Back in 2018 a survey revealed that a massive 81% of American retailers planned to have unified commerce solutions in place by 2020. Whether the Covid-19 pandemic delayed or sped up this process is yet to be determined. But one thing's for sure - more businesses are implementing unified commerce than ever before. And more shoppers are demanding it too.
Last year the Centre for Economics and Business Research surveyed shoppers in Hong Kong and Australia on behalf of Adyen. The results showed that demand for unified commerce is high.
In Hong Kong 79% said they want unified cross-channel experiences. While in Australia 74% want businesses to maintain the high levels of flexibility they've shown by selling products across multiple channels during the pandemic.
Shopper expectations are higher than ever and brands that embrace a unified approach to eCommerce will prosper.
Unified commerce syncs all of your sales channels to create a seamless customer experience. It goes beyond omnichannel commerce as it involves connecting all of your backend systems as well as your public-facing channels.
Everything from inventory management to customer communications is brought together in a single central platform. This makes your business easier to manage. Brands also gain oversight of customer behaviour sales and stock levels across all locations and platforms. This includes your website app and social commerce channels as well as third-party marketplaces and brick-and-mortar stores.
As a result customers can enjoy all the benefits that come with this streamlined system. Think improved fulfillment highly relevant messaging improved customer service and consistency across sales channels.+
To take advantage of unified commerce retail brands need to implement three key things.
Unified commerce brings every aspect of your retail business under one single system. Rather than relying on a variety of internal channels unified commerce solutions amalgamate them.
There's one real-time inventory system to track stock levels across physical stores D2C websites marketplaces and warehouses. There should be one CRM for all incoming customer queries and a consolidated payments system too. All this means there's also a central point for data collection.
As a result unified commerce provides you with a complete overview of customer behaviour and needs. This then empowers you to make better business decisions that should impact your brand's bottom line.
With a centralized system in place brands have more power to implement influential changes across their marketing and sales channels.
In 2021 the consumer journey is much more complex than it used to be. Shoppers don't follow a linear path to conversion. Instead they're more likely to connect with your brand across several channels before making a purchase.
If you have a segmented backend system the data you track often won't be complete. But with unified commerce you'll be able to see how your online loyalty programme impacts in-store sales. Or how in-store promotions affect online traffic within a certain region.
With unified commerce you can better understand your customers. This in turn allows you to create a better experience across channels. You can also push out relevant messaging which will nurture rather than annoy them.
For brands with a bricks and clicks business model unified commerce usually leads to better point of sale capabilities as well. For example sales assistants can quickly and easily organize deliveries returns or check online stock.
A centralised inventory system can bring all sorts of knock-on benefits to shoppers.
Online customers should be able to see reliable stock information and pricing across all sales channels. While support staff should be able to do the same with just a couple of clicks.
The oversight provided should also prevent online stockouts especially when the storeroom of a brick-and-mortar location is full.
An integrated inventory system can also facilitate flexible customer returns. If someone buys an item online for example they should be able to return it in-store. It also allows brands to offer swift and reliable BOPIS arrangements.
While unified commerce solutions and omnichannel solutions are inextricably linked they involve different setups and bring about different benefits.
An omnichannel approach involves integration across every customer-facing platform. It's about letting customers know where they can make a purchase. This allows them to choose their preferred channel - whether it's a D2C store a third-party retailer or a marketplace like Amazon.
However behind the scenes there's multiple internal platforms of operation. So the likes of customer service order tracking and inventory information often remain separate for each sales channel.
Unified commerce on the other hand integrates everything in the backend too. From payment systems through to inventory software and customer service desks.
For brands this provides oversight across all channels and customer actions. For customers this creates a seamless and flexible experience. Simply put unified commerce solutions take omnichannel commerce to the next level.
Unified commerce enables you to give your customers the best experience possible. As a result this improves customer engagement brand competitiveness and brings other great benefits as well.
Here's what you need to know.
Unified commerce increases the average order value and order frequency of shoppers according to research from Adyen.
It also tends to increase customer loyalty which is probably thanks to the increased convenience and service offered by brands.
Centralizing all your backend systems can reduce costs for your business in a number of ways. Firstly consolidating your systems may reduce costs in terms of subscriptions and maintenance. It can also reduce the time staff spend on tasks like accounting ordering reconciliation order fulfillment and answering customer queries.
With one central system your business can also gain greater purchase power. You can order packing supplies and other products in bulk for all your warehouses and locations. You'll also be able to negotiate one contract for the likes of payment processing courier services and more.
With one centralized information source unified commerce provides clarity on customer behavior sales, metrics and KPIs, stock levels and much more.
This makes it easier for brands to identify any issues that may pop up. They can also monitor the impact of new strategies across all areas of their business from marketing campaigns through to changes in safety stock volumes.
Unified commerce solutions are all about creating a frictionless customer experience. And in modern retail this is a key differentiator for brands. Customers benefit from greater flexibility convenience and service while businesses get more sales.
According to Forbes this has been proven time and again. One study suggests that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable while other research shows that 84% of brands investing in customer experience report increased profits.
Unified commerce solutions aim to reduce friction between your sales channels and backend systems. As a result brands gain internal efficiency as well as increased customer satisfaction sales and loyalty.
While it will take significant preparation and time to integrate your backend channels it will be well worth the effort. Once you have achieved omni-commerce success your brand should look toward unified commerce next.
Interested in discovering how your business can provide a better customer experience and drive more conversions? Talk to our team today!
