The relevance of providing quality and personalized care grows day by day, in an era where consumers are increasingly demanding. 32% of buyers would abandon a brand due to a bad experience.

The customer is the fundamental axis for the success of any business and the purchasing experience plays an essential role in their loyalty. Therefore, it is crucial that retailers put consumers at the center of the strategy and strive to understand their preferences to provide a service that meets their demands.

According to a survey conducted by PwC, 73% of consumers consider customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decision. Additionally, the same survey indicates that 32% of consumers would abandon a brand after a single bad experience.

In recent years, different strategies have emerged aimed at improving and optimizing efficiency and customer service in the retail sector. Two concepts that have become especially relevant in this sense are omnichannel and unified commerce.

Omnichannel or unified commerce?

Omnichannel and unified commerce are two different approaches to integrating sales and customer service channels. Although they may seem similar at first glance, there are important differences between them.

While omnichannel focuses on offering an integrated and consistent customer experience regardless of the chosen sales channel for seamless communication, unified commerce seeks seamless interaction between all aspects of e-commerce on a single platform. Both strategies are important for retailers, and are often implemented together to maximize efficiency and consumer service. According to data reported by Napse from PSFK reports, companies that adopted a unified commerce strategy saw an 8% to 10% increase in conversion rates.

Lately, the concept of unified commerce has gained more and more prominence in the world of retail commerce. According to a survey conducted by the consulting firm BRP, 56% of retailers plan to adopt a unified commerce platform in the next two years.

"The advantages offered by unified commerce are broad, collaborating with the long-term success of the business. The great differential is that it offers the ability to manage each stage of the customer journey, from search to purchase, in a single system, which allows reducing costs and increasing efficiency throughout the entire e-commerce sales cycle. This means that all sales channels and business processes - such as inventory management, order processing, shipping, and more - are integrated in one place," says Martín Malievac, Director of Research and Development at Napse.

Along these lines, Malievac describes 10 benefits of implementing a unified commerce strategy in Retail:

Seamless interaction between channels: Customers can start shopping on one channel and continue shopping on another seamlessly, just as if they were in a physical store. They all function as a unified orchestra.

Personalization: Companies can collect data on customer behavior through multiple channels and use that information to personalize their shopping experiences.

Supply Control: Unified technology allows companies to manage their inventories in real time, improving the accuracy of inventory information across all sales platforms.

Payment experience improvements: With a single payment system, customers can shop faster and more efficiently without having to complete transactional information on multiple platforms.

Improved customer relationship management: Retailers can use data on customer behavior to provide personalized recommendations and relevant offers.

Greater operational efficiency: By unifying all sales channels, retailers can reduce operating costs and optimize operations.

Reducing customer service failures: Retailers can use unified commerce to reduce the number of customer service failures by providing consistent information across all sales channels.

Possibility of new business models: with unified technology, retailers can explore new business models, such as selling services in physical stores.

Mobile Integration: Unified technology can be integrated with mobile devices, allowing customers to shop anywhere, anytime.

Increased customer satisfaction: All of these benefits combine to lead to a more satisfying customer shopping experience, which can result in greater loyalty and repeat purchases.

"Unified commerce is proving to be a trend in the global retail sector, with clear benefits for both retailers and consumers. According to a report by the consulting firm Aberdeen Group, companies that integrated a platform under this strategy registered an average increase of 7.5% in their annual revenue. Without a doubt, this trend is expected to continue growing in the coming years, driven by the demand for a more integrated and personalized shopping experience. At Napse, we focus on offering solutions that accompany retail in its transformation digital, so that retail businesses provide the best service at each stage of the purchasing journey” concludes Malievac.