Omnichannel Retail: What It Is, How It Works & Why It Matters
Omnichannel commerce is when merchants provide multiple different platform options for customers, each focused on delivering a consistent brand and shopping experience.
It's like multichannel retail, where customers can purchase from a business via their website and social media and in a brick-and-mortar store. With omnichannel, operations focus on a comprehensive customer experience, not the customer's individual experiences on different channels [1].
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba coined the term "new retail" to describe this same idea: the seamless integration of online and offline retail, with the distinction between the two becoming effectively obsolete [2].
Definition
To give a better explanation of omnichannel, it helps to provide an understanding of some similar terms.
- Single-channel commerce is when retailers sell via one channel only. It could be a physical store, an e-commerce website, social media, or an online marketplace like Depop or Amazon.
- Multichannel commerce is when merchants sell in a few different places, usually online and offline. Multichannel also means communicating with customers in various ways, such as through a website or phone.
- Omnichannel commerce takes place on multiple channels too, like the multichannel commerce strategy. Without multichannel, there's no omnichannel. The big difference is that omnichannel commerce connects all channels. This means your customer has a seamless experience across all platforms [3].
Four-pillar approach to omnichannel
One widely used framework breaks omnichannel commerce down into four pillars: sales channels, marketing and advertising, operations and fulfilment. These elements link together to provide the best possible omnichannel customer experience.
1. Sales channels
It’s important to select sales channels that are right for your business. You’ll want to consider your customer demographic, their age, geographical location, where they like to shop, and where they’d expect to find your services. Some places you might want to sell include:
- A physical store, or anywhere you can use a POS
- A business website with ecommerce integration
- Social media
- A dedicated app
- Online marketplaces like eBay or Amazon
- B2B/Wholesalers
Not only does having multiple channels in operation help brand awareness, but it serves as a backup, should anything go wrong. Since Instagram and Facebook are owned by the same company, having another platform available adds an extra layer of security for businesses.
Of course, retailers have to move with the times and adjust to sales channel trends. Some channels pick up rapidly. Therefore, monitoring the growth and success of competitors’ strategies may be useful before deciding to invest in development on a particular channel.
2. Marketing and advertising
Organic website growth can be challenging, especially for new businesses. Just as choosing the right platform to sell is vital, so is choosing the right place to advertise.
Visibility and increasing brand awareness are good. However, it can be expensive to invest in marketing on a platform that just doesn’t appeal to your customers. It’s important to meet your customers where they are, on the channels they like to frequent.
For example, clothing brands targeting a younger demographic would have a lot more success advertising on platforms like TikTok or Instagram. A December 2025 Pew Research Centre survey found around six-in-ten US teens (aged 13-17) use TikTok and Instagram, far outpacing usage among older adults [4]. They're unlikely to reach the kind of clientele they're after on LinkedIn, so investing resources in advertising there would be pointless.
Going a step further, and choosing to sell on these platforms, rather than just advertise there, is what elevates a business from being multichannel to being omnichannel.
3. Operations
Operations cover everything in your back office, including lead generation, costs, CMS, inventory ordering, point of sale (POS), logistics, order fulfilment, and sales channels. In omnichannel, having fully integrated operations is pivotal.
For example, a homeware retailer selling through both a website and a physical store risks overselling if the two aren't connected: a customer buys the last lamp online while it's simultaneously sold in-store, leading to a cancelled order, a refund, and a frustrated customer. Retailers who sync inventory across channels in real time avoid this entirely: stock updates the moment an item sells anywhere, so availability is always accurate no matter where a customer is shopping.
Epos Now systems encompass all of these functions through their POS software. Elements that the POS doesn’t cover are still available through app integrations, so vital functions such as marketing schedules and accounting programmes can still be found in one convenient location.
Robust inventory management is critical for omnichannel businesses. Since stock is sold across multiple locations, merchants have to know exactly what is available, and in what quantities. A Retail POS system that automatically deducts as items sell in real-time is ideal and will ensure smooth operations when facing a large volume of sales.
4. Shipping and fulfillment
The fourth pillar is order fulfillment. Order fulfilment is notably simplified in brick and mortar stores. When selling online, order completion and shipment requires a lot of planning and is often much costlier than selling goods in person.
Often merchants will charge customers for shipping, yet this can be marked up or down depending on the negotiated rate with various couriers. Third-party logistics companies work with retailers to find an agreed price, often rewarding bulk shipments or exclusive partnerships for a discount.
Benefits of omnichannel retail
- Once your ecommerce website is integrated with an order processing system, there is very little maintenance or staffing required. No need to spend time having lengthy sales conversations if the adequate information is online. There is no need for customers to queue, as multiple patrons can purchase online without speaking to a staff member.
- Make money any time, as customers can buy online, 24/7. With reliable payment processing, money will automatically be sent to your account without you having to do anything.
- Appeals to a diverse range of customers and highlights that your business is willing to accommodate customer preferences. Increase visibility and convenience by advertising on a platform and allowing customers to buy from the same place without navigating elsewhere.
- Track the shopping habits of customers with ease. Link your e-commerce platform with your POS for a better insight into which platforms generate the most traffic or sales, and spend your marketing budget more efficiently.
Streamlined omnichannel experience
Epos Now’s Retail software is designed specifically for merchants seeking an innovative, comprehensive business management system. The multi-functional POS platform includes detailed inventory management that tracks stock in real-time for optimised efficiency. Access analysis on product performance and view profit percentage per sale or over a certain period of time to help you make better-informed business decisions.
- Manage your stock, staff, sales, data, and payments from anywhere.
- Integrate with your preferred payment partner
- Access to Epos Now Payments, our online merchant services
- Receive stock alerts, so you never miss a selling opportunity
- Easily add, edit and bundle items to create new revenue opportunities
- Full barcode management. Import, update, and manage 1,000s of products
- Offer safety and convenience with Click & Collect services
- Integrate with over 100 apps, including leading accountancy and CRM tools
Get in touch today to request a callback from our expert advisors.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What's the difference between omnichannel and multichannel?
-
Multichannel means you're selling across a few different channels, say, a website, social media, and a physical store, but each one runs on its own, with separate stock, separate customer data, separate marketing. Omnichannel ties all of that together into one system, so wherever a customer shows up, and however they move between channels, they get the same consistent experience.
- Do small businesses need an omnichannel strategy?
-
Even a small business benefits from keeping things simple, like syncing stock between your website and your till so you're not overselling or telling someone something's in stock when it's not. You don't need the full setup right away, but starting with that consistency makes it much easier to grow into more channels later.
- What's the easiest first step toward omnichannel retail?
-
Start with syncing your inventory; it's the easiest win. Once your website and your till both know what's actually in stock in real time, you sidestep that classic headache of selling something online that's already gone in-store. Get that sorted first, and everything else, shared customer data, synced promotions- becomes so much easier to add later.
- Does omnichannel work for service-based businesses, not just product retailers?
-
Yes. The same idea just shows up differently: instead of syncing stock, you're syncing bookings, customer history, and preferences across however people reach you: phone, app, website, or in person. A salon, for instance, might let someone book online but still have staff see their full history and preferences when they walk in. Same principle, different details.
