Omnichannel

Retailers say ‘omnichannel’ but promotions systems say otherwise

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September 22, 2026 by Dan Surtees — Vice President of Strategy, XCCommerce

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Retailers love to tout their "one brand" experience, a seamless online, mobile and physical retailing encounter. And, it's true, promotions can be an immediate gratification of this omnichannel promise.

That is, if incentives and offers are consistent across channels. Shoppers don't think of retailers as "I'm shopping the store version" or "I'm shopping the app version." It's one brand. But if shoppers are jumping through hoops in-store to get an offer redeemed, only to jump through an entirely different set of hoops to get an app coupon redeemed, then very quickly consumers will view a retailer's business as separate entities.

Omnichannel becomes an intention, not a reality. And where the breakdown happens is in the systems that execute promotions.

Separate channels behave differently

Traditionally, retailer organizations didn't set out to build an omnichannel organization. They built a system for stores first, because that's where retail started and continues to deliver 80% of sales. Then, as e-commerce, mobile, social shopping, third-party marketplaces and more channels developed, systems were bolted onto the existing store system. But none of the systems were designed with each other in mind.

Layer in how retailers tend to work in silos, with a loyalty team working on projects in one office and a merchandising team in another, each with different leaders and strategies for e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores, and retailers end up with a fragmented promotions strategy. Customers develop frustration and little faith that their retailer can deliver on a one- brand experience.

Examples of disconnected discounts in action

When promotions are disconnected, they also increase operational costs and erode margins.

Consider an apparel retailer with a "Buy One, Get One 50% Off" promotion for summer apparel that's available through the mobile app while brick-and-mortar locations are running a separate "25% Off" promo. If the two channels and promotion engines aren't synchronized, some customers will receive both discounts while others receive neither. It's an inconsistent shopping experience that leads to unnecessary margin erosion and associates spending valuable time resolving pricing disputes at the register.

Now consider a major home improvement retailer running a seasonal plant sale. A customer fills a cart with more than 20 plants, but the promotional pricing hasn't synchronized with the point-of-sale system. The cashier must manually override every qualifying item while other impatient consumers line up at the checkout line.

Disconnected systems can also create problems after the sale. A customer returns an item purchased using loyalty rewards, digital coupons and basket-level discounts. Because the return system can't accurately reconstruct the original promotion, the retailer either over-refunds and loses margin or under-refunds and frustrates the customer.

The risks grow even larger during major promotions. If stores lose connectivity to a cloud-based promotions engine, some locations may manually override prices, others deny the discount, while backup systems calculate promotions differently.

Each of these issues may seem isolated but multiplied across thousands of stores and millions of transactions, the financial and operational impact becomes significant. Promotions require a single, consistent way to execute offers accurately across channels.

Consistency leads to a positive customer experience

XCCommerce's 2026 Retail Promotions Shopper Study found that 60% of consumers will abandon a retailer entirely after they see inconsistent pricing across channels. Half said they don't care where they receive an offer, as long as it works the same way no matter where they shop. And 52% said consistent pricing and promotions are what make a retailer feel worth buying from.

These results aren't a reflection on which channel is better, they're about whether the channels agree with each other.

Consistent, accurate incentives and pricing strategies need to be managed from one centralized engine. Retailers need to be able to control how promotions get stacked so they redeem in order. They need to cater to personalized shopper preferences, too. One shopper may want to redeem by paper coupon from a mailer; another may want an offer automatically processed at checkout through their loyalty account.

It's examples like these promotions that makes omnichannel a living, breathing strategy. Without a centralized system of promotions, all promo and shopper data funneling to one place, retailers are stuck running two, three or four disconnected systems, asking them to agree on a variety of decisions.

One unified brand experience

Retailers are operating robust omnichannel operations. Promotions, incentives and loyalty is one part of it, but if the infrastructure beneath promotions is fragmented, it can lead to shoppers not having a unified experience.

If retailers want to uphold a true omnichannel promise, promotions can be a proof point and make for a powerful point of engagement with consumers. Organizations need to develop a unified incentives strategy so that online, in-store, mobile, and wherever offers are being fed to consumers, they execute seamlessly and consistently.

Omnichannel Marketing

About Dan Surtees

Dan Surtees serves as VP of strategy at XCCommerce, partnering with top retailers to design and execute promotions and loyalty initiatives that fuel sustainable growth and deepen customer engagement. Since 2020, he has played a key role in advancing competitive positioning through data-driven strategy and innovation. With over two decades in retail, Surtees combines leadership across product, marketing, sales and enterprise technology to deliver measurable impact.

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