pandemic caused a kind of digital commerce boom. But having an online store is not enough to satisfy digital customers. New strategies are emerging, such as artificial intelligence to personalize the offer, the gamification of purchasing processes or live streaming eCommerce, focused on attracting new users. But they all have the same goal, to improve the user experience at different times of the purchase process.
Of all these new trends, the one that appears to be the most reliable is, without a doubt, the consolidation and expansion of omnichannel. It is the strategy that has been shown to increase profitability, revenue, and consumer loyalty and satisfaction.
Because, ultimately, what the omnichannel strategy seeks is to place the customer at the center with the aim of offering them a personalized and improved experience that adjusts to their preferences and needs.
Two strategies that will go further
In Malievac's opinion, in recent times, spaces have proliferated that combine the sensory experience of the physical world – it is possible to see, touch and even try the products – with the reliability and practicality of online payment methods. In this sense, the expert observes two very interesting new trends.
On the one hand, there are the smart locker or smart lockers. Located at strategic points with the aim of concentrating the delivery of products during extended service hours, they are intended to reduce the number of trips made to make home deliveries, while offering flexibility to pick up purchases.
On the other hand, the D2C (direct to consumer) modality is becoming more and more popular. With this formula, manufacturers sell their products directly to customers without the need for intermediaries.
In the traditional mode, a logistics network based on distribution centers supplies physical stores with inventory in addition to supplying online stores. In this way, there is a very defined separation between physical sales and online sales, supported by a multi-channel strategy. The store supplies your closest customers and, when home delivery is offered, the package arrives from the distribution center to the point of sale that sends it to the customer's home.
Instead, thanks to omnichannel, stores become small distribution centers that, stocked with inventory, can make deliveries directly to the customer's home.