BIG PICTURE: What is Unified Commerce & How Could It Impact Your Business?

A new report has identified ‘unified commerce’ as one of the biggest trends set to shape the future of shopping.

Unified commerce is one of the biggest trends set to shape the future of shopping, according to a new retail report, adding potentially $1.5 trillion to the retail sector globally.

The research, commissioned by global technology platform Adyen who works with brands such as Facebook, Nike, Adidas and H&M, found that unified commerce solutions gave retailers an 8 percentage point boost to their growth rate in 2022.

The analysis was conducted by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr), interviewing over 12,000 businesses and 36,000 consumers from 26 countries, to understand how inflation is affecting behaviour change among shoppers, and how businesses are adapting to this change.

WHAT IS UNIFIED COMMERCE?

Unified commerce is an evolution of the term ‘omni-channel,’ used to describe a seamless customer journey both offline and online. But it goes one step further, by connecting all possible ways consumers can shop and interact with a brand into one unified system.

If a customer wants to start shopping online, then finish in-store or vice versa. If they want to shop via a promotion through their social channels, or through a live home shopping link, they will see the same offer.

The idea of unified commerce connects the customer-facing side of omni-channel, with the back-end technology, so that wherever they’re shopping, through whatever channel and using whatever payment method, they will have that single, personalised customer experience. And in turn that seamless customer experience will help to build brand loyalty.

But, importantly for businesses, they will have that single, unified view of the customer too. Retail has become incredibly complex over the last few years, with the sheer volume of ways in which consumers can shop and interact with brands. So, the ability to manage commerce from one unified commerce platform is (unsurprisingly) music to retailers’ ears.

UNIFIED COMMERCE SOLUTIONS: THE TECH ADVANTAGE 

And the report reveals that three fifths (61%) of consumers say that they’d be more loyal to retailers that let them buy online and return in-store, and almost half (44%) suggested they’d have better shopping experiences if a business enables them to shop in-store and finish online or vice versa.

Furthermore, when consumers were asked about how technology makes them feel when shopping in-store, the result was overwhelmingly positive. More than a third (38%) said they were happier because shopping was quicker, and over a quarter (26%) said they would visit a store more frequently, as a result of its technology implementation.

But despite the findings, the research uncovered just 17% of businesses across the world have already invested in unified commerce. So, it offers a clear opportunity for businesses in the months ahead.

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