5 key learnings from leading omnichannel brands & retailers

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, leading brands are constantly refining their omnichannel strategies to stay ahead of the curve.  

We’ve asked industry leaders from various sectors to share their insights on maintaining brand values, leveraging technology, building community engagement, integrating sustainability, and preparing for future trends in omnichannel commerce.

We picked their brains on everything you need to know to succeed with omnichannel commerce, and condensed their insights into five key learnings:

Customers expect a seamless, coherent experience no matter where and how they interact with your brand. To achieve this, it’s crucial to connect online and physical channels, ensuring a unified customer journey. Yet, our research shows that many brands and retailers still struggle with this integration.  

Kristian from Matas remarked, “I expected a higher level of digital maturity in stores, especially in how products are integrated with the physical store experience when operating in an online universe. That’s something we’re focusing on a lot at Matas – building digital solutions that go hand in hand with our physical stores to both meet the expectations of our customers and ease workflows for our colleagues across functions.”  

Paw from HAY also highlighted: “It’s not just about technical capabilities, but about creating memorable experiences. We have fantastic physical stores, and we need to replicate that brand experience online.” 

To succeed with this, it’s essential to ensure your brand’s core values are reflected in every customer interaction, whether online or offline. 

As Helene from XL-Byg states: “You need to carry your brand values consistently across all channels. For us, advising, for example, is crucial and we must constantly ask ourselves how we can integrate this value across all touchpoints of our omnichannel.” 

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Customer loyalty remains a hot topic, and investing in a proper loyalty programme is crucial. A large-scale loyalty survey across Europe conducted by Mando-Connect and YouGov this year shows that 61% are members of at least one loyalty programme, with Norway and Sweden as frontrunners.  

However, the market is becoming saturated with half-hearted attempts to create loyalty – and with today’s battle for customer attention, succeeding in building genuine loyalty isn’t easy. 

Paw from HAY highlighted the need for a different approach, prioritising emotional connections over transactional loyalty:  “Instead of pouring money into a loyalty programme that doesn’t truly create value, we need to focus on fostering emotional connections and building a community that our customers genuinely want to be part of.”  

This is echoed by Anders from Fibia: “One key takeaway from the Omnichannel Event is the importance of developing loyalty programmes that go beyond transactional benefits and provide real value and emotional engagement. This is far more crucial than investing heavily in advanced technical setups – and definitely something we’ll be exploring further.” 

Personalisation matters more than ever before. Consumers now view personalisation as the default standard for engagement, with 71% expecting companies to deliver personalised interactions from web to mobile and in-person interactions. Research from McKinsey shows that companies excelling at personalisation generate 40% more revenue from these activities than average players. 

To achieve this level of personalisation, data is essential: “Utilising first-party data effectively is crucial for personalisation. We need to focus on advanced data collection methods to tailor our customer experiences,” Anders from Fibia highlights. 

Marthe from GANNI supports this, highlighting their commitment to data-driven personalisation: “Advanced data activation and personalised customer experiences are key trends we’re focusing on. The next step for GANNI is to enhance our app and data activation for even better personalisation to engage our customers more effectively.”

However, with the rise in expectations for personalisation, there is also increased scrutiny regarding the ethical use of data. Tina from Muuto underscores the importance of balancing innovations in data use with ethical considerations: “We need to crack the code on gathering and activating customer data in our CRM system across all channels in an ethical and tasteful way. Creating engaging and personalised experiences cannot happen at the cost of ethical data use.”

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Listening to your customers and understanding their needs and preferences is key to success in 2024. By focusing on what truly matters to your customers, you can create more meaningful and satisfying interactions. 

Lisbet from ILVA highlights the importance of giving customers control over their interactions with your brand: “Customers should be the ones to decide – let them purchase, return, interact, and so on, wherever they prefer. This flexibility shows respect for their time and choices, and it’s crucial for building strong, lasting customer relationships.” 

In terms of actively listening to customers and addressing their needs directly, Brian from Bauhaus has identified a clear priority: “Implementing ‘pay later’ options is something we realised we needed to prioritise. It’s essential for enhancing the customer experience by providing flexibility in how customers manage their purchases. Our goal is to make every interaction as seamless and enjoyable as possible. This not only meets a direct need but also builds trust and satisfaction.” 

In line with this, Tina from MUUTO highlighted the opportunities in mobile point-of-sale (mPos) systems, drawing inspiration from GANNI’s approach: “I’m definitely inspired by GANNI’s omnichannel suitcase. Having this kind of portable mPos system would allow us to reach customers in a new and more flexible way, whether at pop-up events, in-store, or at external locations.” 

The commerce industry is at a crucial point where balancing profitability with environmental responsibility is essential. With increasing regulations from the EU and higher consumer expectations, businesses must act. A study shows that 59% of global consumers intend to start boycotting brands that don’t take action on climate change. 

Anders from Fibia reflects on the increased urgency: “The speakers at the event reinforced the need for greater sustainability efforts, a priority I plan to address more vigorously. It’s becoming increasingly clear that we must do more in this area.” 

Highlighting the gap in adopting circular economy practices, Tina from MUUTO notes: “Despite the focus on sustainability, it’s surprising how low the adoption rate is for these practices. We need to do more. It’s disheartening that the numbers for circular economy adoption are still so low.” 

The good news is that the industry is ready to transform. Time after time, this becomes obvious in our collaboration with clients and suppliers, and it’s evidenced by the growing focus on sustainability we see in our projects such as re-commerce, transparency and traceability, accessibility, improved order management and more. For example, according to the Omnichannel Index 2024, 53% already have added online repair guides for customers.  

“Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in our omnichannel strategy,” Helene from XL-Byg emphasises. “We need to integrate sustainable practices across all touchpoints. Fortunately, our new setup enables us to implement second-hand solutions and offer more eco-friendly options.” 

Marthe from GANNI shares a successful initiative that blends sustainability with retail: “We’ve already integrated re-selling options in two of our physical stores – GANNI Postmodern in Copenhagen and Oslo – and are now exploring ways to evolve the GANNI Repeat concept digitally throughout 2025. Hearing other brands’ success stories confirms that it’s possible to integrate more circular practices within our retail model.”

Find your path to a more sustainable form of commerce