Research Online, Purchase Offline: Why Are Customers Driven to the Omnichannel Experience?

Gartner defines omnichannel as “the synchronization of channels—mobile, desktop and store—to support the purchase process from discovery to conversion, along with fulfillment and postpurchase.” (Full report available to clients)

One important way to give your retail business an omnichannel approach, as we’ll look at in this article, is to accommodate the increasing number of customers who want to be able to do research online and purchase in store.

Let’s take a closer look at what this means for your business and how you can adopt an omnichannel approach. But first, let’s look at why you should prioritize an omnichannel approach.

As consumers gradually warm back up to the in-store experience, retailers should be prepared to meet customers halfway, allowing them to shop and research online and then complete their purchase in-store, if they’re comfortable doing so.

This approach allows customers to have the best of both worlds, browsing and researching from the comfort and safety of their home then physically purchasing their chosen product at your store on the same day without having to wait or pay for delivery.

Three key statistics, from our recent COVID-19 Retail Impact survey (methodology below), illustrate how retailers are responding to this trend:

• 28% of the businesses we surveyed are prioritizing the omnichannel experience more since the beginning of 2020

• 41% of businesses surveyed are prioritizing their online presence more since the beginning of 2020

• 85% of businesses surveyed either plan to implement or have already implemented “buy online, pickup in-store” options since the beginning of 2020

If you accommodate only one half of this equation but not the other, you could be missing out on half of your potential customers. In this article, we’ll look at how you can increase both in-store and online purchases, optimize your mobile site, and improve the overall customer experience with an omnichannel approach.

While a research online, purchase offline approach starts online, it’s also important to prepare your physical space to meet the needs and expectations of those customers once they arrive. An omnichannel approach can help increase in-store purchases, even for customers who come in planning to just buy one thing, through in-store kiosks, handheld inventory management devices, personalized POS systems, and more.

Recommended next actions:

• Create an omnichannel experience in-store by setting up tablets or kiosks that display store inventory. This allows customers to research and order products that aren't in stock right on the spot. If you’re wondering whether interactive kiosks are a worthwhile investment or just a temporary fad, consider that the interactive kiosk market is expected to grow from $24 billion in 2019 to more than $33 billion by 2025 indicating a huge boost in usage by retailers in the coming years.

• Streamline the decision-making process for customers by equipping employees with handheld inventory management devices so they can help customers make more informed decisions about prices and product comparisons while in-store.

• Personalize the customer journey in a way that encourages buyers to complete their purchase while in-store. POS systems can help personalize the customer journey, capture customer data and preferences, inform loyalty programs, and reduce friction during the purchase journey.

• Go to GetApp's Customer Focus resource hub to learn more.

Retailers should acknowledge that their customers will be doing their own research online, browsing competitor’s listings, and reading reviews. As a retailer, you can build this customer behavior into your online strategy by posting helpful content about your products on your website, deploying competitor monitoring software, and taking an active role in collecting and managing customer reviews.

Recommended next actions:

• You can't hide the competition from your customers, but competitor monitoring software can help you set your eCommerce pricing levels to make sure you’re not constantly being undercut by competitors.

• Set up a content management system to help turn your online store into an informational resource for shoppers in your area of expertise. For example, if you sell skateboards and equipment, you can publish buyers guides and instructional videos to bring customers to your online store.

• Utilize your email marketing tools to send out calls for customer reviews. Collect and manage customer reviews with reviews management software, which can help you boost your reputation and collect and address customer concerns.

Researching online, purchasing offline behavior is beneficial to you as long as you do your best to direct those shoppers to your store. This involves thinking critically about omnichannel customer experiences and how mobile technology can drive customers from conducting online research to offline purchases in your store. Considering that shoppers are increasingly turning to their mobile phone for product information—even when completing the purchase in-store—it’s imperative that your site offers a satisfying experience for mobile users.

Recommended next actions:

• Use Google's free testing tool that determines how mobile-friendly your site is

Google’s free mobile-friendly testing tool (Source)

• Use A/B testing to determine which areas of your site aren't driving conversions or to identify areas where visitor drop-off is high

• Use eCommerce software with multichannel management to ensure that your mobile and desktop online storefronts are aligned

While it should be obvious, it’s important to always remember that there is an individual human behind every customer decision. Once you have all the tools and strategies in place to create an omnichannel experience, make sure to focus on the individual customer experience through interactions, rewards, and good old fashioned customer service.

Recommended next actions:

• Adopt customer service tools that can help you manage your customer interactions, measure performance, and identify areas where you can improve your current customer service practices

• Create in-store experiences for customers that will build customer loyalty and interaction, such as hands-on demos and offering "freebies" to customers while they shop

• Use customer loyalty software to help make your customers feel appreciated and reward your best customers to keep them coming back

Creating an omnichannel experience to attract customers who want to research online and purchase offline may seem daunting, but there are plenty of tools to help you.

Browse our Category Leaders to see top options in eCommerce, retail management, and customer experience, based on authentic user reviews, to get started.

GetApp’s Category Leaders in Customer Experience software (Source)