Improving the customer experience through the different online and offline sales channels is the main objective of most companies operating in the physical and online world.
The crisis caused by Covid-19 has further reinforced this need. That’s why we believe that now is the perfect time to face an uncertain future and take advantage of the momentum of online shopping during the pandemic.
According to Forrester’s research, with 77% of consumers using multiple channels to complete a transaction, why don’t we take advantage of the e-commerce momentum to improve the service we offer to our customers? Did you know that omnichannel payment methods are key to the user experience with your online store?
We are immersed in an increasingly powerful market, with all contact channels integrated and with a consistent experience. It is called omnichannel and goes hand in hand with unified commerce. Join us and find out what is all about!
Is omnicanality the same as unified commerce?
It is easy to be tempted to think that both concepts are the same, but the reality is that there are differences between them. On the one hand, omnicanality in payments is the integration of all channels into a single gateway. On the other hand, unified commerce allows retailers to offer a modern, seamless shopping experience tailored to the demands of today’s consumers.
In other words, omnichannel is about centralising all means of payment on a single platform, while unified commerce is the way retailers meet the expectations of omnichannel selling.
Why is unified commerce a great option to boost your sales?
From the point of view of different retail management and payment solutions, such as the Point of Sale (POS) Terminal, mobile payments, CRM for stock management, etc., it is very difficult to manage the business through a patchwork of disconnected applications.
As a result, these businesses find it very difficult to offer a personalised and omnichannel shopping experience to their customers. In fact, it is a kind of chain that starts with achieving unified commerce, continues with creating successful shopping experiences, and ends with increasing sales.
Each strategy focused on a different channel leads to missed opportunities. So how do you stop wasting time and achieve unified commerce to boost sales?
To do this, you must have a payment gateway or platform to integrate all the methods. Not only will you increase the flexibility your customers need when paying for their purchases, but you will also get numerous advantages:
- Reducing barriers in your online store during the sale of products.
- Increasing the average basket value by a significant percentage.
- Increased conversion rate and better user experience.
- Reduced risk of return fraud.
- One-click checkout.
- Reduced shopping cart abandonment.
Unified commerce focuses on the channel, the payment option chosen by the customer, and the means. And any business whose strategy does not turn in this direction will lose competitiveness and loyalty capacity. That’s why we advise you to know your audience’s favourite payment methods and have them available on a single, easy and flexible platform.
How important is the experience of your users?
The user experience is a direct impact on the culture and all parts of your business. And unified commerce is a great tool to achieve that goal. Not only does it connect your data, including online and offline payments on a single platform, but it provides the flexibility and satisfaction the audience needs to repeat shopping experiences.
Consumers love the flexibility of multichannel payments, but much of the information is lost when backend systems are not connected. Beyond the omnichannel experience, unified commerce has become the perfect way to reconcile the valuable feedback we get from the audience, and to make important business decisions.
A good e-commerce user experience means more sales, good feelings, better corporate image, product availability, more interaction, and customer loyalty. Don’t miss the opportunity to improve it!
Why does unified commerce imply a step beyond the omnichannel strategy?
If we had to draw a single conclusion from everything that has happened in the last year, we would say that digital transformation is no longer an option for retailers, but an obligation. Thanks to the use of digital technologies, many companies have continued their business activity online. It has been the only possible way to reach consumers and continue to offer their products.
The omnichannel strategy has been a vital tool to survive the change in habits, with little time to react, and take on the challenges of the pandemic. However, it is not enough. Now, we should be adapting to the next market evolution: unified commerce.
Companies will only create online experiences that win customer loyalty, improve payment processing, become more secure and contactless, improve flexibility, increase sales, and positive results.
Change starts with you!
What conclusions can we draw from unified commerce in 2021?
Just over a year ago, we all had the power to improvise. Going out on the street, having a coffee, going shopping at the supermarket, or buying some tickets to go to the movies. Now, we don’t know if we will be able to leave the house tomorrow. And it’s challenging for brands to improvise their strategies if they don’t follow a plan. We don’t know which direction the Covid-19 pandemic will take, but there’s one thing we do know very well, and that is that to boost sales, you must first offer what your customers need.
Adapting to new habits means adopting new initiatives, such as accelerating the digital transformation of the business and unifying all sales channels. These are more than enough reasons for more and more businesses to adopt unified commerce.
Not only do they gain greater selling power and flexibility, but it allows them to prepare for an uncertain future and bring loyalty to connected payments. They say that every period of inconsistency brings with it an opportunity to reinvent yourself, and unified commerce is one of them.
Technologies, such as payment gateways, bring with them that magic that sparks the customer’s interest and makes them repeat the shopping experience. For retailers with physical and online activity, such as some restaurants, it allows them to know exactly how much money they have made, what payments have been made in-store and online, and by what means.
In times of pandemic, unified commerce is also a solution that allows you to adapt to the contactless world easily and securely. If you have any questions, give us a call.
