What once seemed like an overused retail industry buzzword a few years ago is now a consumer demand. People expect retailers to be omnichannel. According to research by marketing automation platform Sailthru and Coresight Research, consumers consider omnichannel experiences a must. However, the survey revealed that only 41 percent of retailers provide seamless buying journeys across channels. The good news is that an omnichannel payments platform can help retailers enhance those experiences.
Providing a quick and efficient checkout is paramount to closing out a positive overall customer experience. You can do everything right up until that point, but if there’s additional friction or frustration, it could leave a sour taste in a customer’s mouth, or worse cause them to abandon their purchase all together.
In 2020, retail shopping changed dramatically – from increased social distancing norms to a preference for buying online. Terms like buy online pick up in-store (BOPIS), Click & Collect, curbside pickup, etc. made more frequent appearances than before. More consumers are showing preference to shop at stores that offered these options. Especially in 2020, the onset of the pandemic drove strict social distancing guidelines in the U.S. and pushed shoppers to purchase essential items such as groceries, etc online. According to data from eMarketer, Click and Collect increased from a 5.8% share of all retail eCommerce sales to a 9.1% share. Also, total buyers went from 127.4 million people to 143.8 million people with a 12.9% growth rate as many consumers looked for new paths to purchase.
