How is the omnichannel model reshaping the future of retail businesses?
This report examines why an omnichannel presence has become crucial, what a seamless experience looks like, and how leading retailers are redesigning stores, technology and operations to deliver it. We also explore the hidden pitfalls of the model, before outlining the practical steps retailers can take to a build a sustainable omnichannel presence of their own.
Today’s retail sector faces a host of challenges, defined by rising costs, shifting consumer expectations and an increasingly crowded digital landscape. The effects of this are paradoxical, because, while many long-standing retailers have been forced to close or liquidate, others are thriving more than ever. Yet, the retailers that continue to perform so well aren’t doing so by chance, but by carefully thought-out strategy and design.
One theme that seems to cut through all current retail success stories is the omnichannel presence, which provides customers with a seamlessly integrated experience across multiple physical and digital channels. This feature, which once served as a mere competitive advantage, is now a baseline expectation, and the retailers we see thriving today are those that are leveraging the omnichannel to unify all customer touchpoints into one cohesive brand experience.
What does “seamless” mean in retail today?
A seamless omnichannel model allows customers to move fluidly between a retailer’s online platforms, including websites or apps, and their in-person stores, all while experiencing a level of consistency that aligns with the brand’s core proposition. While personalisation is now a baseline expectation, its delivery depends on the consumer experience that a brand is aiming to create, whether that’s convenience, efficiency, discovery or immersion. Some examples of this include:
Online ordering with in-store pickup
Allows customers to buy online and collect in store, combining digital convenience with physical access.
In‑store tablets for browsing and purchasing
Enable customers to browse extended ranges or complete purchases while in store.
Integrated loyalty app for in‑store and online rewards
Provides a consistent loyalty experience across physical and digital channels.
Email receipts and post‑purchase communications
Supports ongoing customer communication beyond the point of sale.
The unified system created through each of these touchpoints creates a hybrid shopping journey which constantly adapts to customer needs, while also reinforcing the brand’s distinct consumer experience.
How are stores being redesigned?
In recent years, in-person retail stores have transitioned from being a place of browsing and transaction, to a hub which serves to compliment a brand’s wider omnichannel presence.
Retail stores can fulfil logistical functions, offering a central location for order collection and returns management. Beyond logistics, they can also offer valuable experiential opportunities by focusing on enhanced, service-oriented experiences, acting as community hubs, or providing spaces for immersive installations and events.
Example one: ARKET’S experiential store model
ARKET, a premium fashion and lifestyle brand demonstrates this with its London Convent Garden store, featuring:
- A modern-day market atmosphere, created by the purposeful combination of fashion, homeware, food and seasonal lifestyle elements in what it calls “a discovery-led space”.
- A Nordic vegetarian café in the centre of the store, turning it into a communal space where people come to spend time.
- A calm, curated zone to flee the hustle and bustle of the city.
These characteristics have transformed the store into more than a point of sale, positioning it as a multi-purpose hub that strengthens brand identity. While experiential formats like this suit some brands, the omnichannel store design can be catered to different roles, depending on the retailer’s priorities. In each case, by fitting more naturally into customers’ everyday lives, and offering reasons to visit in-person, retailers can create stores that genuinely enhance their omnichannel approach.
How do technology and operations support the omnichannel model?
While adopting an omnichannel presence can boost revenue, it also necessitates investments and infrastructure that were not required a decade ago. Customers now expect real-time inventory accuracy, smooth fulfilment, consistent pricing, and the ability to move effortlessly between channels, all of which must be managed within a unified, data-driven ecosystem.
Investment in AI and data-driven tools is a non-negotiable, with leading retailers using them throughout the supply chain, from inventory management to customer insights.
Example two: Next plc’s omnichannel infrastructure
Next plc provides a clear example of how strong technological and logistics foundations underpin a successful omnichannel strategy.
Despite the ongoing economic challenges, the UK fashion retailer exceeded expectations over the Christmas period, achieving +10.7% full-price sales year to date and raising profit guidance to £1.15bn.
This performance is not incidental, but, rather, is the result of sustained investment in its omnichannel framework, including:
- A long-established logistics and credit infrastructure powering fast delivery, click-and-collect and reliable returns.
- Its Total Platform system, which gives partner brands access to Next’s warehousing, tech and marketing infrastructure.
- Ongoing software modernisation and automated warehousing to improve operational efficiency.
Next plc can be viewed as a model, showcasing how long-established high street retailers can transform to meet modern retail demands. Its ongoing success also reinforces the essential role of operational discipline and technological innovation within a successful omnichannel model.
How have returns become a burden in omnichannel retail?
One of the biggest operational pressures created by the omnichannel model is the explosion of returns. By-now-pay-later (BNPL) credit models like Klarna encourage consumer return behaviours, like ordering multiples sizes and sending back most (also known as bracketing). In recent years, return volumes have surged across fashion and home categories.
This comes with a heavy operational burden: stock must be checked, repackaged and redistributed, heightening risk of damage, slowing replenishment and disrupting forecasting. Online returns remain one of retail’s biggest cost challenges, which is only expanded with the omnichannel model. So how are retailer businesses overcoming this?
Aside from the operational investments mentioned previously, businesses are increasingly tackling this issue through more targeted, data-led interventions.
Example three: ASOS’s data‑led returns strategy
ASOS has recently overhauled its returns model with the introduction of a personal return-rate tool, designed to make shoppers more aware of how often they send items back. Those with a consistently high rate of returns, defined as returning more than 70% of the value of their orders, must now pay a return fee when they send back more than £40 worth of items.
This approach shows how retailers are:
- Using data to influence customer behaviour.
- Introducing controls without removing convenience entirely.
- Tackling omnichannel pressures through targeted, transparent interventions.
Summary: how is the omnichannel model reshaping retail businesses?
- Omnichannel has shifted from an advantage to a baseline expectation for shoppers.
- “Seamless” now means easy movement between online and in-store, with consistent loyalty programmes, returns and communication.
- Stores are evolving into experiential and logistical hubs, not just sales floors.
- Strong technology and operations like real-time stock control, modern logistics and unified systems are the backbone of a retailer’s omnichannel model.
- With the omnichannel model and BNPL models, returns have become a serious pain point, forcing retailers to respond with new data-led tools and fees, while still balancing convenience.
Closing thoughts
Amidst technological shifts, economic challenges, and shifting consumer habits, the omnichannel model has moved from being a competitive edge to the backbone of successful modern retailers.
Customers expect seamless, personalised, and consistent experiences both online and in-store, but these are only possible when supported by strong technology and efficient operations.
The case studies explored throughout this report, like ARKET’s curated store environment, Next’s operational discipline and ASOS’s data-led returns strategy, highlight how retailers across the spectrum are adapting in different but equally significant ways.
As expectations continue to rise, and cost pressures intensify, the retailers who will mark the next era of the high street and build lasting customer loyalty are those who embrace omnichannel not as a competitive strategy, but as the foundations underpinning how the business runs.
For further insight into what this means for your organisation, or for any other enquiries, contact our expert Retail Team using the form below.
We always recommend that you seek advice from a suitably qualified adviser before taking any action. The information in this article only serves as a guide and no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of this material can be accepted by the authors or the firm.
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