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What is Omni Channel Marketing in India?

Given that the infrastructure is set-up very well in UAE & Saudi, offline shopping has become their favorite past time.

What is Future of Omnichannel marketing in India?

Novel stage omnichannel retail in Central Eastern nations are attentive on investing and development technologies for their traditional brick & mortar stores. This will, in turn, catapulted their revenues in the age of digital. This is highly contrary to how India invests and perceives the omnichannel market.

Currently, there are two trends prevalent in Middle Eastern countries that somewhat contradict the Indian retail scenario.

Unconventional- In the age of e-commerce^[1], young shoppers in the Middle East still prefer to purchase at a mall and this is not considered to be a ‘traditional approach’.

Digital Stores- Although the infrastructure and opportunity to grow digitally through e-commerce is higher in Middle Eastern markets, deploying digital solutions at brick & mortar stores is the top priority for most retailers.

In India, visiting a mall can be a great source of recreation and it’s the same for the young generation living in Middle Eastern countries, however, they have a greater bias towards actually shopping at these malls.

Given that the infrastructure is set-up very well in UAE & Saudi, offline shopping has become their favorite past time. Community malls are also gaining popularity as they are located within reach which means consumers spend less time and effort to reach their favorite outlets.

Today, UAE is a growing shopper’s paradise as Dubai is the world’s second most popular retail destination, after London. Although the economy of Middle Eastern countries may have taken a hit due to lowered oil prices, expansion of the mall & modern retail hasn’t taken a backseat.

One of the prime reasons for this is that the World Expo 2020 and the Football World Cup 2022^[1] are being hosted in this region. It is expected to host 30 Million plus visitors from 180 destinations which is sure to boost the retail economy (at least few times of retail GDP).

Temporarily, the younger compeers in urban India are mainly motivated towards purchasing online which is a surprising contrast when you consider that despite very high internet & smartphone penetration, the younger generation of Middle Eastern countries prefers to purchase offline at malls.

In the Middle East region, although the potential for e-commerce is high, it remains relatively unexplored largely due to logistical challenges and due to under-developed inventory nodes, warehouses & stocking points in the region. Hence, retailers are adopting omnichannel strategies to cover up the inadequacies, by considering existing retail store formats as inventory nodes, warehouse & stocking points.

Middle Eastern retailers today are the rational digitization of their store. Order online and pick at the store, order online or offline and get it delivered home, are the emerging omnichannel stories. More customer journeys nearby store digitization are gathering the momentum in the region.

Given that contemporary retail is not successful to be substituted by specialized e-commerce businesses in the next few years, existing brand owners who would like to move the omnichannel way are going to benefit the most. Omni-channel through Store Digitization could define the Middle East’s future of retail as the way traditional souks (open-air markets) got transitioned into large shopping malls.

In India, on the other hand, the focus is largely towards online commerce, while store digitization is not considered a priority. However, there is a large focus towards standalone e-commerce retailing in India, given that online infrastructure & logistics have been well established in recent times.

Omnichannel Marketing in India

The more knowledge advances, the extra it’s integrated into our everyday lives. Even as you read this article, I’d venture a guess that you have several Internet-connected devices within arm’s reach. As we continue down these innovative pathways, we’ll continue to see technology become more important to our day-to-day living. The lines between what we do online and in real life will begin to blur.

What Is Omni-Channel?

At its core, omnichannel is defined as a multichannel sales method that provides the customer with an integrated shopping experience. The customer can be spending online on a desktop or mobile device, or by telephone, or in a brick and mortar store and the experience would be seamless.

It’s important here to distinguish an omnichannel user experience from a multi-channel user experience. Essentially, it comes down to the depth of the integration.

All Omnichannel participations will use numerous locations, but not all multi-channel practices are omnichannel. Remember that. You can have amazing mobile marketing, engaging social media campaigns, and a well-designed website. But if they don’t work together, it’s not omnichannel.

The multi-channel experience is what most businesses invest in today. They have a website, blog, Facebook, and Twitter. They use each of these platforms to engage and connect with customers. However, in most cases, the customer still lacks a seamless experience and consistent messaging across each of these channels.

An omnichannel approach, on the other hand, accounts for each platform and device a customer will use to interact with the company. That knowledge is then used to deliver an integrated experience. Corporations using this practice align their messaging, goals, objects, and design across each channel and device.

To learn how to start implementing one in your company, keep on reading. We’ll even highlight some inspiring brands that are already making moves to become more omnichannel.

Requirements

Every company must progress its own solo omnichannel substructure, and you’ll essential to work closely with several departments in your company to develop this strong strategy. While building your own program, look to the following stakeholders:

• Executives
• IT(Majento and web developers)
• Digital Marketing (SEO, Social Media Marketing, PPC, Display Advertising)
• Customer Service(Voice Support, Chat Support)
• Staff directly involved in the experience
• Real-Time Inventory
• Photoshoot of products

Once everyone comprehends the goals and objects of your omni-channel inventiveness, you can start planning your transition to this model. Including these departments early on will make it easier as you try to shift into an omnichannel way of doing things — it’s less of a headache down the road when you get people excited in the beginning. Ultimately, your strategy should consist of a strategic plan to build a coherent, aligned experience across multiple platforms, which may include any or all of the channels featured in the above graphic. Because this is still a relatively new emerging concept, there’s still time to start small and expand in the future. And if you need some inspiration, you can find plenty of companies that have already implemented fantastic Omni-channel user experiences.