11 Omnichannel statistics and what they mean for your business
Bird
10 Sept 2024
Marketing
1 min read
Key Takeaways
Omnichannel marketing is here to stay — consumers expect consistent, cross-channel experiences when engaging with brands.
Omnichannel customers spend significantly more, with brands like Target reporting 10x higher spend compared to digital-only buyers.
Businesses are investing heavily in tools that enable selling anywhere, ensuring customers can buy through their preferred channels.
Interconnected channels amplify ad performance, improving campaign efficiency by up to 35%.
Consistency matters — customers expect the same promotions, information, and tone across every touchpoint.
Social media drives brand preference, with 77% of consumers choosing brands after positive social experiences.
Self-service is in high demand — most customers prefer finding answers before contacting support.
Unified data and systems eliminate silos, giving agents the context they need to deliver faster, better support.
Businesses that connect online and in-person experiences see higher conversion rates and fewer lost sales.
Failing to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience can lead to 10–30% in lost revenue opportunities.
Platforms like Bird enable unified messaging and automation, helping brands engage customers across all channels efficiently.
Q&A Highlights
Why is omnichannel marketing important for modern businesses?
Omnichannel marketing unifies customer experiences across online and offline touchpoints, helping businesses boost engagement, retention, and revenue. Customers increasingly expect brands to provide seamless experiences across all channels.
How much more do omnichannel customers spend compared to digital-only ones?
According to Target, omnichannel consumers spend 10× more than digital-only customers. When channels are connected, it drives repeat business and higher order values.
What percentage of brands are investing in “sell-anywhere” tools?
Roughly 53% of brands are investing in tools that let them sell on any channel, reflecting the need to meet customers wherever they prefer to shop.
How does integrating multiple channels impact advertising efficiency?
When multiple marketing channels are coordinated, advertising efficiency improves by 35%, since each interaction reinforces brand awareness and accelerates conversion.
What is the biggest challenge marketers face in implementing omnichannel campaigns?
83% of marketers struggle to create and publish content rapidly across all their digital platforms, largely due to fragmented workflows and disconnected tools.
What do customers expect from brand communication across channels?
60% of consumers expect consistent information across websites, emails, text messages, and other communications. Discrepancies between channels can erode trust and satisfaction.
How does social media influence customer decisions?
77% of consumers choose a brand over competitors after a positive social-media interaction, proving that strong engagement on social platforms boosts customer loyalty.
What role does self-service play in customer support?
86% of consumers expect a self-service option, and two-thirds prefer to resolve issues on their own before contacting support. This means AI chatbots and knowledge bases are now essential.
What communication channels do customers prefer for service?
The top choices are:
Phone (69%)
Email (54%)
Online chat with a live agent (46%)
To meet expectations, businesses must unify all channels for consistent support.
Why is data visibility across channels critical for customer service?
75% of customers want agents to have full visibility into their information and purchase history across every channel. Integrated inboxes and CRMs make this possible.
How does omnichannel flexibility influence purchase decisions?
47% of consumers say the ability to browse online and buy in-store—or vice versa—significantly influences their decision to purchase. Brands that lack this flexibility lose 10–30% of potential sales.
What’s the main takeaway from these statistics?
Businesses that deliver connected, consistent, and flexible omnichannel experiences outperform competitors, earning higher revenue, loyalty, and market share.
Unlock the secrets of omnichannel marketing. Discover 11 key statistics and actionable insights to boost conversions and drive growth.
Like many industries, marketing was deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With many in-person locations shut down, businesses had to explore new ways to interact with customers and learn how to coordinate between these channels. Suddenly, omnichannel marketing was the buzzword everyone was talking about as companies that could successfully grow into new channels and integrate them into their larger marketing strategy were excelling. However, as the world moves on from the height of the pandemic, it’s important to evaluate where this industry is going and what place omnichannel marketing continues to have in it.
Based on these 11 omnichannel marketing statistics taken from recent reviews by industry leaders, it’s clear that omnichannel marketing is here to stay. Consumers that got a taste of what it’s like to be able to buy and interact with brands across multiple channels aren’t interested in giving up that freedom and convenience. These statistics make it clear that brands need to focus on meeting and exceeding expectations by giving customers the omnichannel experience they prefer.
1. Target found that their omnichannel consumers spend 10 times more than their digital-only consumers. (IMD)
First and foremost, investing in the omnichannel approach is directly impacting bottom lines. Consumers appreciate how much easier it is to interact with and buy from their favorite brands when everything is seamlessly connected.
