Defining the Difference Between Multichannel, Cross-Channel and Omnichannel Retailing
Multichannel, omnichannel and cross-channel retailing aren’t exactly unfamiliar terms in the industry. Though the terms are only subtly different, they have completely different meaning. To ensure retailers can properly execute a multichannel, cross-channel or omnichannel strategy, it takes a well-defined understanding of these terms.
Multichannel
The term multichannel refers to the experience of a customer who shops using multiple channels such as website, social media, brick-and-mortar stores and mobile applications.
A multichannel retailer may adopt two or more channels to engage their customers, however, they are not focused on driving a consistent message across each channel. Rather, they are more focused in simply engaging their customers across multiple touch-points.
Cross-channel
Cross-channel describes the experience of a customer who has used a combination of different channels (e.g. website, mobile application, catalogue) for the same purchase.
For example, a customer browses online, sees a product they want and then visits the store to purchase that very same product.
Omnichannel
The term omnichannel refers to the goal of delivering a consistent brand experience across all channel activity. Companies invested in omnichannel strategy are careful to ensure that their customers receive the same experience and message across different channels and devices involved within their interactions with the brand. The customers’ shopping journey is not disjointed, but completely seamless.
Omnichannel means supporting all channels and having a holistic view of the customer regardless of communication method. This is vital as customers are increasingly dictating how they want to be engaged and serviced. Unlike multichannel, omnichannel interactions are not siloed but integrated providing for richer customer experiences that are connected (digital), continuous (consistent across devices, channels, and time) and contextual (relevant) no matter how many times a customer may transition from one channel to another for one task or during an entire journey. - Daniel Hong, Senior Director of Product Marketing, [24]7
What should retailers be focusing on?
To customers, the shopping process is simply ‘retailing’. They don’t care about terminology and categorising the journeys they take into a marketing buzzword – instead, they want to switch from channel to channel, from device to device, picking up exactly where they left off in their purchasing process. An uninterrupted, disjointed retail experience. To us, this is omnichannel retailing.
Retailers who do not invest in multichannel thinking are at risk of failing foul to their competition – omnichannel thinking, with a cross channel mind-set will help retailers to stay ahead of the curve.
Omni-Channel Customer Care research shows that companies with well-defined omni-channel customer experience management (CEM) programs achieve a 91% higher year-over-year increase in customer retention rate on average, compared to organizations without omnichannel programs. These organizations also average a 3.4% increase in customer lifetime value, while those without omnichannel programs actually diminish customer lifetime value by 0.7% year-over-year.
An omnichannel experience is the expectation nowadays – the closer you can get to it the better. Consumers benefit when they are well connected to the product or service. So the challenge in the industry is to track and tailor across all the channels for the best experience – retail, web, mobile, text, phone – the good ones get this notion and do it well - John Casaretto, Contributing Editor, SiliconANGLE
Defining the Difference Between Multichannel, Cross-Channel and Omnichannel RetailingMultichannel, omnichannel and cross-channel retailing aren’t exactly unfamiliar terms in the industry. Though the terms are only subtly different, they have completely different meaning. To ensure retailers can properly execute a multichannel, cross-channel or omnichannel strategy, it takes a well-defined understanding of these terms.MultichannelThe term multichannel refers to the experience of a customer who shops using multiple channels such as website, social media, brick-and-mortar stores and mobile applications.A multichannel retailer may adopt two or more channels to engage their customers, however, they are not focused on driving a consistent message across each channel. Rather, they are more focused in simply engaging their customers across multiple touch-points.Cross-channelCross-channel describes the experience of a customer who has used a combination of different channels (e.g. website, mobile application, catalogue) for the same purchase.For example, a customer browses online, sees a product they want and then visits the store to purchase that very same product.OmnichannelThe term omnichannel refers to the goal of delivering a consistent brand experience across all channel activity. Companies invested in omnichannel strategy are careful to ensure that their customers receive the same experience and message across different channels and devices involved within their interactions with the brand. The customers’ shopping journey is not disjointed, but completely seamless. Omnichannel means supporting all channels and having a holistic view of the customer regardless of communication method. This is vital as customers are increasingly dictating how they want to be engaged and serviced. Unlike multichannel, omnichannel interactions are not siloed but integrated providing for richer