How to Succeed With Omnichannel Retailing: A Practical Guide for 2025

TL;DR

• Omnichannel retailing in 2025 is the difference between growth and decline.
• Shoppers switch between online and offline channels seamlessly. They expect a consistent customer experience at every touchpoint.
• A successful omnichannel retail strategy connects customer data, loyalty, and engagement across all digital and physical channels.
• The benefits of omnichannel are clear: higher customer loyalty, stronger margins, and a seamless shopping experience that drives retention.
• This post will show you how leading omnichannel retailers are preparing for the future and how your business can follow.

Shoppers no longer think in channels. They expect to move from a mobile app to a brick-and-mortar store without friction.

If your omnichannel retail strategy is not built to deliver that, you are already losing ground.

Omnichannel retailing is not just another buzzword. It is a customer-centric approach that blends physical and digital channels into one seamless omnichannel experience.

If you have ever asked yourself what is omnichannel marketing or why it matters in the retail industry, this guide gives you the full picture.

Today, you’ll get a clear omnichannel retailing definition, practical frameworks, and omnichannel retailing examples. You will see how a customer journey built on customer engagement and customer satisfaction translates directly into business growth.

The takeaway is simple. Omnichannel is not optional.

It is the new business model for retail businesses that want to engage customers, build loyalty, and win in today’s retail landscape. Let’s start by looking at why omnichannel is important in 2025.

Why omnichannel retailing defines winners in 2025

Customers no longer think in channels. They expect one seamless journey across online and offline.

Omnichannel retailing is the new growth engine. A successful omnichannel retail strategy drives customer loyalty, higher margins, and long-term value. Those that fail to deliver a consistent customer experience risk being left behind.

What customers now expect

• A seamless omnichannel experience across digital and physical channels
• The ability to buy online and return in-store
• Consistent customer experience across every touchpoint, whether mobile app, desktop, or physical store
• Customer engagement that feels personal, not generic marketing efforts

What the data tells us

• In the UK, 75 percent of shoppers mix in-store and online shopping. They expect unified customer experiences, not separate channels.
• In the Netherlands, 73 percent of consumers actively search for discounts, showing that customers expect personalized offers that follow them across channels.
• In Germany, 53 percent of shoppers belong to loyalty programs, proving that omnichannel engagement is a powerful growth driver.
• In the Nordics, 73 percent of total retail revenue now comes from customers who engage with marketing, highlighting the direct link between omnichannel engagement and sales growth.

Why this matters for executives

• Fragmented data equals fragmented customer experiences.
• A consistent omnichannel customer experience requires unified data and clear customer relationship management.
• Omnichannel is not just a marketing tactic. It is a business model that drives customer satisfaction, sales growth, and long-term value.

Retail executives who treat omnichannel as a board-level strategy, not a side project, will win in 2025. Let’s clear up what omnichannel retailing really means, and how it differs from multichannel.

Omnichannel retailing vs. multichannel: Clearing the confusion

Too many retailers still confuse omnichannel retailing with multichannel. The difference is simple: multichannel means presence in many places. Omnichannel means integration.

The four pillars of true omnichannel retail

1. Unified data and customer relationship management
2. Seamless customer journey across online and offline channels
3. Loyalty programs that engage customers everywhere
4. Retail-native technology that connects business operations

The message is clear. Omnichannel is not just more channels. It is a complete customer-centric approach that turns separate channels into one consistent customer experience.

Next, let’s look at how the omnichannel retail experience feels in 2025.

What the omnichannel retail experience looks like in 2025

Customers expect one consistent customer experience, no matter where they shop. A mobile app, a website, or an in-store experience should feel connected to the same journey.

What defines the experience today

• Online shopping and in-store purchases are part of the customer lifecycle
• Loyalty programs and personalized recommendations must follow customers across digital and physical channels
• Online ordering, returns in a nearby store, and inventory visibility are now baseline expectations
• A seamless shopping experience depends on connecting all your channels into one unified customer experience

Why it matters

Price transparency

Shoppers compare prices on a mobile device while standing in a brick-and-mortar location.

Personalization

They want shopping experiences that reflect their customer behavior, not generic marketing strategies.

Technology

The best omnichannel customer experience platforms make this possible by connecting customer data across every channel.

Loyalty

Engagement now depends on omnichannel engagement that recognizes the customer across the full journey.

This is the new retail model. For retailers, the question is no longer whether to invest in omnichannel retail solutions.

The real question is how fast you can adapt to a customer-centric approach that unifies digital and physical channels.

For leaders, the challenge now is turning these expectations into action. Here are the steps to make it happen.

5 steps to build a future-ready omnichannel strategy

A successful omnichannel retail strategy is not built overnight.

It takes clear priorities, connected data, and technology that support the customer journey across all your channels.

These five steps give retailers a framework to act on now.

