Omnichannel merchants need omnichannel payment capabilities

It’s no longer accurate to refer to “omnichannel” as a retail industry trend. It’s become retail’s new normal. Consumers don’t consider a “store” only a brick-and-mortar building that you drive to for shopping and browsing — it’s a brand’s entire physical and digital presence that enables consumers to engage with the merchant and make purchases however they choose. The range of options available to consumers means that shopping journeys can vary widely and that omnichannel payment solutions are more important than ever.

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A merchant’s customers may drive to a physical location to shop or to pick up items they paid for online. Consumers can browse and shop on smartphone apps, or they could opt to click a link on social media to make a quick purchase. Customers may prefer to return an online order to a brick-and-mortar store, or choose to use a gift card or redeem loyalty points at a self-service kiosk.

Although the path to purchase may be different, the brand experience must be the same. Merchants need to ensure consistent experiences as customers transition from e-commerce and mobile to in-store and unattended, especially if they begin their shopping journey on one channel and complete it on another. Merchants also need to find ways to recognize customers on all channels and create more convenient, personalized shopping, loyalty and return experiences.

The importance of omnichannel customer experiences isn’t just theory — research backs it up. Accenture’s Personalization Pulse Check report states 91 percent of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that recognize them and make relevant, personalized offers and recommendations.

  Omnichannel Payments Solutions - Mobile, eCommerce, In-store, Unattended  Omnichannel Payments Solutions – Mobile, eCommerce, In-store, Unattended

Omnichannel payments can tie it all together

Engineering seamless experiences across channels can be a tall order, especially for small and medium-sized (SMB) merchants without the capital and resources to rip and replace their current point of sale (POS) and management systems.  An omnichannel payment solution, however, can bridge the gap across channels. Merchants that offer digital receipts or brief surveys can collect email addresses in-store, which they can then associate with customers’ payment data. This information gives them the ability to connect the dots between how a customer engages with their brand online and at physical locations and enable shoppers to interact seamlessly on multiple channels.

Greater visibility into customer behaviors is one of the reasons Datacap launched NETePay Hosted, which allows merchants to process integrated credit, debit, check, EBT, FSA, e-commerce, and loyalty transactions from a single interface. One omnichannel payments solution provides a total view of customers’ purchase histories, behaviors and preferences, and those insights can help tailor promotions, merchandising, and service to precisely what customers want.

Merchants need an omnichannel solutions provider

Businesses in the retail, restaurant, and service industries have evolved into omnichannel operations. Has your business also evolved? Your merchant customers need an omnichannel solutions provider — not just an in-store POS provider or an online e-commerce solution provider. You need to help your clients build the omnichannel environments today’s consumers demand. The right payments partner can help you go beyond allowing consumers to make payments on any channel. The omnichannel payment solution you provide can enable merchants to tokenize payment data to help them recognize their customers on any channel and remove the friction from the payment and refunds process. Furthermore, by managing payment data from all channels with one solution, you can provide your clients with deeper insights into their customers’ behaviors and the types of shopping experiences they want.

The ideal omnichannel operation delivers seamless shopping experiences across channels and gives merchants the visibility they need to provide customers with the relevant, personalized and convenient experiences that will build their loyalty. You can help your clients take a giant leap forward toward reaching those goals by integrating a unified, omnichannel payment solution with the POS, retail or restaurant solutions you provide.

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