customer experiences that are connected (digital), continuous (consistent across devices, channels, and time) and contextual (relevant) no matter how many times a customer may transition from one channel to another for one task or during an entire journey. - Daniel Hong, Senior Director of Product Marketing, [24]7What should retailers be focusing on?To customers, the shopping process is simply ‘retailing’. They don’t care about terminology and categorising the journeys they take into a marketing buzzword – instead, they want to switch from channel to channel, from device to device, picking up exactly where they left off in their purchasing process. An uninterrupted, disjointed retail experience. To us, this is omnichannel retailing.Retailers who do not invest in multichannel thinking are at risk of failing foul to their competition – omnichannel thinking, with a cross channel mind-set will help retailers to stay ahead of the curve.Omni-Channel Customer Care research shows that companies with well-defined omni-channel customer experience management (CEM) programs achieve a 91% higher year-over-year increase in customer retention rate on average, compared to organizations without omnichannel programs. These organizations also average a 3.4% increase in customer lifetime value, while those without omnichannel programs actually diminish customer lifetime value by 0.7% year-over-year.An omnichannel experience is the expectation nowadays – the closer you can get to it the better. Consumers benefit when they are well connected to the product or service. So the challenge in the industry is to track and tailor across all the channels for the best experience – retail, web, mobile, text, phone – the good ones get this notion and do it well - John Casaretto, Contributing Editor, SiliconANGLE
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Defining the Difference Between Multichannel, Cross-Channel and Omnichannel RetailingMultichannel, omnichannel and cross-channel retailing aren’t exactly unfamiliar terms in the industry. Though the terms are only subtly different, they have completely different meaning. To ensure retailers can properly execute a multichannel, cross-channel or omnichannel strategy, it takes a well-defined understanding of these terms.MultichannelThe term multichannel refers to the experience of a customer who shops using multiple channels such as website, social media, brick-and-mortar stores and mobile applications.A multichannel retailer may adopt two or more channels to engage their customers, however, they are not focused on driving a consistent message across each channel. Rather, they are more focused in simply engaging their customers across multiple touch-points.Cross-channelCross-channel describes the experience of a customer who has used a combination of different channels (e.g. website, mobile application, catalogue) for the same purchase.For example, a customer browses online, sees a product they want and then visits the store to purchase that very same product.OmnichannelThe term omnichannel refers to the goal of delivering a consistent brand experience across all channel activity. Companies invested in omnichannel strategy are careful to ensure that their customers receive the same experience and message across different channels and devices involved within their interactions with the brand. The customers’ shopping journey is not disjointed, but completely seamless. Omnichannel means supporting all channels and having a holistic view of the customer regardless of communication method. This is vital as customers are increasingly dictating how they want to be engaged and serviced. Unlike multichannel, omnichannel interactions are not siloed but integrated providing for richer customer experiences that are connected (digital), continuous (consistent across devices, channels, and time) and contextual (relevant) no matter how many times a customer may transition from one channel to another for one task or during an entire journey. - Daniel Hong, Senior Director of Product Marketing, [24]7What should retailers be focusing on? To customers, the shopping process is simply ‘retailing’. They don’t care about terminology and categorising the journeys they take into a marketing buzzword – instead, they want to switch from channel to channel, from device to device, picking up exactly where they left off in their purchasing process. An uninterrupted, disjointed retail experience. To us, this is omnichannel retailing.Retailers who do not invest in multichannel thinking are at risk of failing foul to their competition – omnichannel thinking, with a cross channel mind-set will help retailers to stay ahead of the curve.Omni-Channel Customer Care research shows that companies with well-defined omni-channel customer experience management (CEM) programs achieve a 91% higher year-over-year increase in customer retention rate on average, compared to organizations without omnichannel programs. These organizations also average a 3.4% increase in customer lifetime value, while those without omnichannel programs actually diminish customer lifetime value by 0.7% year-over-year.An omnichannel experience is the expectation nowadays – the closer you can get to it the better. Consumers benefit when they are well connected to the product or service. So the challenge in the industry is to track and tailor across all the channels for the best experience – retail, web, mobile, text, phone – the good ones get this notion and do it well - John Casaretto, Contributing Editor, SiliconANGLE
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