Omni-Channel retail: the goal post keeps moving

January 25, 2017 by
Jeroen Leenders

Customers’ preferences, lifestyle and the way they are engaging with brands have changed drastically, due to technology and innovation. Customers want their shopping experience to fit around their busy lifestyle, and buy products whenever and wherever they are. Retailers are changing slower than customers are adopting these new digital media. They’re dealing with traditional organisational structures, a fear of change and the challenge to gain buy-in from higher management.

report by WBR Digital  gives an insight on how far retailers are in rolling out an omni-channel strategy, the challenges they face along the way and the developments that will be extremely important in the near future.

Being ‘Omni-channel’ is a necessity- and a huge challenge. Respectively 36% of retailers day they have recently or will soon roll out their omni-channel strategy, 19% are not planning to do so in near future. “A huge part of building a strong brand perception is setting out and implementing a clear omni-channel strategy. Getting this right isn’t easy so I’m not really surprised that only 26% of retailers say they have achieved this.” says House of Fraser’s CIO Burnett.

omnichannel1
Most retailers said in the survey they are interested in understanding different shopping behaviours and engagement through different channels. The majority of retailers agreed that digital investments will increasingly drive in-store sales in the next year to come. Integrating all your mobile channels with your brick- and- mortar store might be the hardest part.

omnichannel2

Text and images: eTail Connected/ WBR Digital

Download full report here

Tagged with:
Descartes Acquires Extensiv for $120 Million to Expand AI-Powered E-Commerce Fulfillment
Descartes Systems Group has acquired Extensiv for approximately $120 million, significantly expanding its position in third-party logistics, warehouse management and e-commerce fulfillment technology.The deal, announced on September 1, adds Extensiv’s...
September 4, 2026
Mollie Completes GoCardless Acquisition, Creating European Payments Group Serving 350,000 Businesses
Mollie has completed its acquisition of GoCardless, creating a combined European payments and financial services group serving more than 350,000 businesses across over 30 markets. The deal, originally announced in...
September 2, 2026
SHIP.com Brings Agentic Commerce Into E-Commerce Fulfillment With New AI Shipping Tools
SHIP.com has launched two artificial intelligence tools designed to bring agentic commerce into one of the most operationally complex areas of e-commerce: shipping and fulfillment. The company announced SHIP AI,...
August 27, 2026
Top crossmenu

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close