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To create a connected shopping experience, make it easy for customers to move between discovery, purchase, fulfillment, returns, and support without losing the information or options they need. Omnichannel marketing is the customer-facing part of that work; it depends on connected data and operations behind the scenes. Being present in several places is multichannel selling, but it does not guarantee that those places work together.
The seven steps below are a practical sequence, not a formally validated or uniquely authoritative framework. Start with the customer journey, then connect the channels and systems where continuity matters most.
What omnichannel marketing means—and how it differs from multichannel
Multichannel means a retailer sells or communicates through multiple channels, such as a website, app, store, and customer-service desk. Omnichannel aims to make those touchpoints work as parts of one shopping journey. A shopper might research a product online, check local stock on a phone, buy in a store, and later contact support about the order. The experience is more connected when relevant product, customer, inventory, and order information remains available at each handoff.
That distinction is about continuity, not the number of channels. A retailer can have many channels that operate separately, or a smaller set that shares useful context. Integration is a continuum: choose the level of connection that fits the journey and the systems you have, rather than treating omnichannel as an all-or-nothing switch.
Think with Google, summarizing Google/Kantar’s Australia Consumer Behavior Pulse, put it this way: “Shoppers are rarely purely offline or purely online shoppers, even within a single purchase journey.” The survey offers a geographically specific illustration, not a universal benchmark. In Australia in September 2024, among 1,532 respondents, it reported 52% omnichannel purchases, 18% click-and-collect, 18% ecommerce-only, and 12% offline-only; 70% said they use a phone for something purchase-related while still in a store. Read the Think with Google summary.
The same Australian survey found that online channels were easier for awareness and consideration, while stores were more useful for quick access to products, customer help, and returns. That is a reminder to design for the different jobs channels do, rather than expecting every touchpoint to duplicate every other one.
How to create a connected shopping experience
1. Map the customer journey
Trace the steps customers actually take: discovery, comparison, purchase, receipt, returns, and support. Include the devices and channels involved, as well as the transitions between them. For example, a shopper may see an item on social media, compare sizes on a website, check availability on a phone in a store, and ask an associate for help.
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At each transition, note whether a customer has to repeat information, redo work, or start over. Record practical friction such as a cart that does not persist, conflicting product details, an unavailable pickup option, or a support agent who cannot see an online order. Those moments reveal where continuity would matter to customers.
2. Find where your customers actually are
Use customer, sales, service, and site or app evidence to decide which channels and devices deserve attention. Look at where customers discover products, ask questions, complete purchases, and seek help. Consider differences by product category and customer need: a store visit may be valuable for seeing an item in person, while a website may make browsing a broader range easier.
Do not add a channel simply because competitors use it. A new touchpoint adds work and can create another disconnected experience if the people, information, and processes behind it are not ready. Prioritize channels that serve a clear customer need and fit your operations.
3. Audit your data and systems
List where the information needed to support the journey is stored and who owns it. Include customer profiles, product details, inventory, orders, fulfillment status, loyalty information, and service records. Then check where records disagree, update at different speeds, or cannot be accessed by the teams who need them.
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Focus on practical questions: Can a customer see reliable availability for a nearby store? Can an associate find the status of an online order? Do product descriptions and promotions match across the channels in scope? Can a service representative understand the customer’s recent interaction without asking them to explain it again?
This audit is not a mandate to replace every system. It identifies which data must be shared, how current it needs to be, and which gaps block the journey you want to improve.
4. Choose the handoffs to integrate first
Rank the gaps by customer impact, operational feasibility, and the value of solving them. Start with a small number of important handoffs, such as checking local stock, carrying a cart or loyalty context between channels, enabling store pickup, or accepting cross-channel returns.
For each priority, define what “connected” means in observable terms. A pickup journey, for instance, may require accurate store availability, an order that reaches the right fulfillment team, a clear ready-for-pickup message, and a way to resolve exceptions. Connecting only the storefront to a product catalog would not cover the full handoff.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsPractical omnichannel guidance from Shopify and Salesforce also emphasizes coordinating channels and operations, but those are vendor-authored implementation resources rather than independent evidence of business results. Use them as ideas to assess against your own systems and customer needs: Shopify’s omnichannel retailing guide and Salesforce’s omnichannel marketing guide.
5. Coordinate the experience across chosen channels
Keep the details customers rely on coherent across the journey: product information, prices, promotions, service expectations, and relevant customer or order context. Decide which channel is authoritative for each kind of information and how updates reach the others. A promotion that appears online but cannot be honored in-store, or an item shown as available when it is not, undermines continuity.
Personalize only when the data is reliable and the customer’s permission supports the use. Establish who can access customer information, what it may be used for, and how corrections or consent preferences are handled. More data is not automatically a better experience; relevant, accurate context is the goal.
6. Equip store and service teams
Staff need access to current information and clear procedures for cross-channel requests. Make sure store and service teams can find relevant order and inventory details, explain pickup or return options, and know what to do when systems disagree or an order is delayed.
Train for the exceptions as well as the ideal path. Specify who owns a problem that crosses teams, how it is escalated, and what the customer should be told while it is being resolved. A connected digital flow will not feel connected if employees cannot act on the information it provides.
7. Measure the whole journey and improve it
Track customer effort and conversion alongside sales, fulfillment, returns, service outcomes, and costs. Separate channel-level performance from overall results: a rise in online orders may reflect sales shifting from stores rather than new demand. Review the handoffs you changed, check whether customers complete the intended journey, and investigate where friction or expense has moved.
Test changes before broad rollout. Compare the intended customer and operational outcomes with what happens after implementation, and include the costs of technology, fulfillment, returns, and service. A 2022 review in the Journal of Retailing examined 50 empirical retail papers published over the prior 20 years. It notes that adding an online channel can cannibalize offline sales, while stronger cross-channel integration is associated with improved retailer performance. Those findings do not establish that every implementation increases profit; they support measuring both channel and total outcomes. Read the review in the Journal of Retailing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to prioritize when connecting channels
Use these questions to compare possible projects or approaches. The right choice depends on the customer journey, existing systems, and operational capacity; there is no universal integration level that suits every retailer.
Quick Recap
- Journey coverage: Which discovery, purchase, fulfillment, return, or support handoffs will the change address?
- Context continuity: Will customer, cart, loyalty, and order information remain available where it is useful?
- Inventory reliability: Can the system provide stock information accurate enough for the promised action, such as pickup?
- Fulfillment and returns: Does the approach support the delivery, pickup, and cross-channel return options customers need?
- Fit with existing systems: Can it work with current commerce, point-of-sale, inventory, order, and service records without creating conflicting sources of truth?
- Privacy and governance: Are access, permitted uses, and customer choices clear?
- Effort and cost: What process changes, integration work, training, and ongoing support will be required?
- Measurement: Can you see customer and operational effects across the journey as well as sales by individual channel?
Common mistakes that break continuity
- Adding channels before fixing handoffs: More touchpoints can increase complexity without helping customers move between them.
- Treating a visible interface as the whole project: A website or app cannot promise reliable pickup or support if inventory, order, and team processes are disconnected.
- Assuming channel growth equals total growth: Sales may move between channels, and new fulfillment or service costs can offset gains.
- Using inconsistent product or promotion information: Conflicts make it harder for customers and employees to know what is available or what terms apply.
- Giving teams access without ownership rules: Staff need both usable information and a clear process for exceptions, privacy, and escalation.
- Personalizing by default: Use customer data only when it is accurate, relevant, and supported by appropriate permission.
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