Step 1. Map and fix the end-to-end journey

Identify the points where customers drop off. For example, when a cart starts online, it does not appear in store. Each friction point is an opportunity to boost customer satisfaction and improve customer engagement.

Step 2. Unify data and profiles across channels

Customer data is the foundation of a consistent customer experience. By combining online and offline channels into one profile, retailers can improve personalization and inventory visibility.

Platforms like Voyado make it easier to connect data across sales channels and deliver a seamless omnichannel experience.

Step 3. Connect loyalty programs everywhere

Customer loyalty should not depend on a single sales channel. Rewards, promotions, and personalized recommendations must follow the customer from desktop or mobile device to physical store.

True omnichannel engagement makes every touchpoint part of the same journey.

Step 4. Blend online and offline experiences

From in-store events to click-and-collect services, a successful omnichannel retail strategy means turning digital and physical channels into one journey.

Many retailers are linking store behavior with personalized marketing strategies, proving that loyalty is built across customer interactions, not in isolated campaigns.

Step 5. Use AI and automation to scale

Predictive segmentation and AI-powered offers allow retailers to engage customers in real time.

When paired with a smart retail media strategy, this creates personalized shopping experiences that increase business growth and long-term customer value.

Together, these five steps create a roadmap for building a seamless omnichannel retail experience.

With the framework in place, the next step is tackling the barriers that stand between you and a seamless omnichannel customer experience.

Overcoming the biggest omnichannel challenges

Even with the right strategy in place, many retailers struggle to make omnichannel retailing a reality. The challenges are well known, but so are the solutions.

Common barriers to success

Data silos

When customer data sits in separate channels, it creates inconsistent customer experiences. Unifying profiles across online and offline channels is critical.

Inconsistent messaging

Customers expect a seamless shopping experience across every customer touchpoint. A single engagement platform helps align marketing efforts and build a consistent customer experience.

Tech complexity

Many retailers try to force-fit generic business operations tools into retail. Retail-native omnichannel retail solutions are built to connect digital and physical channels without friction.

Scaling personalization

Personalized recommendations at scale are difficult without automation. AI and smart customer relationship management systems turn this into a growth opportunity.

Overcoming these obstacles is what separates the best omnichannel retailers from those who fall behind.

With the right focus, challenges become stepping stones to stronger customer loyalty and more resilient business growth.

How Voyado enables omnichannel retail success

For an omnichannel retailer, the hardest part is making every channel feel like one.

Data often sits in silos, loyalty is disconnected from e-commerce, and marketing efforts are split between teams.

Voyado changes this by bringing it all together in a platform built for retail.

Real impact with Voyado

• By Malene Birger increased full-price shoppers by 109 percent with an onboarding automation that tied loyalty into every touchpoint.
• JACK & JONES achieved a 33 percent higher average order value for members by using Voyado to connect data between in-store and online.
• POWER A/S grew customer engagement by 300 percent by personalizing communications across channels.

These are not isolated wins. They show what happens when customer data, loyalty, and personalization are unified.

How Voyado helps you win

Voyado is built for retail, not as a generic CRM, but as a platform that understands the challenges of an omnichannel retailer.

• One customer view. All customer data flows into a single profile that covers online and offline channels.
• Loyalty that connects. Rewards, offers, and engagement follow the customer everywhere – in store, online, and on mobile.
• Personalization that works. From personalized recommendations to targeted campaigns, every interaction feels relevant.
• Smarter operations. Better inventory visibility and connected sales data make it easier to serve customers without friction.
• Built for growth. Retailers using Voyado see higher customer satisfaction, measurable business growth, and stronger loyalty.

With Voyado, it’s not about managing separate channels. It’s about creating one seamless omnichannel customer experience that drives results.

Final thoughts: How to lead the future of omnichannel retailing

Omnichannel retailing is the line between growth and stagnation. Customers expect a single journey across online and offline. Brands that deliver win share and loyalty. Brands that wait fall behind.

Your next five steps:

1. Run a 30-day journey audit. Choose one flow, such as cart-to-purchase or loyalty sign-up. Map every step across online and offline channels. Look for points where customers drop off, offers don’t carry over, or data fails to connect.

2. Build a single customer profile. Bring data from ecommerce, loyalty, and in-store into one system. A unified view makes personalization accurate and removes the guesswork from marketing strategies

3. Turn loyalty into a growth engine. Make rewards, promotions, and personalized offers follow the customer everywhere – from the mobile app to the physical store. Loyalty should drive repeat purchases, not sit in a silo.

4. Choose retail-native tech. Use technology designed for retailers, not generic CRMs. Retail-native platforms connect loyalty, CRM, and commerce so you can scale personalization and streamline operations.

Why this matters

Voyado’s Retail Radar shows how cross-channel shoppers already drive a large share of spend. Act now, and you lock in customers who expect seamless experiences. Wait, and you give those customers to competitors.

Ready to make omnichannel work?

If you want a quick way in, book a demo today and get started.