'Omnichannel' is the new buzzword

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My first ever visit to The Cloud Retail Week Conference a fortnight ago proved to be something of a revelation.

Having never attended such an event before I was pleasantly surprised as a succession of speakers inspired, informed and entertained in almost equal measure.

If there was a single thread that seemed to be running through the day that I was there, it was that retail is undergoing a seismic shift in how it relates to customers. This new relationship is probably going to be shaped by our mastery of overlapping technologies, some of which may not have been created yet.

The new buzzword is ‘omnichannel’, encompassing social media, online, bricks and mortar, and an increasingly mobile-enabled world, into one seamless experience.

Some staggering statistics were being tossed around, such as 29% of all searches now come from mobile sources, and that registration of the new devices is actually outstripping the birth rate in some countries. Peak browsing times have also apparently moved into late evening as many of us now sleep with our tablets and smartphones.

These are exciting times, not least for smaller operations. The playing field has been substantially levelled by access to innovations that in many cases require only understanding and imagination without large capital outlay. But it seems we’re going to have to be more reactive than proactive to avoid being too clever for our own good. That means avoiding the technological blind alleys that can follow every clever new online fad or piece of ersatz social hokum.

As an industry, we already have an immediate and priceless relationship with our customers, and are in a position to capitalise on that experience as these new channels mature.

But we need to make sure we protect the true value of human instinct and interaction and not get so caught up with profiling, data mining and projecting that we lose sight of those who may not be quite as dazzled as we think by all the shiny new toys.