Unified Commerce and Omnichannel Strategies for a Consistent and Satisfying eCommerce Experience

eCommerce businesses face increasing challenges in providing seamless and personalized shopping experiences for their customers. Fortunately, new technological approaches such as composable commerce, headless eCommerce, MACH architecture, unified commerce, and omnichannel eCommerce can now help merchants overcome these challenges. Unified commerce and omnichannel are two closely related concepts that aim to provide a smooth and consistent shopping experience across all sales channels. In this article, we will learn these two concepts in detail and explore their benefits for online merchants.

What is Unified Commerce?

Unified commerce is a very important concept in the world of eCommerce. It refers to the integration of all of a company’s sales and marketing platforms into one unified platform. This allows businesses to manage all of their online and offline sales from one place.

“Unified commerce is an approach focused on creating a seamless purchasing journey… because it prevents breaks in the acquisition process between different sales channels.”
— Thavy Khamtan, VP Unified Commerce and Strategic Alliances at Novatize

Unified commerce is essential for businesses looking to offer a consistent shopping experience to their customers. Customers can make purchases online, in-store, and through mobile apps, and all sales data is centralized in one place. This allows merchants to manage all aspects of their business from a single interface, including order processing, inventory tracking, and customer management. By integrating all these channels, merchants can offer a consistent shopping experience across all touchpoints, increasing the likelihood of sales and improving customer satisfaction.

Let’s take the example of a clothing store that has an online store, mobile app, and physical store. By using a unified commerce platform, the merchant can manage all these channels from one place. Customers can purchase products online, in-store, or on the mobile app, and all these transactions are recorded in one system. This allows merchants to better understand customer purchasing behavior and personalize their shopping experience.

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The role of teams in a unified commerce model

Even within a highly technological architecture, the human element remains central. In-store teams, sales representatives, and customer service act as the direct link between digital and physical experiences.

“A well-equipped team can provide much more personalized and consistent support, regardless of the customer’s point of entry.”
— Emilie Enguehard, Growth Marketer at Booxi

Access to purchase history, preferences, and past interactions makes it possible to create a continuous experience that strengthens trust and loyalty.

Take the example of a clothing retailer with an online store, a mobile app, and a physical location. By using a unified commerce platform, the retailer can manage all of these channels from a single place. Customers can purchase products online, in-store, or through the mobile app, and all transactions are recorded in one system. This allows retailers to better understand customer buying behavior and deliver a more personalized shopping experience.

How to build an omnichannel experience in eCommerce?

Omnichannel eCommerce is a sales strategy that allows businesses to reach customers on all sales channels, including physical stores, eCommerce sites, and mobile apps. The goal is to create a seamless and consistent shopping experience for customers, regardless of the channel they choose.

What's the importance of OMS for order and inventory management in unified commerce?

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Eliminating friction: a key challenge in modern commerce

The greatest source of dissatisfaction remains waiting times and a lack of visibility.

“One of the biggest customer frustrations is having to wait without knowing how long it will take… Speed and personalization are becoming essential.”
— Emilie Enguehard, Growth Marketer at Booxi

Unified commerce helps eliminate these pain points through:

Clear online customer journeys;
Appointment booking and reservations;
Better in-store traffic and flow management.

This improves the perception of service while creating more memorable customer experiences.

Using the clothing store example again, a customer who purchases a shirt in-store could then receive a push notification on their mobile app with a special offer to buy a matching tie online. The customer can then purchase the tie online using their existing customer account, and the purchase will be recorded in the unified commerce system. They then receive a notification for in-store pickup of the tie, creating a seamless and transparent shopping experience.

Unified commerce is gaining momentum in B2B

Long associated with retail, unified commerce is now taking hold in the B2B sector, where buyer expectations are evolving rapidly.

“Professional buyers are also consumers, and today they expect the same experience and level of service they receive in their personal lives.”
— Thavy Khamtan, VP Unified Commerce and Strategic Alliances at Novatize

For B2B companies, this means adopting systems capable of offering:

Personalized customer accounts;
Complex yet consistent pricing structures;
Seamless journeys between sales representatives, the eCommerce site, and customer service.

How can B2B companies benefit from unified commerce?

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Unified commerce and omnichannel eCommerce are key concepts for merchants looking to offer a smooth and consistent shopping experience to their customers. By integrating all sales channels and providing a seamless experience, merchants can increase the likelihood of sales and improve customer satisfaction.