Omnichannel Retailing & Multichannel Retailing: How Does it Matter in the E-Commerce Industry.

The E-commerce market in the past decade has witnessed massive changes. The E-commerce industry has evolved a lot such that people can't live a day without making use of the e-commerce facility. According to a report by Statista, around 40% of worldwide internet users have bought products or goods online via a desktop, mobile, tablet or other online devices.  

What led to such a rise in popularity of the e-commerce website? 

Accessibility, No destination barriers, internet connectivity everywhere, time-saving, comparison of products possible, economical are some of the factors that led to the sudden rise of the popularity of e-commerce website in a short period. Some of the leading and well-known e-commerce websites such as Amazon, eBay, Anotah, Max fashion, Shopify are examples of such sites which grew in popularity in a short period. Each year we are witnessing a considerable number of innovative changes or trends in the field of e-commerce. Off late multichannel retailing and omnichannel retailing has been able to get some attention successfully. Whether we are aware of it or not, all marketers are either engaged with omnichannel retailing or retailing. Whether it be multichannel retailing or omnichannel retailing customer experience should be the significant factor that every e-commerce business should take into consideration.

Let's dive deep into understanding the difference between multichannel retailing and omnichannel retailing. Multichannel Retailing

During the earlier days, single-channel retailing was the most common thing. Customers needed to buy products from either from a brick-and-mortar store or an online website. Brick-and-mortar shop was the most preferred form of shopping back in the olden days. As the popularity of the internet grew, e-commerce websites started acquiring the market. This reason led to various e-commerce websites switching to multichannel marketing strategies leaving behind single-channel retailing. Whether it be through a brick-and-mortar store or an e-commerce website, with multichannel retailing, you can reach your audience wherever they are irrespective of their location. With mobile devices handy, shoppers have the freedom to buy according to their preferences. Most shopper today like to browse, read reviews, compare pricing and look for discounts. Understanding a customer's journey is essential for an e-commerce business. By adopting the multichannel marketing strategy, e-commerce companies can gain an advantage over their competitors. 

Let's explain multichannel retailing with an easy example.

1. Customer 1 wants to buy a particular cloth.
2. With easy access to the internet, he decides to search for the product online.
3. Your e-commerce website gets displayed in the search result.
4. Chance of the customer 1 clicking your website and purchasing it either from your website or from your retail shop is very high.
5. Without having an e-commerce website, the chance of getting noted is very less in this digital world.

Omnichannel Retailing

Multichannel retailing offers the flexibility needed for the customers. But shopping habits of people have changed a lot over time and at present customers prefer more than two channels for shopping of products or services. With the rise in popularity of social media platforms and people preferring to spend more time browsing social media platforms, the probability of your product reaching the right audience through social media is very high. Social media has opened new doors of marketing as far as e-commerce industry is considered.

In Omnichannel retailing refers to retailers having both physical as well as a digital presence. According to Google, omnichannel retailing means, "retailers are ensuring their marketing strategies are geared toward enabling customers to convert on any channel". Whether it be an online e-commerce website or a brick-and-mortar store or a social media page, your products are available everywhere. It is a modern marketing strategy to offer a cohesive experience to users. Anotah Fashion is one such company which has a strong physical and digital presence. 

Let's omnichannel retailing with one example.

1. Customer 2 wants to buy an electronic device. 
2. He searches online to know more about the device and comes across your social media pages where customers have left their feedback as comments. 
3. Customer goes through the comments and decides to buy the device. 
4. He goes to your website and adds the product to his wishlist and observes that the item is listed as in-stock at the company's local retail spot. 
5. He visits the retail shop and is greeted by a representative out there since the customer has already added the product in his wishlist. 
6. He buys the product and leaves happily.

Benefits of Omnichannel Retailing

1. Help remain competitive in the marketCompetition in this digitally driven market is very high. Shoppers are always on the hunt for businesses that provide cheap, high-quality services to them.  To stand out from the crowd, you need to have some strategy that offers some unique user experience that touches them. Omnichannel retailing strategy can help e-commerce businesses to stand out from their competitors.
2. Easy access to products and servicesPeople prefer getting their favourite products and services at the tip of their fingers. Multiple channel availability ensures that customer expectations are met without any difficulty. Everything in omnichannel marketing is interconnected which offer a good user experience.

With such a marketing strategy customer can get a unique experience, and such kind of experience can make the customer your loyal buyers. Omni-channel retailing helps customers to pick up from the point where they have left. Everything in omnichannel retailing is interconnected, which helps in offering a cohesive user experience.

In simple words, Omnichannel retailing is the need of the hour. E-commerce businesses should start developing their omnichannel retailing strategies to advance further in this competitive world. The only disadvantage associated with omnichannel retailing or multichannel retail is that cash flows in from different sources and different devices. The only difficulty is in keeping track of the cash inflow. Apart from that, there are no other issues or limitations associated with omnichannel or multichannel retailing. E-commerce businesses all over the world are trying their best to bring in strategies that can offer unique and personalized experiences to their users and thereby increasing their overall profit and reputation.