Omnichannel: A massive retail trend for 2013

20/03/13

Our partner Cate Trotter, founder of Insider Trends, takes an in-depth look at the retail industry and the one key trend that all retailers should take advantage of if they want to be a brand leader:

Omnichannel Retailing makes the consumer experience a seamless experience through all available shopping channels, for example, mobile internet devices, computers, bricks-and-mortar, television and catalogue.

This makes it easier than ever for customers to move from one channel to another. For example, Tesco and Domino’s have recently been experimenting with augmented reality print and billboard ads. When a consumer points his smartphone at the ad, it comes to life, giving them clickable links to find out more, like on Facebook and so on. It would be very simple to add a feature to buy the product in the ad.

Although, online retail is predicted to grow strongly and steadily over coming years (by around 15% a year), offline retail is much healthier than you’d think.

Most data companies predict that even by 2020, e-commerce sales will still only be 20% of the size of offline sales.

Customers who research and buy through a combination of channels have been shown to spend around 15-30% more than shoppers who use just one.

This is one of the reasons why 12 of the UK’s top 20 retailers (as listed by IMRG) are run by brands who have a physical presence on the high street. It is no surprise that well-known online brands such as eBay, Etsy, Made.com and Net a Porter are now dipping a toe in the real-world water.

For instance, Net a Porter now provides a free iPad magazine filled with excellent editorial content alongside interactive, shoppable fashion shoots that let customers instantly buy anything that takes their fancy.

72 Lux’s Shoppable platform incorporates seamless e-commerce functionality into any blog, turning them into a much more enjoyable shopping platform than the standard e-commerce site, and therefore one that is likely to shift more stock.

Chirpify lets customers buy items by tweeting, enabling any brand to turn its Twitter feed into an e-commerce channel.

Overall, the trick is for brands to see all channels as means to the same end. The more brands can use every channel to engage and sell to customers, the more they’ll get ahead.

Join Cate for more retail insights at the Trendsetters event on Monday 25 March 2013.

Hope to see you there!