What is Unified Commerce? The Upgrade of Omnichannel

Over the past 3 decades, we have witnessed the rapid transformation of e-commerce models, from Single Channel, to Multi Channel and the highlight in the last 5-10 years is Omnichannel.

See also: Omnichannel vs Multichannel: What's the Difference?

The Omnichannel model has done a good job of optimizing the customer experience by combining and synchronizing data from different sales channels. However, one of the limitations of this model is the complexity in the implementation and operation process. To achieve uniformity in the multi-channel shopping experience, businesses must invest heavily in technology systems, data integration and operational process management.

The way customers interact with brands today is constantly changing. The customer journey is not limited to offline stores or online platforms, but they want a seamless, consistent experience across multiple sales channels. That becomes the driving force for businesses to look for more optimal solutions without spending too many resources in implementation and management. This is also the premise for Unified Commerce to appear.

What is unified commerce?

Unified commerce is an integrated model that unifies all elements of retail operations, from inventory and order management to customer interactions across all channels and touchpoints, whether online or offline.

Unlike Multi-Channel or Omnichannel strategies, Unified Commerce uses a single, centralized platform that provides a comprehensive, real-time view of every aspect of your business. This approach is crucial in delivering a seamless, consistent, and personalized customer experience.

Key features of Unified commerce

1. Centralized order management

A single, unified order management system handles orders from all channels. This allows for more efficient order processing, tracking, and returns, regardless of the channel through which the order was placed.

2. Multi-channel sales integration

All sales channels are interconnected, allowing customers to seamlessly switch between different channels without interruption or loss of information.

3. Backend system integration

Integrating backend systems, such as inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM), and payment gateways, shipping will help streamline operations and data flows.

4. Consistent data

Customer and transaction data from across channels is centralized and synchronized, allowing businesses to have a comprehensive, holistic view of their customers and create personalized experiences.

5. Customer experience

The goal of Unified Commerce is to deliver a consistent and personalized experience to customers. This allows businesses to leverage customer data to provide relevant recommendations, offers, and support throughout the customer journey.

6. Inventory visibility

Real-time inventory visibility across channels ensures customers can see accurate product information, check stock availability, and buy with confidence.

Benefits of Unified commerce

1. For customers

• Seamless shopping experience: Customers can experience shopping seamlessly and without interruption when switching between different channels from online to offline
• Choice and Flexibility: Unified Commerce gives customers more options to shop and make transactions in the way that is most convenient for them. Customers can choose the payment method and delivery method that suits them. They also have many options for purchasing such as “Buy Online, Pick up In-store” (BOPIS), Click & Collect
• Save time: Thanks to the synchronization between channels, customers can save time when shopping. They do not need to go from one store to another or face technical obstacles when shopping online.
• Greater personalization: Businesses can use data collected from different channels to personalize each customer's shopping experience. Businesses can recommend products, promotions, or product information that are more relevant to each customer's specific needs.
• Comprehensive customer support: Unified Commerce provides customers with more comprehensive support, allowing customers to receive support from different channels more easily. For example, customers can initiate a support request through the mobile app and receive support through a phone call, without having to explain the situation to the seller multiple times.

2. For businesses

• Get a comprehensive, holistic view of customers: Unified Commerce consolidates data from multiple channels into a single platform, allowing businesses to have a 360-degree view of their customers, thereby providing personalized experiences that match each customer's preferences and behaviors.
• Optimize warehouse and inventory management: Instead of managing multiple warehouses for each separate sales channel, Unified Commerce allows businesses to manage a common warehouse, minimizing the risk of out-of-stock or over-stocking. This helps improve operational efficiency and reduce warehousing costs. With real-time visibility into inventory levels across the entire system, businesses can manage their inventory more effectively: maintain optimal inventory levels, reduce over-stocking and out-of-stock situations
• Optimize operating costs: Unified Commerce enables businesses to optimize operating costs by minimizing duplication and maximizing efficiency across processes from ordering to shipping and returns. This results in significant savings on operating costs and increased profits.
• Minimize issues and errors: Instead of having to manage multiple separate systems, Unified Commerce simplifies the use of technology for management. This minimizes technical issues and system errors, helping businesses maintain stability in their daily operations.
• Understanding customer behavior: Tracking customer behavior today is not just limited to tracking who visits your offline store and what they buy. Before making a purchase, customers research products across multiple channels of a brand. This makes understanding customer behavior more complex. By integrating data from every touchpoint, Unified Commerce helps businesses gain a better understanding of customer buying behavior and preferences. This allows businesses to personalize the shopping experience, recommend relevant products, and improve customer retention.
• Build a loyalty program: By providing a consistent and personalized experience across channels, businesses can build closer relationships with customers and build a loyalty program. When customers have a positive experience, they are more likely to return to purchase and recommend the brand to others. This will positively impact the long-term success and growth of the business.

