Solving the Three Major Problems All Modern Retailers Face

Imagine a customer browsing your website on their phone. They find a jacket, add it to their cart, and decide to collect it from your store later that afternoon. When they arrive, they use a loyalty discount from your mobile app. A few days later, they receive a personalised email recommending products that complement the jacket they bought.

Then something doesn’t quite work. They need to return the jacket.

They expect to be able to walk into your store, return it without any hassle, and have the transaction recognised immediately—regardless of where they originally purchased it.

From the customer’s perspective, this is one continuous shopping experience. Which means your customer doesn’t care which system is handling the transaction. They just expect everything to work.

Behind the scenes, your inventory should update automatically when the jacket is purchased. Your sales team should be able to see the customer’s relevant purchase history. Your e-commerce platform, point-of-sale system, loyalty program, and customer data should all work together instead of operating as separate systems.

This is what omnichannel retail means. Omnichannel retail is simply the ability to connect all the different ways a customer interacts with your business—online and offline—so that they experience your company as one connected business.

The reality is that among younger shoppers, including Gen Z, there is very little distinction between “online shopping” and “in-store shopping.” To them, it’s all just shopping. They expect to move between your website, mobile app, social channels, and physical stores without having to start the process all over again every time.

But here’s where many retailers run into trouble.

Because while the customer sees one business, you have to make everything work juggling five completely different systems at once.

Your e-commerce platform has its own customer and order information. Your physical stores use a separate POS (point-of-sale) system to process purchases. Your inventory may be managed somewhere else entirely. Your loyalty program might have another database, while your marketing software operates independently.

And when these systems don't communicate with each other, problems start appearing everywhere.

A customer might see a product listed as available online, only to discover that it’s actually out of stock. An online order might not properly update store inventory. A customer may have to explain their purchase history to an employee because the store system can't access the information from the website.

Then there are the abandoned carts, inaccurate inventory figures, delayed orders, duplicate customer records, and endless manual processes required to keep everything running.

The financial consequences of getting this wrong can be significant. A 2024 Retail Dive report estimated that poor omnichannel experiences can cost retailers as much as 10% of annual revenue. Research from McKinsey has also highlighted how features such as BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) have become increasingly expected by American shoppers. And according to a 2024 PwC survey, 80% of consumers say they would stop doing business with a company after a bad experience.

In other words, customers are not necessarily going to tell you that your systems are disconnected. They’ll simply stop buying from you. 

Which is also why omnichannel software matters. Omnichannel software brings your different retail channels together so they can share information and work as one connected operation. Instead of your website, stores, inventory system, loyalty program, and customer information operating independently, the software connects them.

So when a customer buys something online, inventory can be updated automatically. When they collect an order in-store, your team can see exactly what the order is and where it came from. And when a customer contacts you, your team can access the relevant information instead of asking the customer to explain everything again.

This also means that when you run a marketing campaign, you can use the customer data you already have to deliver more relevant offers instead of sending the same generic message to everyone.

That’s the real value of omnichannel technology. It isn't about adding another flashy piece of software to your technology stack. It’s about making the systems you already depend on work together as a seamless unit.

That’s the difference between having an online store, a physical store, an app, and a loyalty program—and having a genuinely omnichannel retail operation.

In the rest of this article, we’ll look at why omnichannel has become a make-or-break strategy for modern retailers, the common mistakes businesses make when trying to implement it, and five practical ways the right software can transform your operation.

We’ll also look at how you can start building an omnichannel strategy without turning your entire business upside down. Remember that  your customers already expect a connected experience. The question is whether your business is ready to deliver it.

Why Omnichannel Is No Longer Optional

Research from Harvard Business Review found that 73% of shoppers use multiple channels during their purchasing journey. That means customers are increasingly moving between websites, mobile apps, social media, email, and physical stores before they make a purchase.

The message for retailers is pretty clear. When your channels aren't connected, the problem isn't simply that your systems are inconvenient for your employees. You can lose actual revenue.

Fragmented retail systems can result in inconsistent customer experiences, missed sales opportunities, inaccurate inventory information, and expensive fulfillment problems. Shopify has reported that retailers can lose as much as 30% of potential revenue because of inconsistent experiences across channels.

