Omnichannel and unified commerce
The digital universe is constantly expanding, something that has led to diversification of consumer behavior, seeking all possible ways to make purchases. This has motivated brands to incorporate new tools and channels into their sales system, with the intention of enriching the user experience. Its experience is becoming more complete, varied, flexible and efficient, thanks to the different channels that a business offers.
As a result of this evolution, strategies such as omnichannel and unified commerce have emerged. We are going to see what each of them consists of and the utility they can report to a business.
Define the omnichannel strategy
An omnichannel strategy is one that establishes communication with the customer using different channels separately: physical stores, social networks, websites, payment platforms, etc. Omnichannel tries to carry out each management from its initial channel. However, unified commerce tries to unify all payments in a single control panel, unifying the customer's vision regardless of the channel they use.
Unified commerce, through a single report, simplifies customer payments, showing all your transactions regardless of the origin of your channel (eCommerce, RRSS, app, physical store). For example, in an eCommerce that has implemented a unified commerce strategy, its customers can place an order through social networks and manage their follow-up or return from the web platform or from the physical store.
As for omnichannel, the company appears on several channels, each of which is managed independently. For example, a customer could make a purchase in the online store of a brand and later process the return in any of its physical establishments. The user experience is improved with omnichannel solutions, and as a result, their brand loyalty is reinforced. The easier things are for the customer, the more likely they are to make repeat purchases.
Differentiating unified commerce from omnichannel
While omnichannel seeks to integrate customer service channels, unified commerce seeks to integrate all business management into a single digital platform. In this way, the company can simultaneously manage different areas: stock, payments, etc. This form of strategy can be implemented both in communication and in sales, facilitating conversions and collecting leads. Thus, a brand can manage all payments from all channels on a single platform.
However, omnichannel cannot offer this type of integration, but real-time information about customers, interests and preferences, as well as their behavior, preferences, and seeing which channels are the most effective in sales.
To conclude, it can be said that by moving from an omnichannel strategy to unified commerce integration, a brand or business will be able to offer a more personalized shopping experience, thus reinforcing contact with its customers.