Comparison between Omnichannel and Unified Commerce

Omnichannel

Omnichannel focuses on delivering a seamless and consistent customer experience across multiple channels.

Omnichannel accepts the independent operation of channels and aims to integrate them to create a consistent shopping journey. Here, businesses will strive to ensure that channels work together to provide a unified experience. Customers can interact with the brand across multiple touchpoints.

Channel systems will share the customer data they collect to deliver personalized experiences. The key here is that channels operate with separate systems and processes.

Unified commerce

Unified Commerce takes Omnichannel integration to the next level by creating a single, centralized system that seamlessly connects all channels. Unified Commerce is not just about integrating customer data and personalization, but also about integrating systems and processes.

With Unified Commerce, all channels are connected, information such as inventory, pricing, promotions, and customer data is shared in real-time. This results in a consistent customer experience as their purchasing journey can seamlessly transition between channels without interruption.

Unified Commerce removes barriers and provides a comprehensive view of your business, helping you operate better and get accurate information from a single source.

Unified Commerce - The future of e-commerce

As customer expectations continue to rise, businesses need to adapt and deliver integrated, seamless shopping experiences across multiple channels.

The Omnichannel model has helped many businesses do this. Omnichannel tools help businesses improve frontend consistency, but they often do not connect to backend systems. This leads to the risk of errors and data conflicts.

In other words, a unified experience is what the customer sees. However, we all know that it is extremely difficult to achieve unified data when channels operate separately on different platforms. The challenges of integrating data, managing inventory, and providing a seamless customer experience have led many businesses to look to Unified Commerce as a more efficient alternative.

The emergence of Unified Commerce will complement the shortcomings of Omnichannel. Unified Commerce is built on the features of Omnichannel. Sales channels, payment systems, and customer interactions are brought into a single platform, making it easy for businesses to create smooth interactions with customers.

Here are the reasons why Unified Commerce can replace Omnichannel and become the future of retail:

1. Customer-centric approach

Unified Commerce puts the customer at the center of the retail experience. By delivering a consistent and personalized experience across channels, businesses can meet today's customer expectations. Unified Commerce can meet the needs of convenience, flexibility, and seamless transitions between online and offline channels.

2. Seamless shopping experience

Unified Commerce removes barriers between different channels, allowing customers to start their shopping journey on one channel and continue on another without interruption. Whether shopping in a physical store, online, or through a mobile app, customers expect a seamless experience. Unified ensures smooth transitions, maintains consistent branding, and delivers a seamless shopping experience.

3. Data-driven personalization

With Unified Commerce, businesses can easily collect and leverage customer data from multiple channels. This data helps businesses gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history. Businesses can leverage this information to personalize interactions such as making recommendations and targeted promotions, thereby creating closer relationships with customers.

4. Improve operating efficiency

Unified Commerce makes operations run smoother by integrating different systems, such as inventory management, order fulfillment, and customer service. By consolidating processes and data, businesses can optimize efficiency and reduce operational complexity. This results in more accurate inventory control, faster order processing, and better customer service, ultimately improving overall business performance.

5. Flexibility and quick adaptation

The retail industry is constantly evolving with emerging technologies and changing customer behavior. Unified Commerce can help businesses adapt to these changes with ease. By integrating new channels and technologies, businesses can stay ahead of the competition and meet evolving customer needs.

In short, Unified Commerce is the future of retail because it aligns with customer expectations for seamless experiences, personalized interactions, and convenience across channels. At the same time, this model helps optimize operations for businesses. By adopting Unified Commerce, businesses can thrive in the ever-changing landscape of the retail industry and build strong, long-term customer relationships.