<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
is	O
a	O
neologism	O
describing	O
a	O
business	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Frost	O
&	O
Sullivan	O
,	O
omnichannel	B-Application
is	O
defined	O
as	O
"	O
seamless	O
and	O
effortless	O
,	O
high-quality	O
customer	O
experiences	O
that	O
occur	O
within	O
and	O
between	O
contact	O
channels	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Efforts	O
like	O
single-source	B-Application
publishing	I-Application
and	O
responsive	B-General_Concept
web	I-General_Concept
design	I-General_Concept
,	O
however	O
,	O
were	O
usually	O
focused	O
on	O
internal	O
efficiencies	O
,	O
formatting	O
consistency	O
,	O
and	O
simple	O
de-duplication	O
across	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Channels	O
like	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
,	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
web	I-Application
,	O
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
contextual	B-Protocol
help	I-Protocol
,	O
augmented	B-General_Concept
reality	I-General_Concept
,	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
,	O
and	O
chatbots	B-Application
are	O
used	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
traditional	O
physical	O
and	O
human	O
interaction	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
thereafter	O
,	O
Amazon.com	B-Application
was	O
founded	O
and	O
the	O
eCommerce	O
sales	O
channel	O
was	O
established	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mobile	B-Application
commerce	I-Application
arrived	O
in	O
1997	O
,	O
and	O
multichannel	O
retailing	O
really	O
took	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
's	O
origins	O
date	O
back	O
to	O
Best	O
Buy	O
's	O
use	O
of	O
customer	O
centricity	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
Walmart	O
's	O
electronic	O
department	O
in	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
was	O
coined	O
as	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
"	O
assembled	O
commerce	O
"	O
and	O
spread	O
into	O
the	O
healthcare	O
and	O
financial	O
services	O
industries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
banking	O
developed	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
digital	O
banking	O
transactions	O
through	O
ATMs	O
,	O
the	O
web	O
,	O
and	O
mobile	B-Application
applications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
popular	O
parts	O
of	O
omnichannel	B-Application
banking	O
include	O
'	O
zero	O
drop	O
rate	O
 '	O
channel	O
integration	O
,	O
individualizing	O
channels	O
for	O
customers	O
and	O
marketing	O
other	O
channel	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
omnichannel	B-Application
platform	O
started	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
governments	O
through	O
Twitter	B-Application
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
is	O
used	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
citizens	O
through	O
the	O
platform	O
of	O
their	O
choice	O
at	O
their	O
convenience	O
and	O
use	O
feedback	O
to	O
analyze	O
the	O
citizen	O
experience	O
to	O
better	O
serve	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
fragmentation	O
between	O
health	O
providers	O
,	O
hospitals	O
,	O
pharmaceutical	O
companies	O
and	O
patients	O
,	O
omnichannel	B-Application
is	O
developing	O
to	O
improve	O
the	O
customer	O
experience	O
in	O
the	O
healthcare	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
healthcare	O
focuses	O
on	O
integrating	O
data	O
,	O
technology	O
,	O
content	O
and	O
communication	O
,	O
while	O
coordinating	O
patient	O
's	O
results	O
through	O
digital	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
UPMC	O
Health	O
Plan	O
uses	O
an	O
omnichannel	B-Application
system	O
to	O
improve	O
customer	O
engagement	O
and	O
contact	O
resolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
retail	O
strategies	O
are	O
an	O
expansion	O
of	O
what	O
previously	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
multichannel	O
retailing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emergence	O
of	O
digital	O
technologies	O
,	O
social	O
media	O
and	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
has	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
significant	O
changes	O
in	O
the	O
retail	O
environment	O
and	O
provide	O
opportunities	O
for	O
the	O
retailers	O
to	O
redesign	O
their	O
marketing	O
and	O
product	O
strategies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Put	O
differently	O
,	O
in	O
retailing	O
omnichannel	B-Application
marketing	O
has	O
come	O
to	O
be	O
understood	O
as	O
"	O
hyperpersonalization	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
challenge	O
is	O
to	O
track	O
users	O
behaviors	O
both	O
online	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
brick	O
and	O
mortar	O
stores	O
,	O
an	O
option	O
that	O
is	O
being	O
made	O
available	O
by	O
using	O
AI	B-Application
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
omnichannel	B-Application
retailing	O
,	O
one	O
main	O
backend	O
handles	O
all	O
the	O
customer	O
data	O
whether	O
on	O
Web	O
,	O
mobile	O
or	O
a	O
brick	O
and	O
mortar	O
store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Customers	O
tend	O
to	O
be	O
looking	O
for	O
information	O
in	O
the	O
physical	O
store	O
and	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
they	O
are	O
getting	O
additional	O
information	O
from	O
their	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
about	O
offers	O
and	O
possibly	O
better	O
prices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
allows	O
organizations	O
to	O
allocate	O
