The digital transformation in eCommerce and retail is reaching its peak: artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, social commerce, and extended reality are key drivers to create increasingly seamless, personalised, and relevant shopping experiences.
Companies and brands still struggle to implement truly omnichannel strategies, while the environment in which they operate is already ready for a new evolution.
We are facing increasingly connected and demanding consumers who expect more immersive experiences and interactions. An omnichannel customer experience is no longer sufficient; it is necessary to go beyond.
Multichannel, cross-channel, omnichannel: the new frontier in eCommerce and retail is unified commerce, but does it still make sense to distinguish the two worlds?
- Unified Commerce: What Is It?
- Customer First: The Key Components of Unified Commerce
- Unified Commerce and Customer Experience: Put Your Customers at the Centre!
Unified Commerce: What Is It?
Let’s start talking about unified commerce by analysing some interesting data. According to research published by the Osservatorio eCommerce B2C of Netcomm, four out of ten consumers acquire information online before making an in-store purchase, and almost one out of four online purchases occurs after visiting a physical store.
The retail and eCommerce worlds are increasingly interconnected, relevant touch points within the same customer journey. This is also confirmed by data released in the 2023 Retail Report by Ayden, a player in the unified payment systems segment.
According to the data released, 42% of consumers consider the opportunity to evaluate and try a product offline before purchasing it online (showrooming) and vice versa, gathering information online and buying in-store (webrooming), to be relevant for loyalty purposes.
The unified commerce model responds precisely to this need by offering solutions that not only provide a unique and unified experience for the user/customer but also ensure the same level of integration on the brand side. From inventory management to payment systems to the in-store experience or online shop, everything must be centralised and not just in appearance.
The customer is at the centre of the adopted strategies and business models: the goal is to meet the needs of a consumer accustomed to having what they want when they want it.
Customer First: The Key Components of Unified Commerce
As previously mentioned, unified commerce is based on strategies and activities of data integration into a single environment.
But what are the key elements of this model?
Systems
Unified commerce involves the integration of all systems, both those directly related to user interaction and back-end systems, reducing and optimising processes.
Channels
The cross-channel and omnichannel approach remains the foundation of unified commerce, especially concerning tracking user actions and measuring results.
The centralised management of data also allows for optimising marketing and sales strategies by leveraging the potential of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics.
Products
The goal of the unified commerce model is to provide a consistent view of products online and offline, allowing users easy access to offers and stock.
The synchronisation of product inventory data not only enables real-time monitoring of supply and demand but also allows for efficient management of logistics and warehouse.
Interactions
The centrality of the customer is at the heart of unified commerce. The goal is to improve their experience by making it personalised and smooth at every stage of their customer journey.
Unified Commerce and Customer Experience: Put Your Customers at the Centre!
From channel integration to the entire commerce experience, from payments to product search, selection, and purchase in-store or online.
Adopting a unified commerce approach allows for a deep understanding of users and customers. At the centre is their customer experience, whose enhancement starts with centralised management of the data concerning them.
Blendee’s Marketing Operating System allows for the collection and normalisation of data from multiple channels and sources at the level of a single customer view: identity resolution processes enable knowing and recognizing each user in real-time thanks to the convergence and resolution of different user IDs.
From data collection and normalisation to their activation: starting from advanced profiling and segmentation activities, Blendee enables the implementation of data-driven marketing and advertising strategies by coordinating activities from a single platform.
The result? The ability to create personalised and valuable customer experiences for each user during the various phases of the customer journey and at every touch point, including the point of sale.
