The Shift Towards Omnichannel Ecommerce Strategies

I've been thinking about what DTC brands get wrong about omnichannel expansion recently. The temptation is to try to be everywhere at once. But the real winners are strategically aligning each channel to build a holistic growth engine. Here’s how to do it right → First, you must have channel-specific thinking. Every channel needs its own playbook. A helpful framework to structure your efforts... DTC Website: • Focus on basket building • Higher AOV targets • Full-price strategy • Data collection hub • Customer relationship building TikTok Shop: • Single-product purchase reality • Organic content engine • Lower AOV expectations • Limited data access • Treat as a retail channel Amazon: • Multi-pack strategy • Bundle economics • Marketplace presence • Competitive monitoring • Specialized management Next up, the Integration Challenge → The biggest mistake brands make is trying to force the same strategy across all channels. Example: One brand we spoke with increased shipping costs on TikTok Shop to push customers to their website. Instead of fighting the platform's natural behavior, they should have optimized for it. You must also consider your unit economics because each channel has its own cost profile. - TikTok Shop might be a loss leader but drive retail success. - Website sales might have better margins but higher customer acquisition costs. - Amazon might have lower margins but better operational efficiency. Here is the new omnichannel playbook: 1. Channel Optimization - Build channel-specific content - Adjust pricing strategies per platform - Create platform-specific bundles - Set realistic KPIs for each channel 2. Data Strategy - Accept data limitations on newer platforms - Focus on first-party data where possible - Build cross-channel customer profiles - Use creative solutions for retention 3. Team Structure - Specialized expertise per channel - Clear ownership of metrics - Flexibility to shift resources - Mix of in-house and agency support The brands that will win aren't the ones just running around trying to be everywhere - they're the ones being intentional about how they show up in each place. Success also isn't about ideal profit extraction across all channels. It's about understanding each channel's role in your broader ecosystem and optimizing accordingly. Key Takeaway: Don't try to make every channel work the same way. Start building channel-specific strategies that work together to drive overall growth. 

ECOM can no longer exist in a silo. If you look at some of the biggest e-commerce darlings over the last 10 years, you’ll notice one major trend: they’re not relying on e-commerce for growth. E-commerce as a standalone channel is no longer enough to drive sustainable growth. The brands that are thriving are the ones building ecosystems—connecting retail, wholesale, social commerce, and owned platforms to drive revenue. Think about it: - DTC brands are launching retail stores. EBITDA at a store level should match or beat your ecom biz. The store is a giant immersive billboard. The overhead is tough but returns are way lower and the LTV and customer AOV is way higher. The cost of maintaining your store IS your marketing spend. - Wholesale is being reimagined as a way to drive discovery. Margins suck but you've got to be willing to bend somewhere. View it as an acquisition lever, not a sales channel. - Social media platforms are great for discovery but terrible for ownership. Zuckerberg isn't going anywhere but solely relying on Meta for customer acquisition is a thing of the past. Don't JUST focus on creative testing. Test new platforms, revenue streams and stretch your sales funnel. The best brands are asking themselves: How do we meet customers where they are without being overly reliant on one channel? E-commerce is still a powerful driver, but it can’t exist in isolation anymore. Growth comes from diversifiction and owning the customer journey, not just the transaction.

Grateful to be featured in the "Shoptalk Hot Takes" interview by Blenheim Chalcot and ClickZ.com alongside George Looker to unpack omnichannel commerce. 5 key takeaways and tactics from my conversation: 1. Design for Customer Continuity, Not Just Channel Expansion 💡 71% of customers expect brands to personalize interactions across every touchpoint. Tactical: Map out customer journey across channels, then design experiences that recognize and reward continuity—cart persistence, loyalty rewards, browsing history sync, etc. 2. Build the Infrastructure: Unify Data Streams Across All Touchpoints 🧠 Data fragmentation = missed opportunity Tactical: Integrate POS, e-commerce, mobile, social, and marketplace data into a centralized data lake or unified commerce platform. 3. Establish a Single Source of Truth for Customer Profiles 🔍 Brands with unified profiles see up to 2x better campaign performance. Tactical: Implement Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) to consolidate behavioral, transactional, and engagement data into unified customer profiles. 4. Partner Strategically for Scale, Not Just Stack ⚙️ A bloated tech stack doesn’t equal agility As I noted, Retailers are getting sharper about which partners can scale with them. Ecosystem efficiency matters more than ever. Tactical Step: Audit your tech stack and partnerships consistently. Prioritize partners that offer extensibility, future-proofing, and proven omnichannel success. 5. Measure What Matters: Unified KPIs Across Commerce 📈 You can’t optimize what you don’t measure holistically Tactical: Align your analytics stack to report holistically across channels—tie marketing to merchandising, CX to LTV, and inventory to revenue. 🧠 Bottom line: think holistically, move strategically, and build ecosystems that scale experience with agility, not just transactions. Complete list in comment 👇 #ecommerce #omnichannel #unifiedcommerce