inventory	O
availability	O
and	O
visibility	O
across	O
locations	O
vs.	O
each	O
channel	O
holding	O
specific	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
features	O
,	O
like	O
size	O
charts	O
,	O
easy	O
return	O
policy	O
and	O
same-day	O
delivery	O
,	O
have	O
boosted	O
ecommerce	O
and	O
promoted	O
omnichannel	B-Application
shopping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
omnichannel	B-Application
retailer	O
has	O
traditional	O
methods	O
of	O
mass	O
advertising	O
integrated	O
with	O
emerging	O
interactive	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
omnichannel	B-Application
concept	O
not	O
only	O
extends	O
the	O
range	O
of	O
channels	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
incorporates	O
the	O
needs	O
,	O
communications	O
and	O
interactions	O
between	O
customer	O
,	O
brand	O
and	O
retailers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
has	O
overtaken	O
multichannel	O
specifically	O
in	O
the	O
contact	O
center	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
contact	O
centers	O
offer	O
customers	O
the	O
same	O
experience	O
across	O
all	O
channels	O
,	O
while	O
providing	O
customer	O
service	O
agents	O
a	O
simpler	O
interface	O
and	O
richer	O
set	O
of	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
omnichannel	B-Application
is	O
said	O
to	O
be	O
dictated	O
by	O
systems	O
and	O
processes	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
customer	O
who	O
dictates	O
how	O
a	O
transaction	O
occurs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
is	O
moving	O
toward	O
increased	O
personalization	O
based	O
on	O
analytics	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
customer	O
experience	O
more	O
seamless	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
an	O
MIT	O
report	O
,	O
omnichannel	B-Application
"	O
is	O
the	O
central	O
force	O
shaping	O
the	O
future	O
of	O
e-commerce	O
and	O
brick-and-mortar	O
stores	O
alike.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
major	O
difference	O
between	O
omnichannel	B-Application
and	O
multichannel	O
is	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multichannel	O
is	O
usually	O
identified	O
as	O
a	O
non-integrated	O
way	O
to	O
approach	O
customers	O
and	O
inventory	O
holdings	O
,	O
while	O
omnichannel	B-Application
requires	O
coherent	O
and	O
absolute	O
inventory	O
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
and	O
more	O
organizations	O
have	O
realized	O
the	O
opportunities	O
and	O
advantages	O
of	O
integrating	O
multiple	O
channels	O
by	O
adopting	O
an	O
omnichannel	B-Application
approach	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
boundaries	O
between	O
channels	O
tend	O
to	O
vanish	O
in	O
an	O
omnichannel	B-Application
environment	O
,	O
giving	O
the	O
customer	O
a	O
consistent	O
brand	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
major	O
difference	O
between	O
omnichannel	B-Application
and	O
omni-digital	O
is	O
the	O
focus	O
given	O
to	O
the	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
omnichannel	B-Application
,	O
the	O
company	O
focuses	O
on	O
delivering	O
the	O
right	O
content	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
right	O
set	O
of	O
channels	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
right	O
moment	O
,	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
most	O
value	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
omnichannel	B-Application
world	O
,	O
display	O
advertising	O
,	O
search	O
engines	O
,	O
social	O
media	O
,	O
referral	O
websites	O
,	O
e-mail	O
and	O
mobile	O
marketing	O
can	O
be	O
considered	O
independent	O
channels	O
,	O
as	O
each	O
can	O
promote	O
one-way	O
or	O
two-way	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
adapt	O
on	O
the	O
omnichannel	B-Application
concept	O
,	O
customer	O
behaviours	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
understood	O
by	O
the	O
retailers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
an	O
omnichannel	B-Application
marketing	O
approach	O
,	O
retailers	O
can	O
provide	O
precisely	O
targeted	O
incentives	O
through	O
digital	O
and	O
mobile	O
promotions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
solutions	O
also	O
allow	O
brands	O
and	O
companies	O
to	O
tighten	O
supplier	O
controls	O
and	O
optimise	O
their	O
product	O
inventory	O
across	O
numerous	O
sales	O
channels	O
,	O
ensuring	O
that	O
the	O
optimum	O
stock	O
levels	O
are	O
situated	O
in	O
each	O
location	O
and	O
the	O
channels	O
are	O
kept	O
up	O
to	O
date	O
with	O
stock	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnichannel	B-Application
means	O
having	O
a	O
uniform	O
customer	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
simple	O
example	O
is	O
that	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
website	O
should	O
remain	O
consistent	O
with	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
and	O
should	O
also	O
match	O
branded	O
physical	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	O
channels	O
include	O
branded	O
webstores	O
,	O
marketplaces	O
like	O
:	O
Amazon	B-Application
,	O
eBay	O
,	O
Jet.com,	O
Walmart.com	O
and	O
social	O
channels	O
like	O
:	O
Facebook	O
,	O
Google	O
Shopping	O
and	O
Google	O
Express	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
ensure	O
omnichannel	B-Application
and	O
multichannel	O
retail	O
strategies	O
are	O
controlled	O
and	O
implemented	O
efficiently	O
,	O
brands	O
and	O
retailers	O
use	O
software	O
to	O
centrally	O
manage	O
product	O
information	O
,	O
listings	O
,	O
inventory	O
and	O
orders	O
from	O
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
