Omnichannel Trends to Integrate into Your Marketing Strategy in 2022
Brands are struggling to establish an omnichannel presence, but new platforms and tools are cropping up presenting new opportunities in both the digital and physical marketing space.
Brands are struggling to establish an omnichannel presence, but new platforms and tools are cropping up presenting new opportunities in both the digital and physical marketing space. Here are some of the most promising trends, and how they can create more engagement for brands.
Virtual and mixed reality shopping assistance
A Forrester study commissioned by Shopify showed that 52% of brands are investing in ways to enable brand representatives to communicate with shoppers in real-time, through their preferred media and channel. Keep in mind that your representatives also require their own marketing programs and training on brand purpose, tone, and messaging, to ensure the consistent quality of their customer communication.
Other stores are introducing mixed reality shopping assistance. For example, Dutch supermarket, Albert Heijn, introduced an AR application where shoppers can choose a recipe and have a shopping list automatically created for them. In the store, the app directs shoppers to each product and offers information about discounts and special offers.
Upgraded social selling
A Statista survey showed that sales made through social media channels are set to triple by 2025, led by China. It’s time for brands to experiment and think about how they can use some of the new social media opportunities to their advantage. For instance, live video streaming accounted for a whopping 21% of total physical goods sold online in China, while 81 percent of companies plan to either increase or maintain investment in Livestream selling over the next 12 months.
Live videos can be great for product demonstrations, virtual showroom visits, or even on-appointment personal shopping. Amazon, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook already offer tools for live commerce.
Using push notifications to re-engage
The most important omnichannel strategies will focus on converting one-time shoppers into long-term customers. One great way to do this is through push notifications. If brands can entice shoppers to opt-in, they can use this strategy to push their latest news, new products, and personalized discounts directly to shoppers’ devices. Follow-ups fit into a wider personalization strategy. By integrating users’ shopping data, companies can deliver well-timed nudges to customers to come back, check out new products, or replenish their previous purchases.
