With the market increasingly competitive, the search for new sources of revenue becomes increasingly challenging, especially when promoting new products, services, and providing experiences that are perceived as having high value. As the integration between online and physical channels becomes necessary, an approach that is continuously evolving, called omnichannel retail, emerges. The strategies that configure the omnichannel imply a great challenge for companies. It consists of providing different alternatives to consumers so that all points of contact are integrated and, at the same time, make sense for both companies and consumers. This contribution portrays this complex and holistic way in which the fashion industry continually reinvents itself, given the perception of consumers. Meeting this challenge by unifying the operations of physical and virtual stores, omnichannel strategy aims to add more value to the experience of consumers and, at the same time, establish a competitive edge in the market.
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Transformations in “traditional” retail have occurred at an increasingly accelerated pace, especially with the advent of new technologies and devices such as smartphones, tablets, software/applications (apps), digital coupons, mobile payments, among others. Technology has made it possible to optimize interaction and convenience between the customer and the company (Daugherty et al., 2019). It is important to note that, through technological advances and the democratization of digital media, consumers have also changed the way they relate to these media, and the participation of different devices grows exponentially (Rigby, 2011). Omnichannel is the fusion of two terms from two languages — Latin and English, respectively — where “omnis” stands for “whole” and “channel” means “channel”.
The emergence of omnichannel has transformed the way traditional ecommerce business operates, subsequently bringing fundamental changes to consumer expectations and decision-making processes (Mishra et al., 2020). Omnichannel is an emerging retailing trend that has revolutionized conventional retailing by integrating all customer touchpoints into a unified and holistic experience. Thus, the concept is based on the idea that a company, in order to become more accessible to its consumer, needs to be available at any time, regardless the location. In practice, this means that a brand needs to make an effort to be present in the main channels of communication with the consumer, such as the most accessed social media: Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook, e-commerce platforms (either through its own website or integrated into another space) and, whenever possible, having a physical store within easy location (Koelle, 2018; Mason & Knights, 2019).
With the exponential growth of internet access, being present on the main platforms is vital for the company to become known and, consequently, expand its sales possibilities. Thus, the company also offers the security that the customer can count on its business whenever they need it, regardless of the channel used. The dissemination of products and services through various channels is extremely advantageous for a company, especially in the current market context. One of the main characteristics of any consumer in the modern era is immediacy and the need for proactivity. In this way, the customer got used to buying numerous alternatives that make his life easier (Binnie, 2018; Koelle, 2018).
Omnichannel has assumed a certain role in e-commerce, however, an omnichannel company is characterized by its linear form of communication across all channels, regardless of whether they are online channels (through the web, applications, social media, etc.) or offline channels (through television, physical stores, etc.) (Infra.commerce, 2021).
In addition, these companies aim to implement strategies that promote positive experiences, sometimes going beyond customer expectations, by communicating the value of their brand in every interaction opportunity that arises. That is, they move the customer through a unique, personal and personalized impact, regardless of the available channel (Wright & Snook, 2016) to establish long-term relationships.
In this chapter, there is a reflection on the Fashion industry as an example of Omnichannel retailing process.