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In a recent article, our partner Novatize raises a question many brands are asking themselves today: how do you build a coherent omnichannel strategy without turning your technology stack into an overcomplicated machine? Their answer is clear: it is not a question of architecture, it is a question of continuity between channels.
We fully share that perspective, and we want to add a complementary dimension that, in our experience often remains the missing link: what happens on the physical store side.
Because omnichannel does not play out only in systems. It also plays out the moment a customer pushes open the door.
The numbers speak for themselves. 73% of consumers use multiple channels throughout their buying journey ¹. 83% start their research online before visiting a store ². And brands with a solid omnichannel strategy retain 89% of their customers, compared to 33% for those without one ³.
Yet despite years of investment on the eCommerce side, the on-the-ground reality when physical stores are part of the equation is often disappointing. Only 8% of retailers are able to deliver a consistent omnichannel experience in real time ⁴. The breakdown does not happen in the systems. It happens when the customer walks through the store door.
The customer arrives with precise expectations shaped by their online experience, and what they encounter more often than we would like to think is a team that did not know they were coming, an unmanaged wait, a welcome that starts from scratch, and ultimately a strategy far more centered on the product than on the experience.
This is not a question of poor intentions. It is a question of signals: the store does not have the information it needs to do its job well.
Omnichannel only keeps its promise if the store is as well equipped as the eCommerce site.
In practice, several scenarios concentrate the bulk of friction points and value potential on the store side.
One of the many points on which Novatize's analysis is right: omnichannel coherence does not require rebuilding everything.
What the store needs is an operational foundation that integrates into what already exists: eCommerce platform, CRM, clienteling tools. In-store flows need to be able to feed and be fed by the same data as the rest of the customer journey.
When this integration works, several things happen at once:
This is exactly the junction where Novatize and Booxi can work together.
Novatize supports brands in building their commerce infrastructure: high-performance eCommerce platforms, systems integration, data orchestration, and digital customer journeys. This is the foundation that allows a customer to have a coherent experience online, from the first click through to the decision to visit in person.
Booxi takes over the moment that customer arrives in store: orchestration of physical flows, management of appointments, events, and queue management, with direct integration into existing eCommerce and CRM stacks. What the customer experienced online continues in store. What happens in store flows back into the digital tools.
Together, the two areas of expertise cover the entire customer journey, seamlessly, from site to store.
A brand working with Novatize and Booxi can rely on concrete KPIs at every stage: online conversion rate, quality of in-store experience, impact of services on retention. Not two parallel projects, but a shared logic oriented around performance.
If you would like to explore how this approach could apply to your organization, let's talk.
Sources
¹ Harvard Business Review - hbr.org
² UniformMarket, Omnichannel Statistics 2025 - uniformmarket.com
³ Invesp / Loyal Guru - invespcro.com
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