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Introduction
Omnichannel marketing is generally contrasted with multichannel marketing. Table I outlines major differences between each of these approaches based on two dimensions: company strategy and consumer behavior. Strategy-based differences are based on the organization’s channel-based objectives, the uniformity of messages across devices and channels, the distinction between the physical and online store, the use of simple vs multiple touchpoints, the organization format and the degree to which customer and inventory databases are unified across channels. Consumer behavior-based differences involve: the consumer purchase journey design (uniform vs different and linear vs non-linear), the place of purchase vs the location of pickup and return and the degree of effort a consumer needs to undertake as he/she moves across channels and devices. The large number of differences between multichannel and omnichannel marketing signifies the complexity and multidimensional aspect of omnichannel marketing. It also suggests that a firm can be either at the beginning, intermediate or final stages of adopting an omnichannel marketing strategy.
Changes in consumer behavior, as well as new technologies, have fostered the transition from multichannel to omnichannel marketing. Consumer behavior-related changes include the increased adoption of mobile devices, the extensive use of social media and the popularity of related software (apps, mobile payments and E-coupons). Key technological developments that have expanded the use of omnichannel marketing include e-valets (software that stores a customer’s name, address, and payment information), location-based services (geofencing and iBeacons), virtual mirror-fitting rooms (virtual try-on mirrors) and QR codes (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson, 2014).
Omnichannel marketing recognizes that consumers often channel hop within a given transaction among retail stores, computer, smartphones, tablets, in-store kiosks and social media sites. These different channels and touchpoints are used constantly, interchangeably and simultaneously by both customers and firms (Verhoef et al., 2015). In omnichannel marketing, customers can use different combinations of channels and devices at each stage of their purchase journey: initial product discovery, information research, purchase, payment, order fulfillment and product return. In one possible purchase journey, a consumer can use a tablet to preview a product, a computer with multiple screens to obtain product and competitive information, a smartphone to check the latest prices and make a credit card payment whilst in a store and then arrange for pickup and/or return, as well...