The term omnichannel has been part of the retail world since around 2010. And still omnichannel retail continues to grow – at a predicted average of 16.4% CAGR between 2020 and 2027 taking it to a global value of US $16.9 billion.

Over the years however, what constitutes an omnichannel has evolved. As new technologies emerge, shoppers have ever more ways to engage. Online they can browse and buy through browser search, image search, ecommerce stores, apps, and social media. In the physical world, there are established stores, pop up stores, kiosks, collection lockers and collection and drop off partners.

In the early days of omnichannel, 15 years ago, the average shopper used two touchpoints to make a sale. Most commonly that was ordering online for collection in store – or click and collect. Even today, there are those that use the terms ‘click and collect’ and ‘omnichannel’ interchangeably. It is certainly true that click and collect is one of the most popular forms of omnichannel transaction (for example, in the UK it will account for 11% of all online sales in 2025), but sticking to this very narrow definition of omnichannel is to miss out on some of the core demands of today’s shoppers. In 2024, the average transaction uses not two, but five or six touchpoints.

So if omnichannel is more than simply click and collect, what else do retailers have to be aware of to be a true omnichannel business in 2024?

• Single view of inventory: the most efficient way to serve customers through multiple channels is not with multiple inventory systems. Quite the opposite. Omnichannel retailers need to have a single view of all inventory, whether it sits in a store or a warehouse, so that they can rapidly fulfill all orders, from the same pool of stock. Giving every channel its own stock pool causes redundancy and the risk of overstocking. Multiple channels work best when they are drawing from a single pool of stock.
• Consistent pricing: imagine this: a shopper selects their purchase online, comes into the store to buy and finds a different price. They’re not happy – customers expect consistency, no matter where they choose to buy. Retailers must have a system that offers a single pricing file, accessible by all channels.
• Single loyalty system: it’s a similar story with loyalty – there’s no faster way to damage that loyalty buy making it conditional: ‘You can use your points in the store, but not online’. So again, if you have a loyalty program, it must be one that truly encourages loyalty by allowing customers to earn and burn their points in the same way no matter what the channel.
• Promotions: customers love promotions, but they don’t all want to receive them in the same way, so retailers must be able to offer alternatives such as physical and digital coupons, and those promotions must be redeemable online, in store and via your app.
• Gift cards: a gift card is an opportunity to gain new customers, so omnichannel retailers need to make the process of spending their card as frictionless as possible, to turn the recipient into a returning customer. Frictionless means the recipient can spend the gift card through any channel or a combination of channels.
• Customer data: every transaction generates customer data, which is invaluable for planning future marketing, product ranges, store locations and much more. But if you’re only collecting data from some channels and not others, you risk your data being skewed and therefore less valuable. So to be an omnichannel retailer, it’s essential to be able to collect data from all channels.
• Support: just as customers want to shop in various ways, so they also need support through multiple channels. A true omnichannel retailer offers multiple forms of support – including chat bots, live chat, phone lines, email and an in-store customer service desk – and will allow a customer to start a query using one method and complete it using another.

We can see that omnichannel has expanded in scope since it first hit our shopping consciousness all those years ago. For retailers, it’s important not to get stuck in the world of ‘omnichannel = click and collect’ to ensure that they are embracing omnichannel in its fullest sense and offering true omnichannel retail.

FAQs

What is the role of mobile POS in omnichannel retail?

Mobile POS offers a rich opportunity to support omnichannel retail. For example, a store associate with a mobile POS device is serving a customer who has been browsing online. By bringing up the customer’s search history, the associate can help to finalize the sale of the items the shopper has browsed, can check stock for home delivery or pickup, or can offer cross-sell and upsell options, such as an accessory to go with a chosen item of clothing. Once the customer has made their final selection, the associate can offer seamless checkout at the same mobile POS device, ensuring that the sale is not lost and giving the customer a highly positive experience.

What are some of the other key types of omnichannel transactions, other than click and collect?

Click and collect, as we have seen, is still very popular, so it’s essential that online and store systems are seamlessly integrated to enable it. Alongside click and collect, some of the other transaction types that use multiple channels are:

• Buy online for home delivery
• Buy online for delivery to a locker or to a local partner organization, usually one that is pen 24/7 or long hours, such as a gas station
• Buy online return to store – which offers the store the opportunity to encourage the customer to replace the returned item with an alternative.
• Browse via photo search, purchase online for pickup in store.
• Browse online, come into the store to purchase, arrange for home delivery.

These are just a few of the many permutations for combining online and offline channels in a single transaction, with many more possible.

Content Sources:

Businesswire

Statista

Business Feefo