Unified Commerce – A Step Up From Omnichannel

Unified commerce is levelling up from omnichannel, according to Adyen, the payments solution working to connect the backend systems of multiple payment channels. 

Source: Unified Commerce – A Step Up From Omnichannel – Which-50

Where omnichannel works to deliver cross-channel payments experiences to customers, Adyen says that backend systems are not always connected — which is where unified commerce steps in. 

According to Michel van Aalten, Country Manager AUNZ at Adyen, “Cross-channel reconciliation is difficult so you can’t offer total flexibility to your customers. Not to mention, implementing changes that impact multiple channels and regions can be complicated. With unified commerce, payments from all your channels feed into the same system. This allows for greater flexibility for your customers and better insights for you.”

While the shopping experience can seem as simple as ‘tap and go’, the reality is a much more complex endeavour. 

With continuously changing channels including CRM, point of sale (POS), e-commerce and inventory management, merchants are navigating a complicated and at times convoluted environment. Adyen says unified commerce streamlines these processes, helping merchants to deliver “a seamless brand experience to customers”. 

“We’re champions of unified commerce, whereby merchants bring together their sales channels into one platform so they can gain a full view of their customer and use the data to provide actionable insights and deliver more appealing offers to their customers,” says van Aalten.

Adyen claims that merchants can use the payment data collected through their unified commerce solution to personalise their customer relationships.

“Now, more than ever before, consumers want brands to recognise them across multiple channels, deliver them personalised offers based on when and where they are shopping or dining, and to embed loyalty programs within their existing methods of payment. For today’s shopper or diner it’s all about creating a seamless experience between online and in-store shopping experiences.”

According to key findings from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) commissioned by Adyen for their Agility Report, 74 per cent of shoppers expect businesses to maintain the high levels of flexibility they have shown throughout the pandemic, providing consumers with multiple online and offline channels.

Van Aalten highlights Adyen’s customer, Hungry Jack’s, as an example of why merging offline and online worlds benefits both the business and the consumer. 

“Thanks to the unification of its sales channels and the secure card data collected by Adyen, Hungry Jack’s can recognise when a customer uses the same payment method in-store as they’ve used online or through the Hungry Jack’s app, without the use of a loyalty card — which creates a seamless experience for customers,” van Aalten says. 

“Having one payment provider for in-store, online, and in-app transactions has also created synergy and allowed the business to be more adaptable.”

Source: Unified Commerce – A Step Up From Omnichannel – Which-50