What comes after omnichannel in 2024?

Unified commerce, integrated channels, and customer-centric marketing: all the buzzwords surrounding the post-omnichannel future

Not too long ago, omnichannel marketing was trailblazing a new path in the marketing industry. Now, it’s table stakes for any advertising campaign–and right before our eyes, the post-omnichannel future is already coming into focus. 

Though post-omnichannel strategy might be on every marketer’s mind, what do we mean when we say post-omnichannel? Surely the integrated approach that centered the customer and pushed campaigns from multichannel to omnichannel isn’t just disappearing.

Some are calling it relationship marketing; others, customer-centric marketing or integrated channel marketing. The biggest buzzword in the space is undoubtedly unified commerce. Already touted as omnichannel’s successor, unified commerce is staking its claim in the headspace of marketers everywhere.

 In any case, with sophisticated AI technology available and increasingly shoppable channels, it’s the dawn of a new day for omnichannel–one that will revolutionize the approach entirely.

Multichannel past, omnichannel present, and post-omnichannel future

It should be noted that we’re not giving up omnichannel–we’re just adding to it, admittedly in a way that might change the way we think about omnichannel altogether: making it more seamless, more personalized, and extending the integration beyond just marketing into conversion and beyond, in sort of the same way mindsets changed when multichannel gave way to omnichannel.

The multichannel past focused on a product-centric approach with siloed channels that did not communicate with each other. Channels had their own attribution measurements, their own campaign goals, and the like, and interactions across channels were far from seamless. Instead, each channel operated as its own ecosystem.

With the advent of omnichannel marketing, a whole-funnel approach was taken with communication across channels and a customer-centric approach coming to the fore. Though the omnichannel present is an audience-first approach with communication extending across channels, it can still come across as fragmented, especially with the addition of new channels tacked onto previous strategies.

And as omnichannel campaigns become more complex, demanding more touchpoints, greater attribution efforts, third-party data alternatives, and extended customer journeys, the funnel continues to fracture–even as opposing forces attempt to reel it in.

As a result, it has become imperative to focus on the customer’s immediate journey and context–personalized to each touchpoint, whether online or in-store. For marketers, it’s like taking a pop quiz to determine the best way to bolster their present omnichannel strategies. That can mean either:

1. developing a centralized digital hub for customers (like a mobile app where users can explore deals and talk with customer service representatives)
2. embracing a unified commerce platform that aggregates all touchpoints and data in one space
3. supercharging AI capabilities, or 
4. all of the above.

In any case, it’s about flattening any silos left in the marketing strategy, creating robust offline experiences where applicable, and putting the customer’s personal journey first.

Online or offline, it’s all the same journey

Take modern retail banking as an example. According to an article from McKinsey and Co., modern banking is embracing an integrated-channels approach, using an app as a central hub through which other interactions spread outward. Doing away with the old omnichannel approach, it’s streamlining the process by using the app as a central hub through which customers can interact with bankers. It’s improving returns, customer satisfaction, and more.

And banking isn’t the only one taking heed of the customer journey. In 2023, most shoppers started their journeys online, either on their phones or laptops, to research purchases before heading in-store (by one estimate, it’s over 80%). An approach that goes beyond the digital into the physical, prioritizing immediate context, allows customers to start a purchase on one device and finish it in-store, or on another device altogether.

Frictionless experiences that follow the customer, whether online or off, take personalization to the next level. According to research from Salesforce, 66% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations, and over half expect all offers to be personalized. 

Making way for the new omnichannel

The biggest buzzword in the space is, again, unified commerce–a one-platform approach in which all a customer’s data is congregated into a single space.

Part of it has to do with bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds and creating a frictionless experience between the two, regardless of channel. It’s also about extending data and unifying the customer journey beyond just marketing through to purchase and beyond, including customer relationship management.

Call it what you will–an integrated-channel approach, a customer-focused approach–but omnichannel is entering a new phase. Driven by AI-optimized personalization, offline-to-online integration in retail, and unified commerce platforms, omnichannel is becoming something new.

The right technology and innovative approach is here to set the stage for a new marketing strategy. And as all touchpoints become immediately shoppable, the funnel breaks down, and the customer journey takes precedence, it’s only a matter of time before omnichannel becomes just one piece of the new marketing puzzle–one that will revolutionize advertising strategy, and business altogether.