Retailers, online shops and service companies today juggle a multitude of administrative tasks, growing customer demands and an increasing number of sales channels. It quickly becomes time-consuming and confusing as the different systems rarely work together. The result is a lack of overview of the customer journey and key data in real time.

Although omnichannel has been prevalent since the 2010s and has ensured a consistent customer experience across channels, it is no longer enough. Data remains siloed, creating bottlenecks in both operations and service. But with unified commerce, retailers and service organisations can integrate all sales channels and systems on one platform and in real time. This means they have access to up-to-date information about inventory, sales and customers - all in one place.

This development is in full swing, and small and medium-sized businesses in particular will experience a significant digital boost that will drive business growth.

Maximum flexibility for customers

Unified commerce isn’t just a technological upgrade - it’s a necessity to meet the expectations of the modern consumer. For the customer, it means a seamless experience where they can switch between online and offline channels at their convenience.

For example, a customer might buy a pair of shoes online and return them in store without any problems. Or maybe they buy a blouse in a store in Paris and later decide to return it via the store’s Danish webshop. This flexibility removes friction from the entire shopping experience and increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Benefits for merchants

Whether it’s shopping for clothes or dining out, and whether customers are shopping online, offline or a combination of both, unified commerce frees up valuable resources.

With access to real-time data across the supply chain, it becomes easier to manage everything from inventory to payments. In addition, unified commerce provides deeper insight into customer buying patterns and preferences, so you can tailor marketing efforts and loyalty programmes to retain them.

For service businesses like restaurants, unified commerce means they can handle everything from booking and ordering to payment on a single platform. Customers can order via apps, web or in person, while the restaurant manages all transactions in one place. This optimises processes, improves the customer experience and makes more efficient use of resources.

The future standard for growth

With unified commerce, small and medium-sized businesses can add new sales channels or payment methods quickly and easily. Just as importantly, they can prepare for a future where customer needs and expectations continue to evolve.

Unified commerce will drive strategic decisions that not only support growth, but also improve sales and customer loyalty in a world where digitalisation is key to success.