Stationary and online trading in one system with OXID eShop and Microsoft Dynamics 365
E-commerce has created completely new opportunities for companies to interact with customers and operate in international markets. However, the changes are also having an impact on the stationary trade, which has not always been the beneficiary of new technologies in the past. The current situation, in particular, is putting local businesses under additional pressure, which is why many of them are currently making the leap into e-commerce in addition to their retail outlets. To create a successful combination of stationary and online trade, ESYON relies on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and OXID eShop. Our blog article explains how so-called omnichannel commerce can be implemented with this solution.
What is omnichannel commerce?
The term omnichannel commerce describes the combination of digital and physical shopping experience. In contrast to the so-called multichannel, where merchants serve several channels, but these act independently of each other, the various distribution channels in omnichannel commerce interlock and can also be used across platforms.
Almost simultaneously with the emergence of new technologies around digital shopping portals, the behaviour of consumers is also changing: they do their business both in local shops and in online shops. The rigid focus on just one of these two worlds often carries the risk of losing growth opportunities. Especially now that local trade is stumbling in times of pandemic, many stationary traders are therefore trying to start an online business.
Even after the pandemic, the omnichannel trend is likely to continue, as many consumers will maintain their changed purchasing behaviour with a focus on convenient online shopping. Retailers are following this development and are opening up new sales channels on the net. Once set up with all the relevant functions, there is every indication that the web presence will remain on the net even after Corona, because many advantages result from omnichannel commerce.
Are you planning to implement your Omnichannel solution with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and OXID eShop? We can help you with this!
Advantages of omnichannel commerce
Increase in turnover
The creation of an online shop in addition to the retail shop creates a new distribution channel that is independent of location and has a high reach. The potential for an increase in sales volume is great, which has a direct impact on turnover.
Spreading the risk
The advantage of one-channel management lies in its organisational simplicity. The problem: If, for some reason, demand within this channel breaks down, the entire company quickly gets into financial difficulties – this became fully apparent during the corona lockdown. omnichannel solutions offer a much wider distribution network and thus spread the business risk.
Reduction of the bounce rate
The success rate of sales in a local shop is often determined by the first contact. If there is no conversion during the sales talk, the potential customer is often already considered lost. With the help of omnichannel management, however, he can be reminded of his purchase, for example by e-mail, where a link can be used to draw attention to the products in the online shop that interest him. The same works the other way round, of course: If the customer still has doubts after an initial visit to the online shop, you can invite him to your shop for a test run.
Increase of customer satisfaction
The flexibility of omnichannel solutions gives customers the ability to use the channel they prefer and makes scenarios such as the following conceivable: A customer orders a product online to your shop, where you can provide them with a range of useful information and/or accessory recommendations when they pick it up. In this way, they can combine the convenience of online shopping with an informative consultation. This increases customer satisfaction and also creates a lucrative cross-selling potential.
PoS & ERP: Biggest challenge in omnichannel commerce
One of the main challenges in implementing an omnichannel approach is the so-called point of sale (PoS). This is the point of sale where a conversion takes place. Since there are several points of sale in an omnichannel strategy, the online shop’s merchandise management system must be able to synchronise stocks from several sales floors. Thus, sales in the shop must also have an influence on the stocks in the online shop and vice versa, otherwise shortages in the warehouse and delays in delivery can be the result.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and OXID eShop – a dynamic duo in omnichannel commerce
OXID eShop is one of the most popular shop systems within the DACH region – and rightly so. The system is high-performance and failsafe and, thanks to Azure Cloud, is flexibly scalable in terms of computing power and storage capacities. This pays off especially when you expect a high volume of visitors to your website, for example during special offer days such as Black Friday or during the Christmas business.
With Microsoft Dynamics 365 you can manage your merchandise management and customer data centrally in one system, whether B2C or B2B. Order, delivery and payment status can also be queried channel-independently using Customer Self-Service, which enables the implementation of an omnichannel approach.
It is also possible to manage several online shops within Microsoft Dynamics 365. This option offers great added value, especially if you are planning to expand into international markets and operate different domains for different locations.
