What Does Omnichannel Retail Look Like in 2020?

Omnichannel retail has grown to be a crucial piece of strategy in 2020. The trend is not necessarily new, but it has become an established part of the retail experience for many brands this year. Its evolution is unfolding before us and leading to new innovations in fulfillment that will solidify and become the future for retail beyond this year.

What is Omnichannel Retail?

With the birth of multi-channel retail in response to the growth of the digital world, consumers and buyers were finally given the opportunity to pursue their shopping online and offline. E-commerce became an engaging experience for consumers to find the items they need outside of the offline channel of in-store shopping. Through this they were given 24/7 access to their buying habits.

Since this development, the consumer's demands have grown to a desire for a more thorough and seamless experience and buying path. Out of this demand came the birth of a new fundamental piece of both reaching and satisfying the consumer in the retail sphere - omnichannel retail. The omnichannel model focuses on integrating those systems and channels that were being utilized separately under the multi-channel retail model. It finally fills the demand for a seamless shopping experience across all different systems that may belong to a brand, allowing the customer to start shopping in one channel and finish in another channel without any speed bump or hurdle.

With it, consumers are able to develop their own unique preferences and routines on their own platforms or channels, be it mobile, online, or in-store. It also enables them to control the supply chain based on that preference as well, getting their items delivered, ready for pickup, or from the shelves whenever they need them. For example, they can purchase something through social media, checkout online, and pick it up in the store closest to them. This is the stage of omnichannel retail that has been the most developed this year.

The omnichannel experience allows the consumer to take their own path freely from purchasing to receiving. It gives them control over their shopping journey, while also maximizing the sales potential for a store or brand.

What's New in 2020?

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been massive changes to online fulfillment. The ship-from-store model that used to be a logistical nightmare is now becoming a necessity in many ways. Stephan Schambach from Total Retail says, "stores can deliver efficiency, speed and convenience when used to fulfill online orders, especially if the brand has integrated its web and store inventory. This will allow the brand to ship from a store closest to the consumer instead of from a far-away distribution center."

Keeping up with the convenience needs of the customer is difficult during COVID-19, since shopping in-store has slowed down. Brands and stores have been forced to turn their online shopping into a local distribution channel, seamlessly connecting the consumer to their online items at their local stores. Almost every larger retailer has transitioned to this function in their inventory management and supply chain and offers their items for instant in-store or curbside pick up.

However, these retailers are slow to adapt the new convenience of on-demand delivery from their store to the customer's doorstep through that same channel. The next stage of omnichannel retail in 2020 is surely going to be the same-day delivery model.

OneVim is the perfect delivery partner for your business looking to integrate a same-day delivery system into their online shopping channel. Through the OneVim app and API, we can integrate with these online ordering platforms, sending a delivery driver to pick up and drop off the item at the customers door within the same hour. Get ahead of the competition in this space and offer same-hour delivery with OneVim now. We'll be happy to explain how to on-board your business into this new era of omnichannel retail, so don't hesitate to contact us.

What's next?

Creating a brand that is always engaged with users and consumers is the way of the retail world right now. We'll certainly be seeing more innovations for how to give the consumer the easiest shopping experience throughout all channels. And, if there's anything 2020 can tell us about this space, it's that the demand is here to stay.