Anyone who attends almost any retail strategy meeting in 2025 will hear the word “omnichannel.” It’s one of those terms that’s been around for so long that it’s in danger of becoming meaningless. Yet the reality is that most brands still haven’t figured out how to deliver on that promise. Yes, they might offer in-store pickup. Yes, they might know your email address from an online order. But that doesn’t mean the experience is truly consistent.
The real work of omnichannel isn’t infrastructure, it’s familiarity.
Despite all their technological investments, most brands still treat the in-store and online customers as two different people. As a result, they’re missing out not only on the opportunity to increase sales but also on building the kind of relationships that keep customers coming back.
Let’s talk about why this gap still exists and how more retailers can finally start closing it.
Where online wins (and where it doesn’t)
Digital commerce has become incredibly efficient. We know what customers click on. We conduct A/B tests for subject lines and buttons. We measure open rates, attribution, abandoned carts, and time on page. Every step of the customer journey is trackable and optimizable. Furthermore, generative AI offers e-commerce teams new opportunities to make content, messaging, and product recommendations more personalized than ever before.
And despite all the progress, online stores’ conversion rates hover around 1%. By comparison, many stores achieve a 30% conversion rate for customer visits, or even higher when an appointment is made in-store.
Brick-and-mortar retail offers something never possible digitally: a rich sensory experience. The opportunity to touch products, try them on, ask questions, and receive personalized recommendations. In-store employees can recognize body language and tone of voice, creating moments of joy like no algorithm ever could. The most successful omnichannel brands aren’t those with the most sophisticated apps or the fastest delivery times. They’re those that know how to turn their data into dialogue.
Brick-and-mortar retail offers something digital retail can never match: a comprehensive sensory experience. The opportunity to touch things, try them on, ask questions, and receive personalized recommendations. Store employees can recognize body language and tone of voice, creating moments of joy like no algorithm ever could.
The true promise of bridging online and offline
So what does it actually look like for a brand to close this gap? It looks like a store associate knowing you just returned a dress from last week’s order and being able to recommend a new style as you walk in. It looks like receiving a thank-you note after a store visit with a product you’d been eyeing online. It looks like relationships backed by data and scaled by tools, but delivered with a human touch.
What needs to change?
If we want more brands to achieve this vision, we need to change the way we think about the store and the systems that support it.
1. Empower store associates like marketers.
Most retail marketers have a full range of tools for segmenting, personalizing, and analyzing customer behavior. Why shouldn’t store associates have the same tools? By providing them with a CRM system that connects your e-commerce data, loyalty program participation, and communication history with your in-store customers, as well as purchase data, they’ll transform from order recipients to revenue generators.
2. Invest in relationship infrastructure, not just transaction technology.
POS systems are great for capturing a sale, but what about capturing purchase intent? What about following up after a visit? If your shopping experience ends at the checkout, you’re missing a great opportunity to build customer loyalty. Brands should equip their in-store teams with tools that help them reach, follow up, and support customers.
3. Unify data silos to unify the customer experience
Many brands still treat online and in-store as two different channels with two different teams. But customers don’t see it that way. They want a unified experience. By unifying your customer data across marketing platforms, loyalty programs, and e-commerce systems, you can finally reach your customers everywhere and in the context they deserve.
4. Leverage Attribution Both Ways
We’ve spent the last decade optimizing online attribution and figuring out which email led to which sale. But what about that store visit that resulted from a text message? Or that online order after a meaningful conversation with an associate? True omnichannel attribution is about understanding the contribution of each touchpoint and rewarding teams accordingly.
What the Future Looks Like
The best brands are already leading the way. We’re seeing companies transform their brick-and-mortar stores into relationship centers equipped with the data and tools to create immersive customer experiences at scale. They’re treating their store teams as an extension of marketing and customer experience, not just sales. And they’re using metrics like revisit rate and lifetime value (not just daily sales) to guide their strategy.
Customer expectations have changed. They no longer see any difference between your .com website and your flagship. What matters to them is whether you remember them. Whether you understand what they want. Whether the experience feels human, even if the tools behind it are digital.
Bridging the online-offline divide is no longer a luxury. It’s the new standard. And those who master it not only sell more but also build lasting customer loyalty.