Then there’s inventory. If your business doesn't have accurate visibility across all your sales channels, you don't always know exactly what you have, where it is, or whether it has already been sold. IHL Group has estimated global inventory losses associated with issues such as overstocks, out-of-stocks, and inventory distortion at an enormous scale—around $1.1 trillion.

Think about what that means for your business. A product sitting in one store might technically be available, but your website doesn't know it exists. Another product might appear available online when it has already sold in-store.

The customer sees “In Stock.” Your employee sees “Out of Stock.” And somewhere in between those two systems, you lose the sale.

But here’s the interesting part. Businesses that get omnichannel right can see the opposite effect. Harvard Business Review research found that omnichannel customers spend around 20% more and are 1.7 times more likely to become repeat customers.

Solving the Three Major Problems All Modern Retailers Face

To understand why omnichannel software has become so important, you first need to understand the three major problems retailers are dealing with today.

1. Your Sales Channels Aren’t Talking to Each Other

Suppose a customer finds a product on your website and sees that it is available. They drive to your store expecting to pick it up, only to discover that the product isn't actually there.

Maybe it sold an hour ago. Maybe the store's inventory wasn't updated. Maybe your e-commerce system and POS system simply aren't communicating properly. Whatever the reason, the customer doesn't care. From their perspective, your business told them something was available when it wasn't.

This is what happens when your sales channels—the different ways customers can buy from you—operate independently. Your e-commerce platform has one set of information. Your physical stores have another. Your social media channels and marketplace accounts may have their own information too.

The result is more friction, and friction kills sales. When customers have to work harder to complete a purchase, there is always a chance they'll abandon the process and buy from someone else.

2. Customer Expectations Are Moving Faster Than Your Systems

Customers don't simply want to buy products anymore, they want convenience paired with personalised offers. They want accurate stock information. They want to know when their order will arrive. They want flexible delivery and collection options. And they want to return products without having to navigate a completely different process.

Consider BOPIS, which stands for “buy online, pick up in store.” The concept is simple: a customer purchases something online and collects it from a physical store. 

But behind that simple customer experience is a lot of information that needs to be accurate. Your website needs to know what inventory is available. Your store needs to know what has been ordered. Your employees need to know what needs to be collected. The customer needs to receive the right notification at the right time.

If those systems aren't connected, something eventually goes wrong. McKinsey has reported that more than one-third of Americans expect BOPIS as a standard retail feature, with many customers intending to continue using it. Which means you should offer this service, too. 

3. Your Operations Are Becoming Increasingly Difficult to Manage

Then there is the problem your customers don't always see: what happens behind the scenes.

When your data is spread across multiple systems, your employees have to spend time moving information between them. Inventory has to be checked manually. Orders need to be reconciled. Teams have to email each other for updates. Someone has to check whether an item has shipped. Someone else has to update the customer.

And if one person forgets to complete a step? The entire process can slow down. This is what we mean by operational chaos.

It doesn't necessarily mean your business is badly managed. It means your systems and processes aren't giving your employees the information they need to do their jobs efficiently.

And the consequences can be expensive. You can oversell products you don't actually have. Orders can be delayed. Customers can receive incorrect information. Employees can waste hours fixing mistakes that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Which means that omnichannel isn't simply about offering customers more ways to buy from you. It's about connecting those different ways of buying so that they operate as one coordinated business.

And that requires more than a new website or another mobile app. You need the technology behind your business to connect your customer data, inventory, orders, sales channels, and operational processes.

That’s where omnichannel software comes in. The right solution can help turn disconnected systems into one coordinated retail operation—giving your team better visibility, reducing manual work, improving the customer experience, and helping you capture sales that might otherwise disappear.

Why You Can't Do Omnichannel Halfway

Here's a mistake many retailers make. They hear “omnichannel,” get excited about the possibilities, and immediately start looking for the latest technology, such as a chatbot, smart mirrors, a new customer app, or something else flashing and new.

But the problem is that none of these technologies will actually solve the fundamental problem costing the business money. The truth is that you can have the most advanced retail technology available and still deliver a frustrating customer experience if your underlying systems, processes, and priorities aren't aligned.

