Multichannel eCommerce increases the chance that your product is sold. However, it also makes it more challenging to manage and streamline your store. In this write-up, we’ll discuss how to make use of multichannel eCommerce to boost your sales revenue.
What is multi-channel eCommerce
When an online retailer offers goods through multiple marketplaces and channels, it is called multichannel eCommerce. This is a good way to expand the brand’s visibility and consumer base. Statistics show that those who sell on two marketplaces see a 120% rise in sales.
How to Setup a Multi-channel E-commerce website
Choose your priorities
Don’t just start using any platform you come across. Every marketplace has its own pros and cons. Therefore, some of them might not work well for your brand. You might be tempted to run to Amazon as an eCommerce behemoth, but be sure you’re willing to pay the price. To make the best decision, you must weigh all of the channels from various perspectives.
All payment options must work. Delivery must be cost-effective. And it should support the brand marketing activities.
Once you’ve found the channels that seem to be a good fit for you, you’ll need to spend some time figuring out what type of people are using them. It is critical to gain a deeper understanding of your consumers across all channels. This will provide you with insights into their beliefs, purchasing habits, and unique product preferences. For example, if you know they like local handmade products, you’ll go with Etsy, and if speedy delivery is important to them, you’ll have to go with Amazon.
Keep an eye on your stock
Multiple networks might present logistical problems that necessitate extensive coordination. With a high volume of sales, there’re more chances of overselling for being out of stock if not managed properly. Therefore inventory tracking is essential. Poor product integration leads to a poor shopping experience, which can result in a loss of loyal customers and negative feedback and ratings. In other words, the cornerstone should be to have good customer service. Customers are irritated by unavailable stock, which costs businesses more than $600 billion worldwide. Meanwhile, overstocking (the opposite extreme) costs them more than $400 billion.
As a result, it’s important to centralize your operations across all platforms by synchronizing your inventory. Sellbrite, Ecomdash, and ChannelAdvisor are examples of multichannel sale tools that can handle fulfillment, delivery, and accounting.
Instead of the time-consuming task of handling each platform individually and hoping to pay for all inventory, you’ll be able to find new ways to increase revenue. Centralizing processes and automation would help eliminate human error. Whilst regular inventory reports will show what is in stock at any given time, resulting in accurate statistics across all networks.
Make the appearance your own
Your multichannel eCommerce website must be attractive (in the sense of elegant rather than flashy!). Despite the time-consuming upkeep, it’s much more important to maintain a constant look and feel across all devices. With more people shopping on their mobile devices, you’ll need to deliver automatic discounts, personalized checkouts, and intuitive storefronts to create an engaging customer journey.
You can use a branded mobile app to communicate with these mobile-first consumers. Make sure your server runs smoothly on both the iPad and iPhone and Apple’s iOS and Android devices and operating systems. You’ll be able to send out push alerts for regular sales and use coupons and QR codes in advertising to reward loyal customers.
Final note
The first steps are the same as with any other e-commerce site. Still, it’s critical to choose the right platform because it’s the heart of your company and must be capable of establishing a substantial presence through multiple platforms.
