Omnichannel: the next step in consumer electronics

Consumer electronics retailing has entered a new and more challenging era in which omnichannel capabilities are essential for retailers who want to draw shoppers who are increasingly more comfortable shopping online.

The shift to eCommerce has accelerated after the pandemic, which caused a surge in online sales of items such as headphones and video conferencing equipment as employees and students were obliged to adopt home working.

The “wow factor”

So the big challenge for brick-and-mortar retailers in the consumer electronics sector is to offer something that eCommerce cannot and so give customers a reason to come to their stores.

The “wow factor” created by eagerly-awaited product introductions still draws shoppers into stores. But the pace of product innovation has led to a dramatic reduction in time-to-market for product introductions, increasing the risk that retailers miss the window of opportunity or fail to accurately predict demand for new products, disappointing customers who are eager to buy.

Advantages of physical retail

Reflecting their connected lifestyles, today’s tech-savvy consumers value frictionless self-service experiences and the ability to browse and buy online before picking up the item in the store.

But when they need help, they expect personalized, expert advice and this, of course, is an area where brick-and-mortar retailers have a huge advantage over e-tailers.

The new frontier in electronics retailing is about providing seamless physical and digital experiences to enable shoppers to find what they want, when and where they want it, and to enable retailers to optimize back-office processes in areas such as order management and fulfilment to deal with new demands.

Omnichannel capabilities are essential

Omnichannel technologies provide a way for consumer electronics retailers to do that and so counter the growing competition from brand-name manufacturers like Apple and from e-tailers like Amazon.

The acceleration in consumer behavior change in 2020 has made an effective omnichannel strategy more important than ever for consumer electronics retailers who want to maximize the synergies between the physical and digital channels.

Orisha commerce matérialise l’omnicanal en facilitant l’intégration des canaux en ligne et en magasin, avec une gestion centralisée de tous les clients, commandes et stocks, garantissant ainsi une expérience d’achat sans couture.