Customers want a personalized and consistent experience across channels, and retailers aim to deliver on that promise within the next 2 years, according to a study presented by enVista, Indianapolis, Ind. 

In fact, according to the BRP Consumer Study, 86% of consumers are interested in a personalized and consistent experience across all shopping channels. 

Retailers are laser focused on addressing consumers’ omni-channel expectations. And, making the cross-channel experience seamless is a top priority for retailers, as 71% indicate that within 2 years, they plan to offer a shared cart across channels to enable start anywhere, finish anywhere capabilities, according to the “2019 Unified Commerce Survey.” Unfortunately, adding the capability for a shared cart across channels is easier said than done, as only 28% of retailers indicate that they have this capability today, and 82% of those retailers indicate that the process needs improvement. 

“As retailers scramble to offer the omni-channel capabilities that are becoming expected by consumers, many have resorted to integrating disparate systems together and often rely on manual processes, which result in capabilities that aren’t seamless or in real-time,” says Jim Barnes, chief executive officer. “The best solution to this omni-channel challenge is a unified commerce platform that provides a single version of the truth across all channels to enable transparency and real-time visibility to inventory, product and customer information.” 

Many retailers realize that they need a unified commerce platform. In fact, according to the survey, “the industry has wholeheartedly embraced the concept of unified commerce with 86% of retailers indicating they have or plan to implement a unified commerce platform by mid-2021.”