Brands are growing online through digital subchannels. You may not be investing in the proper set of sub-channels. As a result of our latest research on a strategic engagement with a global FMCG client we've been working with, we observed that there is a strong digital channel diversification strategy at play for the snacking category. 📍The remarkable 149.6% growth in Nestle's eCommerce share from 2018-2023 demonstrates that ambitious targets (25% by 2025) can be achieved through strategic investments in infrastructure, including eCommerce academies for employees and specialized platforms for key growth markets. 💡Leading CPGs are pursuing multi-faceted digital approaches simultaneously, with Mondelēz Internationalēz focusing on marketplace dominance across diverse regions, PepsiCo pioneering direct-to-consumer channels and Nestlé also implementing both internal and external eB2B platforms to create an ecosystem approach to digital commerce. However, trailing FMCGs should monitor digital commerce leaders for capability building and execution. Our research also indicated that there is a significant digital commerce performance gap among CPG giants as well. L'Oréal and Nestlé have established a significant competitive advantage with eCommerce sales contributions of 27% and 18.5%, respectively, demonstrating that category leadership is increasingly determined by digital capability maturity rather than legacy market position. Unilever's No.6 overall revenue rank but relatively modest 14% eCommerce sales contribution indicates Magnum's spinoff presents a strategic opportunity to build focused digital capabilities that could outperform the parent company's approach. eCommerce dominance is approaching a tipping point. The projected shift from 35% eCommerce retail share in 2022 to 41% by 2027 represents a critical inflection point where digital commerce is transitioning from an alternative channel to the primary growth driver for CPG brands, demanding corresponding shifts in organizational structure and investment prioritization. With eCommerce growing at more than double the rate of brick-and-mortar (9% vs. 4% CAGR), spinoff moves and timing (Look at Mondelez from Kraft Heinz 10 years ago, Kellanova and Magnum Ice Cream Company recently) is strategically optimal to create a digital-first operation that can capture disproportionate growth as the global retail landscape approaches near-parity between online and offline channels. 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 ecommert® 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟯,𝟵𝟬𝟬+ 𝗖𝗣𝗚, 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘁® : 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. #strategy #CPG #FMCG #ecommerce #AI Procter & Gamble Henkel SC Johnson Reckitt The Clorox Company Colgate-Palmolive Church & Dwight Co., Inc. The Coca-Cola Company Danone Ferrero Mars Kellogg Company Beiersdorf

Omnichannel is no longer about just being “where the customer is.” It’s about being there in a way that feels natural, seamless, and frictionless. We’ve all seen it—customers browse on their phones, check product availability online, visit the store, and then still order from an app. This isn’t new, but the ways retailers are responding to it are. Here’s what’s shaping the next wave of omnichannel retail: 🔹 Personalization is getting smarter – It’s no longer just about “People who bought this also bought…” It’s AI-driven product recommendations, real-time promotions, and in-store personalization. 🔹 Physical stores are evolving – They’re becoming experience centers, where customers test products, engage with immersive displays, and pick up online orders without friction. 🔹 Checkout is disappearing – Whether it’s scan & go, cashier-less stores, or mobile checkouts, the days of waiting in line are fading fast. 🔹 Inventory is everywhere – Real-time visibility across warehouses, stores, and online platforms means retailers can ship from anywhere. 🔹 Loyalty is about engagement, not just discounts – The best omnichannel brands will reward behavior, not just transactions. What’s next? Retailers who can truly unify online and offline experiences will win.