Omnichannel resulting in increased sales

In today’s understanding of e-commerce, omnichannel is practically a must for every brand that wants to sell and gain loyal customers. According to a study conducted by ShopperTrak (Redesigning Retail: What does the future of physical retail look like?) among Western European consumers, only 4% of people visiting a particular brick-and-mortar store just want to look around, without buying a specific product. On the other hand, as many as 55% of consumers visit this store with the intention of viewing or purchasing a product that they have already seen.

Omnichannel, or 500% more revenue

Omnichannel is the answer to the question where the said 55% of consumers had seen the product they came to the store for. In fact, on the Internet.  And maybe they even read on the website that a specific item was available in the size they needed in a particular store which convinced them to visit that store. Omnichannel is an approach where we use different sales channels and integrate our promotional activities. We do it simultaneously, and therefore effectively. In practice, this means consistent activities using paid advertising campaigns, e-mail marketing, promotion in social media, communication through mobile applications and other tools used by an e-commerce website. “For one of our customers, the clothing brand Quiosque, the launch of the omnichannel strategy increased their revenue by as much as 500%,” comments Katarzyna Bilan, Head of E-commerce with Fast White Cat. “With the redesign of the mobile version of the store, the percentage of mobile traffic increased from 9% to over 21%; optimisation of the AdWords campaign resulted in an increase in conversions from 0.60% to 0.84% and finally to 1.11%; and the introduction of the function of sorting the list of items depending on current inventory increased revenue by as much as 15%.

It is important that the omnichannel also includes the content shown to customers on websites and blogs. Disregarding this channel of communication with customers is one of the most common mistakes. Personalization of marketing messages is extremely important in ongoing activities, and is a great way to maximize conversions. Providing customers with the content they are looking for has a positive effect on the image of an e-commerce website as a supplier of valuable products or solutions. Unified online and offline communications together with synchronized inventory levels are normal things for modern customers, but still at least one of the reasons to stay with the brand permanently. 

I integrate = I sell

The number of integrated tools that we use to promote and communicate the brand is directly proportional to the number of consumers who make a purchase in our store – that is why we have to ensure full integration. According to the data collected in the report “M-commerce. I buy mobile”, as many as 68% of us buy products of the same brands through more than one channel (e.g. online, offline and mobile). This is important because today’s consumers care about the flexibility of shopping and reducing the time of doing them to a minimum.

From the sales point of view, the omnichannel advantages are obvious. Customers appreciate companies they can contact through social media messengers, e-mails and by phone. Their satisfaction increases when they receive a consistent and helpful feedback. This is crucial to long-term relationships and an increase in the number and value of transactions which clearly translates into bigger revenues. Especially in the long run.

 The most best solution for sales is when online and offline work together, giving buyers a great and consistent experience. The key to success lies in innovation, quick adaptation to market needs, but above all, in recognition of the superiority of the omnichannel approach… And its smooth implementation. And we will get sales along with it. 

Katarzyna Bilan, Head of E-commerce with Fast White Cat, and Karolina Obszyńska, Marketing Manager with Fast White Cat, an unusual organization supporting businesses in building online sales. Why is it unusual? Because Fast White Cat works like an e-commerce software house! It builds e-stores, provides modern, efficient solutions and has specialized developers who know everything about the Magento platform. They do it as a software house – but as an e-commerce company they know that stores still have to sell great! Therefore, in a bundle with a ready-made platform that converts, they add marketing facilities, quality control, analyses and reports. That is how they bring together these two worlds.