Unified Commerce: The Future of Seamless Shopping (2024)

Unified commerce brings together all of a store’s sales channels and activities, empowering merchants to improve the customer experience.

When retailers run their business from a single platform, it opens up new ways to leverage data, manage orders, and personalize customer behavior.

Read on to learn how unified commerce makes shopping simpler and more intuitive than ever before.

What is Unified Commerce?

Unified Commerce is a fully integrated retail system that allows retailers to run their business in one place. The Unified Commerce platform is: Sales ChannelsInventory control, Order Fulfillmentmarketing and other retail activities.

A unified commerce platform allows retailers to manage different areas of their business that are typically handled separately. For businesses and D2C Sales, or domestic and International ShippingThe benefit of an integrated system is that all tools and functions are integrated, so data from across business operations is shared, giving merchants the best view of their customers and inventory.

Today’s shoppers often use multiple channels to make purchases. Whether that’s through your online store, promotional emails, in-store associates, or social media posts, unified commerce provides a seamless shopping experience. Customers can buy online and pick up their order in-store, or even try products before they buy from the comfort of their own home.

tokyobike: Integrated commerce in action

Independent Bicycle Company Tokyo Bike The company faced a challenge that most businesses only dream of: people all over the world loved their product, but they couldn’t open stores or find local distributors near interested customers.

Often times, people would visit a Tokyobike dealership for a test ride and then, if they decided not to buy, would leave with a business card, a bike spec list and a credit card authorization form.

Many people found it difficult to check out this way, and they felt that the distance between potential customers and the retailer made them less likely to return.

After migrating to Shopify Point of Sale (POS) SystemsTokyobike has integrated its sales channels, narrowing the gap between its online store and its physical stores.

Now, if a customer test rides a bike but leaves without buying it, the contents of their shopping cart are saved and emailed to them so it’s waiting in their inbox when they get home.

Customers who start a purchase in-store can finish it online whenever they’re ready, reducing the chance of a lost sale.

Integrated commerce is ShopifyTokyobike is able to establish a system to support customers even outside the store.

Unified Commerce and Omnichannel Commerce

Decades ago, most sales took place in brick-and-mortar stores. Today, commerce happens everywhere, from websites and apps to social media. Pop-up Events.

As new commerce channels emerge, Omnichannel Marketing We helped companies provide consistent brand and product information no matter where their customers shop.

Omnichannel tools continue to improve front-end consistency for many businesses, but back-end systems are typically disconnected, increasing the risk of data conflicts and errors and making it difficult for merchants to offer flexible shopping options across channels.

Unified commerce builds on the capabilities offered by omnichannel commerce by integrating sales channels, payment systems, and customer interactions into a single platform, giving merchants a smoother way to engage with their customers.

Unified commerce allows brands to see a customer’s entire history and better understand their needs and preferences. Brands can access a customer’s entire purchase history, resolve order issues faster, and Suggest a product They offer things that might interest you and make your shopping experience more personal and connected.

Benefits of Unified Commerce

With a single view of inventory, order, and customer data, a unified commerce platform lets you track what’s happening across your business in real time. Your customers benefit from up-to-date product availability and the flexibility to browse, pay, and fulfill their orders the way they want.

Here are six benefits retailers can enjoy by using a unified commerce platform.

1. Create a flexible purchasing process

The integrated platform allows businesses to offer customers even more checkout options: shoppers can add items to their online cart, apply promo codes and choose to pick up their items in-store if it’s more convenient for them.

Order details and delivery information can be accessed from the POS device, providing useful real-time updates for customers and staff. Shopify POS Provide customers with tracking numbers for in-store and online purchases and keep them updated.

2. Track customer interactions

A typical customer flow looks like this: A shopper visits your Facebook AdsA user clicks on a link to visit your online store. They then create a customer account, browse your product line, and add items to their shopping cart. But… Abandon cart Leave the website without making a purchase.

Tracking these interactions can be difficult and time-consuming without an integrated ecommerce platform. Unified commerce simplifies this process, allowing you to monitor and respond to customers across touchpoints.

With integrated customer insights, you can send targeted emails that: promo code Or an invitation to make an appointment to visit your local store.

3. Customize the shopping experience

client Expect personalizationUnified commerce allows retailers to meet these expectations by leveraging customer data to customize marketing content and shopping experiences.

For example, site visitors who regularly view certain products will be shown a shortcut to resume shopping. Customer analytics will generate timely product recommendations, Loyalty Program You can fine-tune rewards based on customer habits.

4. Provide real-time product updates

It’s frustrating when a product is listed as in stock but is actually out of stock. Inventory discrepancies can damage customer trust and revenue. In 2023, retailers will Estimated $1.7 trillion Issues such as out-of-stocks and excess inventory led to reduced revenue.

Running multiple storefronts increases the risk of pricing discrepancies across channels, but by integrating your sales channels, you can easily adjust prices and keep them consistent across your listings.

Syncing your inventory makes it easier to move stock based on demand and predict the need to reorder products, reducing the risk of lost sales.

5. Convenient return service

Working together, online stores and retailers can provide a better post-purchase experience for customers, and a system like Shopify POS makes it easy to offer flexible services. RETURN POLICYaccepts returns at any store, regardless of where you purchased the item.

Customers who had a good return experience Likely to purchase in the futureMaking returns hassle-free not only builds trust but also improves customer satisfaction. Lifetime Value.

6. Manage your staff more effectively

An integrated platform simplifies onboarding and training. Instead of fumbling between logins and interfaces, employees benefit from learning a single system. This streamlined approach is especially useful for companies with high staff turnover.

An integrated system reduces the chance of human error: inventory and customer information updates are automated, meaning employees have less data to manually enter.

A system like Shopify POS allows you to create employee profiles, track sales performance, and identify areas that would benefit from additional training, ensuring your team always provides the best customer service.

The future of commerce is unified

Shopping is becoming increasingly multi-channel. 60% of the shopping experience Now you start on one device and finish on another.

Unified commerce empowers merchants to control every part of today’s customer journey, regardless of how many channels are involved.