Omnichannel
In 2021, omnichannel retail is all about identity, consistency and personalization
Jake Athey, VP of marketing and customer experience at Widen, explains why omnichanne, a loaded buzzword if there ever was one, is less about where you sell and more about identity, consistency, and personalization.
March 3, 2021 by Jake Athey
After 2020, retail brands wanted to catch their breath. The chaotic, COVID-induced shift to e-commerce felt more like running from a natural disaster than stepping into a new opportunity. Now that formally brick-and-mortar brands have pivoted to e-commerce, that's good enough, right? They're "omnichannel" now, aren't they?
Not quite. Omnichannel — a loaded buzzword if there ever was one — is less about where you sell and more about identity, consistency, and personalization.
To a consumer, a brand has one identity, whether they shop on the website, email customer service, or scroll the Instagram feed. To most brands, though, one consumer is a kaleidoscope of random disconnected data. Thus, to the consumer, the brand seems inconsistent across its emails, in-app offers, and customer support conversations. And without consistency, there is no hope of personalization.
To think in terms of "e-commerce + brick-and-mortar store = omnichannel" is limiting at this point. What about social media, marketplaces, mobile apps, podcasts, chatbots, beacons, wearables, and in-store sensors? What about delivery or buy online, pick-up in store? What about augmented reality apps and customization engines? What about new spaces, including the customer's car and home?
Omnichannel is better understood as a project to:
a) Connect everything a brand knows about an individual into one, cohesive identity.
b) Present a brand — including its products and services — consistently in every channel.
c) Automatically adapt and personalize brand communications to each identity.
To say this raises privacy issues would be a massive understatement. Putting those aside for today, let's consider how those three qualities show up in the most important omnichannel trends:
1. Shoppable media
Every product-related social feed and media site is potentially a sales channel — if you can make the content shoppable. The simplest version of this is on Instagram. You see a photo of an influencer wearing apparel from her sponsor; if you hover your mouse over her jacket, jeans, purse, etc., you see a product name and price. You click to buy that exact item on the brand's e-commerce site.
Facebook Shops is an effort to keep the transaction within Instagram or Facebook — because that minimizes friction, raises the value of Facebook ads, and enables Facebook to earn a cut of the sale.
Where else can these shoppable experiences happen? Product-focused blogs (so-called makers of "content") can and sometimes do choose to make product images shoppable. A fitness smart mirror could do the same. If it advertises a dumbbell workout to the user, why can't it market dumbbells too?
Shoppable media is a powerful omnichannel tool for reasons stated in the intro. It connects new information about an individual to a digital identity, inserts the brand into new channels, and, based on those interactions, can personalize future communications. If the fitness smart mirror owner bought dumbbells, maybe he wants bands, kettlebells, and fitness apparel as well?
2. Augmented reality and virtual reality
Online, people compare prices and options, research specs, and consult reviews and influencers. In person, they physically test or handle goods, talk to knowledgeable staff, and have more of a sensory experience. Augmented reality and virtual reality fill the gaps between those experiences. And they have a big role to play in omnichannel commerce.
Right now, a good example of AR/VR is Zenni Optical, which allows customers to try on glasses virtually. Another is the IKEA Place app, which enables users to "see" to-scale 3D images of furniture and accessories in their own home. Yet another good example is Sephora Visual Artist, which enables customers to try on makeup virtually.
The next step for brands is to attach data from these AR/VR experiences to the customer's digital identity. That way, Zenni would already know which types of eyeglasses fit and look best on each customer. That way, IKEA would be familiar with the dimensions of the customer's home and market products accordingly. That way, Sephora could recommend beauty products based on what customers virtually try, like, and ultimately buy.
3. Custom additive and 3D manufacturing
The next frontier for omnichannel retailing is the supply chain and manufacturing process. Using data, consistent branding, and personalization to link customers with products they'll like is pretty effective. What if, in addition, that data could be used to custom design and create products for customers?
Some brands are moving in that direction — slowly. The Nike By You experience is illustrative. It lets shoppers pick an existing pair of shoes and customize 16 different design and color attributes. The pitch: "Let's make something no one's ever seen." Nike's manufacturing is advanced, but they can't make that shoe in a 3D printer down the street—not yet anyway.
Many brands will follow suit. Hemster, a custom tailoring app, is gearing up for this future. Bicycle makers like Fezzari, which takes 23 measurements to customize every component on their bicycles to the rider's body, is thinking this way too. The only thing limiting the scalability of these business models are supply chains and manufacturing techniques, which will only become more automated.
Not Your 2010s omnichannel
In five years, "omnichannel" brands might be those that take in the totality of a person's interests, experiences, opinions, physical traits, etc. to deliver custom goods, when, where, and how the customer wants them. The boring but essential foundation of these omnichannel experiences will be modular product images and information. When customers literally create a product online, the data stored in marketing and e-commerce systems will need to be combined to represent that unique product.
If that all sounds absurd, remember how much changed in 2020. The disruption and transformation won't stop anytime soon.
Jake Athey is VP of marketing and customer experience at Widen
About Jake Athey
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