People want to be able to find a deal on their social media feed, buy that product from a landing page, ask questions about delivery on WhatsApp, and then pick it up at a local storefront. When multiple touchpoints all act together, it creates a buying experience that encourages repeat business and more spend.
2. 53% of brands are investing in tools that allow them to sell anywhere. (Shopify)
4. 83% of marketers say they struggle to create content that can be rapidly released across all their digital platforms. (Acquia)
Despite the obvious rewards of creating a more omnichannel experience, most marketers struggle with the reality of implementing it. It’s one thing to say that you want to create a seamless customer experience across multiple platforms, but it's an entirely different thing to execute without the right tools.
For instance, if you want to provide customer updates across multiple channels, it’s going to be difficult to keep all those communications straight without a centralized inbox. You’ll also need flow automation as you scale to make sure that customers get consistent and speedy updates.
5. 60% of respondents said they expect a company’s websites, emails, text messages, and other communications to all reflect the same information. (Contentstack)
Consistency is crucial for customers, as they expect a unified presence from brands regardless of what channel they’re using. For instance, consumers expect that sales will be consistent and advertised across in-store, website, and social media presences. If they miss a sale because they primarily use social media, but it was only promoted through email, that’s not going to lead to a good outcome.
6. 77% of consumers will choose a brand over a competitor after a positive social media experience. (Sprout Social)
In other words, social media is a unique opportunity to connect with customers and build your brand beyond just product updates. When leveraged correctly, social media complements your entire omnichannel approach by engaging people in what you have to say and what you sell.
For instance, social media can get people interested in your product with video and image ads. If a customer is interested, they can go directly from a post to the landing page for the advertised product (with the sales code already preloaded for them). Further, that landing page could include details on stores near them with the product in stock in case they want to try it on or see it. This way, it’s easy for the customer to finalize a purchase in their preferred way and potentially become a repeat customer.
7. 86% of respondents expect a self-help customer service option and two-thirds of respondents try to self-serve before speaking with a representative. (Microsoft)
Providing flexibility for how consumers reach out to you is also important. As this statistic shows, most people today want a self-service option that allows them to find information or fix problems on their own time. However, that doesn’t mean that AI and self-service should replace all other forms of customer service.
8. When asked for their top 3 preferred ways to speak with customer service, 69% of consumers said over the phone, 54% said by email, and 46% said via online chat with a live agent. (TCN)
Part of building an omnichannel approach to customer service is providing multiple avenues of communication for your customers. Each person may want help through different channels, depending on their own preferences and what’s convenient for them at that moment.
To make your customer service truly omnichannel requires you to keep all these channels integrated. Having flexible systems in place to help customers regardless of the channel is the secret to meeting this expectation.
9. 75% of respondents want customer service agents to have their information and purchase history available to them. (Microsoft)
Omnichannel means that regardless of which channel a customer contacts you, the agent will know everything they need to know about the account. For instance, if a customer contacts customer service through WhatsApp and then shows up in-store to verify something, all of the details from those conversations are available to the in-store clerk.
To achieve this level of interconnectedness, your business needs smart solutions that keep customer data integrated across multiple channels. With MessageBird’s Inbox, your agents see a unified thread of all customer communications across all of your channels. If a customer needs to switch channels or if they call back a week later, the agent handling the call will see any and all communications that person has had with your company in one convenient place.
10. 47% of consumers say that whether they can check out products online and buy in-store or vice versa has “a significant influence on their purchase decisions.” (Shopify)
At this point, the storefront and the ecommerce store are all an extension of the same entity. Consumers want to be able to use the advantages of each when it’s convenient for them. If they feel that your infrastructure isn’t able to keep up with their desires, they’ll look elsewhere.
11. Retailers that cannot meet consumer expectations when it comes to online/in-person flexibility lose out on around 10-30% of sales. (IMD)
That’s a large chunk of sales that are leaving because the in-person and online presence aren’t in sync. This data also shows if you have a competitor that’s outperforming you in this area, many consumers are willing to switch to get the kind of service they’re looking for.
On the flipside, investing in omnichannel experiences is one of the best ways to meaningfully increase your market share. If you move first and give customers the modern, integrated experience they expect, you can reap the rewards that come with it.
Take the first steps to become omnichannel
More and more consumers expect businesses to have a unified omnichannel approach to everything they do. All parts of the business need to share information so that the consumer can research, learn more, buy, and get service for your product across multiple different platforms.
The challenges of becoming omnichannel may seem daunting, but it becomes a lot easier with Bird. You can reach your customers wherever they are with our unified inbox, flow creator, and integration with channels like email and WhatsApp.
Try Bird out for free today, or contact us for more details.
