Over the last decade, the entire retail industry has started using some of the other software to manage the retail business. The purpose of retail ecommerce softwares is to integrate everything you require to run your store. A large number of organizations miss out on the omni channel parameter while deploying ecommerce software.
Ecommerce software can be integrated on-premise of the retailer where installed and managed by developers who aid manual updates, fix problems, and general troubleshooting or can be provided as Cloud-Based Ecommerce Solution.
Customers access a brand through various online and offline retail stores. Omni Channel is about being present across all the channels for your customers in order to provide a great Customer Experience (CX).
Here are the three reasons why every retail ecommerce software needs to upgrade and become Omni Channel –
1. A retail brand may have an ecommerce software platform that offers functionalities like Store Management, Product Management, Product Catalog, etc and all of these functions will help to improve their operational efficiency. However, these basic functions alone do not make an Omni Channel Retail Solutions because they are not improving the customer experience (cx).
2. Often people get confused and think that an ecommerce software offering great integrations like Tally, CRM, Quickbooks, etc. qualifies to be omni channel but that is not true. The platform itself doesn't fulfill all tasks, integrations with leading providers make it possible to seamlessly run a store without maneuvering between different services. Moreover, these integrations will just help you in customer relationship management and accounting. They would hardly contribute anything towards the customer experience (cx).
3. A retail brand may have a great web store design at the user end but that may not necessarily mean that their software is omni channel. A great front end design is just a part of the entire omni channel universe.
Retail eCommerce Software Features
Consumers are shopping everywhere be it at their homes, offices, or at shopping malls. For a retailer, these are separate channels that must be managed by different departments. But consumers don’t recognize "channels" — they only recognize brands. This makes having an omnichannel strategy more important than ever for any retail enterprise.
Strong omnichannel features include flexible inventory management, shopping carts, logistics, & fulfillment, a single view of the customer, and a unified API platform that brings all the backend services together to create one single focal point.
Retail POS Software
Flexible, easy to deploy, and highly scalable Retail POS Software for better management of invoices, Multiple Payment Options, Managing Sales Data during In-Store Purchase, etc.
Ecommerce Store
Beautiful, scalable, and flexible Ecommerce Store to sell products online. Customized design templates as per industry domains to help the retailers present themselves to the world in an effective manner.
Order Management
Tracking and Fulfiling the order receiving in a retail business. Tracking Order Aggregation, Return, and Refunds in a single dashboard.
Logistics
3rd Party Logistics Integration for last-mile delivery along with the payment gateway integrations.
Inventory Management
Systematic approach to storing, sourcing, and selling inventory—both raw materials and finished goods. Inventory Management module includes Stock Management & Control, Provision to View Inventory(SKUs/BIN), Increased/ Reduced Stock Inventory, Delivery & Returns Management, etc.
Procurement
Acquire Goods, Services, or works from an external source along with keeping track of the stock. It includes acquisition of products, supports item receiving with & without purchase order, acquisition, checking of products from vendors, etc.
Warehousing
To automate warehouse operations, manage inventory locations, and transactions. It includes Barcode/QR Labels Generation, Batch Management based on Attributes like Expiry Date, Batch No., Manufacturing Date, MRP, etc.
Store Management
To maintain and run the activities of your store effectively and efficiently. It is helpful in Managing Orders, Inventories, and Customers through a single screen and synchronizes inventory across multiple sales channels.
Product Cataloging
User-friendly & interactive catalogs to store product data from suppliers in one place for better access. Rich Product Cataloging, Classification and Management of Product Content, Consistent Data across all sales channel and bulk upload.
CRM
360- degree customer profiling with Customer Dashboard & Wishlist, Loyalty Management & Rewards, Coupon Code & Discount Features, Customer Management, Lead Management
Product Management
To Update & Manage Products, Prices, Promotions and Offers across all sales channel
Retail eCommerce Software Benefits
- Best Customer Experiences
- Increase in Customer Engagements
- Build Customer Loyalty
- Security
- Growth in the Customer Base
- Transparency across all channels
Conclusion
Most of the retail ecommerce platforms end up improving the operational efficiency and customer relationships but fall short when it comes to improving the customer experience (cx). Omni Channel is about a combination of features that enhances almost everything including the customer experience. Hence, It is not very difficult to identify if your software fulfills the omni channel need or not. Once you have identified the gaps then it is time to go for a proper omni channel retail solution to meet the ever-growing demands of your retail business.
Related Questions
1. How can I upgrade my retail ecommerce software to omni channel?
You would need to check with your software provider. However, the best option would be to go for a new omni channel retail commerce solution.
2. Does point of sale mean omni channel?
No, Point of Sale or the pos retail is one of the features of the omni channel solution.
3. What are the best prices for omni channel solutions that a retailer can expect to get in the market?
The pricing would depend on various factors including the nature and size of your business.
