In e-commerce product delivery or shipping is a core part of every e-commerce store. Order management system (OMS) being vital to the growth of an e-commerce store is why Shopify integrates an order management system that allows Shopify merchants to manage their orders.
One of the things a customer will consider before checking out a product in their cart is shipping or length of delivery days and cost. Statista says that about 70% of customers abandon their carts which might be due to lengthy shipping days or shipping costs.
The reason why e-commerce retailers spend so much on marketing their stores is to convert the traffic from the marketing channels into sales.
Although, there are shipping partners whom the responsibility of order fulfillment is handed over to. Most e-commerce stores with high sales volume without an in-house order management team partner with these shipping facilities to process orders.
It is best to integrate an order management system that will work for your store based on the conditions of sales volume, customers’ location, and strength. Leveraging potential sales that fulfilling an order properly is how a Shopify store can improve customer retention.
Online shoppers are more comfortable buying from a store they have tested their order fulfillment procedures. Marketing in e-commerce is about leveraging activities such as order management to spur growth in terms of revenue.
What Is Omnichannel Retail Strategy?
Omnichannel is an e-commerce marketing strategy where store owners track and monitor all sales and order activities from multiple sales channels in a single list. This is to give customers the best satisfaction they can get as they shop from different channels either from a mobile phone, laptop, or in a brick-and-mortar store.
Most online shoppers research a product online before going ahead to get the product in a physical store. Hence, about 44% of B2C shoppers frequently conduct online product research before visiting a physical store. Even when they are in the shop, they will go online to complete their research.
Omnichannel retail is a thriving e-commerce strategy due to the rising numbers of online shoppers. Brick-and-mortar store owners have been experiencing a decline in the traffic they get in their stores post-pandemic while there is a massive growth for online merchants as most people now shop right from their gadgets.
Omnichannel as a marketing startegy gives merchants an added advantage as they have integrated digital channels to their physical store over their competitors who are online-based retailers.
Difference Between Omnichannel And Multichannel Retailing
Multi-channel retailing is when store owners gather sales from several channels both online and offline. These orders/sales are done via mobile phones, social media, and physical stores. Multichannel retailing is combining both online and offline stores.
Omnichannel, on the other hand, connects all your sales channels into one where you can track and take note of customers’ activities and inventory. This retail strategy integrates all digital and non-digital sales channels to give customers the same experience as they shop on any of the platforms.
Despite the advantages of omnichannel retailing over multichannel retailing, omnichannel retail cannot happen without multichannel. To engage in omnichannel e-commerce, Shopify merchants must own multiple sales platforms.
Related: Order Management For E-commerce Shopify Store
Omnichannel Order Management On Shopify
Order Management System integration is quite popular among US retailers according to a 2020 poll by Statista. This poll came up with the result that OMS is quite easy to integrate for 58% of retailers who found no issue using the order system.
Shopify allows store merchants to manage their orders from the admin dashboard of their store. Some of these Shopify apps can help you monitor and integrate your OMS;
1. Orderify
2. Fulfillment Bridge
3. Custom Order Status by W3
4. Katana Manufacturing ERP
5. Etsy Marketplace Integration
6. Order Fulfillment Guru
Purpose Of Omnichannel Order Management
Order management for an omnichannel retail e-commerce store is an essential component of the supply chain. A chain that ensures items are delivered to clients who request them. Due to the high difficulties of building up an order management team, merchants seldom consider order management as part of their obligations in e-commerce today.
Most e-commerce businesses use the services of partners to assist them to manage the entire order process. These partners handle inventory (or supply) management, packing, and delivery, making it simple for orders to slip between the cracks.
When orders are mixed up or not fulfilled at the expected time, customers hold that as a sign of the brand not being coordinated enough to meet their further orders. That is why an order management system needs to ensure costly errors like this are avoided.
An omnichannel e-commerce store needs a high-end order management system to be able to give its customers a seamless experience across all platforms where sales are done. That means a customer should be able to order an item online and pick it up in the physical store without losing track of that order or mixing up the item.
Benefits Of Omnichannel Retail Strategy
– Increase sales, revenue, and traffic
When marketing efforts are channeled to digital and non-digital stores, the traffic from online stores might be beneficial for brick-and-mortar.
– Boost customer loyalty
Omnichannel can keep your customers locked in a channel with little or nothing to be taken out of it.
– Unified customer experience
The shopping experience of customers when they decide to shop on any of the channels has to be the same.
This implies that if a customer chooses to begin a product search on the website if they continue on their mobile phones or use the store’s app, they should have a seamless experience doing that.
– Data availability
Integrating all sales channels into a single body helps Shopify merchants to track orders and inventory. Retailers will be able to give customers a more personalized shopping experience as they move across the sales channels.
With this data can be gathered to know which of the sales point is generating more sales and also discover better ways of providing direct-to-customer services.
– Personalized shopping experience
The shopping experience of each customer is unique to that customer. That is, based on customer antecedents you can upsell or cross-sell to such customers. Personalized content can spur sales faster than general marketing efforts.
Final Thoughts
Omnichannel is a retail strategy that can give a Shopify store the best growth it desires. This is said due to the benefits of having your customer experience a high level of satisfaction as they shop on your various channels. To improve your omnichannel experience, create a brand where your customers can have a seamless experience as they can buy online and pick up the item in your physical store.