Common challenges faced while adopting the omnichannel format
Customer experience has gradually become the key brand differentiator, especially in the retail industry. Ensuring that customers have a great shopping experience needs to be the topmost priority for retailers before making any business decision. By implementing an omnichannel strategy in the business, retailers can guarantee an exemplary shopping experience, thus attracting new customers and converting them into brand loyalists.
A few of the industry leaders have been successfully able to drive omnichannel throughout their business. However, there are a few challenges that organizations commonly face while implementing the omnichannel format. In this article, we would share a few of the challenges that could act as barriers while executing a true omnichannel format.
1. Technology
Technology is the most important aspect when it comes to setting up an omnichannel retail format. It is quite a task to find the right technology that covers all significant characteristics of an omnichannel business as well as fits best with the current business scenario. The technological solution needs to interconnect all platforms - online and offline - together and allow customers to view, purchase, return, or exchange via any platform. There is still a long way to go before technology would have advanced to drive omnichannel entirely in any business.
2. Cost and complexity
Most of the retailers use legacy systems or modern ERP solutions to manage various business functions. These systems are deeply integrated with one another and have been that way for a long time. Retailers need to incur high expenses for the implementation of an omnichannel solution. Other than that, the process turns out to be highly complex because of the existing solutions in the business.
To overcome this challenge successfully, it is inevitable that retailers carefully and meticulously plan the omnichannel strategy with a top-down approach. Based on that, retail business owners must decide on the right technology to invest in, in order to mitigate the costs incurred and complexities faced while driving omnichannel in the business.
3. Culture
A major hurdle faced while adopting omnichannel strategy is the culture that has prevailed over years in the organization. Undergoing any kind of a transformation is faced by the opposition, especially by people or process that are accustomed to using a particular technology over the years.
To drive omnichannel format throughout the business, the top management of the organization must take steps to ensure it is imbibed in the company’s culture. For instance, they could design a certain incentive structure that encourages employees to focus on the customer experience and recommend customers to exploit features of omnichannel retail to its optimum level.
Ginesys, India's leading end-to-end ERP solution provider, has recently partnered with Unicommerce and Vinculum, omnichannel retail enablers, to help retail organizations set up the omnichannel format with ease.