A 2024 Gartner study found that 60% of omnichannel initiatives fail to meet their expected return on investment because of poor planning.

That's a big warning sign. The problem isn't necessarily that omnichannel doesn't work. The problem is that many retailers try to build an omnichannel operation without first deciding what they actually want to achieve.

They chase technology instead of solving business problems. Before long, the business has spent a significant amount of money, added more systems to manage, and made the overall operation even more complicated.

So, before you invest in another piece of retail technology, there are three major traps you need to avoid.

1. No Clear Strategy Means Everyone Moves in Different Directions

Think about what happens when every department has its own idea of what “omnichannel” should mean.

• Your e-commerce team wants to launch a new mobile app.
• Your store team wants self-service kiosks.
• Your marketing team wants more personalisation.
• Your supply chain team is still working with outdated inventory technology.

Each department might have a perfectly reasonable goal, but they're not necessarily working toward the same outcome. Because without a unified vision, your omnichannel strategy quickly becomes a collection of disconnected projects.

One team invests in one system. Another team chooses something completely different. Your supply chain falls behind. Your customer data ends up in multiple places. And eventually, someone has to figure out how all these systems are supposed to work together.

That creates unnecessary cost and complexity and often makes it harder to deliver a consistent customer experience. Remember that your customer doesn't care which department purchased which technology. They just expect everything to work.

So your first priority should be to figure out what customer and business problems you're actually trying to solve. Once you know the answer, you can choose technology that supports that goal instead of simply adding another system to your operation.

2. Flashy Technology Means Nothing If Customers Don’t Care

Smart mirrors. Artificial intelligence. Chatbots. Virtual try-ons. Mobile apps. Personalised recommendations. All of these technologies can have legitimate uses. But here's the question you should always ask before investing in one: Does this actually make the customer's experience better?

Take a smart mirror as an example. It might look impressive in your store. Customers can interact with it, view different products, or see recommendations without leaving the fitting room. But what if it doesn't actually help the customer make a purchase? What if it takes longer to use than simply asking an employee for help? What if customers don't understand how it works?

Then you've spent money on technology that looks innovative but doesn't create meaningful value. And that's the difference between innovation and useful innovation. The goal isn't to impress customers with technology. The goal is to make shopping faster, easier, more convenient, or more relevant.

A chatbot that gives customers instant answers can be useful. A chatbot that gives incorrect answers or makes customers fight through five automated menus before reaching a human being isn't. And sending customers endless recommendations based on poor-quality data can quickly become annoying.

So before investing in any new omnichannel feature, ask yourself what problem it solves, who benefits from it, and whether you can measure the result. If you can't answer those questions, you may be investing in a solution simply because it looks impressive and could end up making an expensive mistake.

3. Get the Basics Right Before You Build Advanced Features

A retailer wants to deliver highly personalised shopping experiences, so they invest heavily in personalisation technology. But there's one small problem. Their inventory information isn't accurate.

Which means their customers see products online that aren't actually available. Orders are delayed because employees can't see where stock is located. Store and e-commerce systems aren't properly synchronized. Now you've got an advanced personalisation system sitting on top of a broken operational process.

The lesson? There's little value in building sophisticated customer journeys if your basic order processing is unreliable.Which means you  have to build omnichannel capabilities in the right order.

Start with the fundamentals, get your inventory data accurate, connect your sales channels, make sure orders flow correctly between systems, and create a reliable source of customer information.

Only then, once those foundations are working properly, start adding more advanced capabilities. This approach doesn't just make implementation easier but reduces the risk of wasting money on technology that your business isn't ready to use effectively.

Conclusion

The right omnichannel software can give your business a centralised platform where your teams, customer information, sales channels, inventory, and processes can work together.

So instead of each department making separate technology decisions, you can create a connected strategy around a common goal. Instead of investing in technology because it looks impressive, you can prioritise features that produce measurable customer and business value.

And instead of trying to launch everything at once, you can build your omnichannel capabilities in a logical order—starting with the fundamentals and expanding from there.

That's how you avoid turning omnichannel into another expensive technology project. You need the right technology, implemented for the right reasons, in the right order.

Get that right, and omnichannel stops being a collection of disconnected initiatives and starts becoming a genuine competitive advantage.