Revolutionize your organization with unified commerce

This year, 72% of merchants will prioritize unified commerce. After omnichannel commerce, 2022 will be the year of unified commerce. But how can you decipher this trend and adopt an efficient strategy to grow your business? The answer is in this article.  

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Definitions and challenges

Unified commerce is a process that allows the integration of all customer interaction  channels on a single platform. It is a centralization of information related to the  operation of an entire business that has many advantages for brands. In particular, this centralization allows them to monitor in real time the interactions on all channels at once, whether they are physical, digital or hybrid.  

The adoption of a single platform represents a major asset. This change will allow  companies to manage their business in an optimal way by collecting all the data generated during the purchase process for example, regardless of the channel, by managing real-time information on stocks, by having global KPIs, as well as a global vision on logistics. This will allow them to detect potential issues. More globally, unified commerce allows a company to offer a better service to consumers.Thanks to unified commerce, the customer can now choose how to communicate with the company and the subject of their request at any time. With a single platform in place, brands can now cater to the different needs of all of their customers.  

All of these new possibilities represent major challenges for brands: the interactions  between the company and the consumer are improved, just like the overall shopping  experience. 

How to use unified commerce 

Whereas omnichannel used to manage different channels individually, unified  commerce is distinguished by its interconnectivity. Indeed, unified commerce allows  to connect the information related to all the channels to obtain a global vision and  centralized data. Hence the challenge of adopting a single, dedicated platform, in  which all channels are integrated. In other words, the major difference between  omnichannel and unified commerce lies in the digital platform to be adopted. However it's not the only one. 

In order to switch to a unified commerce strategy, the company's organization must  be completely rethought. To do so, all teams, whether it is marketing,  communication, logistics or ecommerce, must be trained together to become a  single multidisciplinary team. If the company is able to adopt this new way of  working, it will then only need to acquire a unified commerce platform so that the entire organization can function optimally.  

As far as digital tools are concerned, the ideal solution for any company will be to opt  for a platform that is both easy to use and complete, which will simplify the  management of ecommerce orders, storage, order preparation and supply. The goal  is to ensure the best possible interaction between the various departments in order  to set up a fluid and linear system. 

In short, if unified commerce is one of the trends to embrace in 2022, every  company, regardless of its size and initial strategy, can be the ideal candidate. As  long as they follow the right steps.