Finding a product on nearly any online service is easy and even overwhelming. In addition to the aggregation services like Amazon.com and even Google search, there are special interest sites like Pinterest and the thousands of more specialized sites where consumers identify, collect, and talk about their preferences. Add to those the online versions of every physical retailer and the choices are stunning. 

This isn't a problem if the consumer wants to purchase what they have found from the merchant they found - online. But what about buying in the store they visit. Again, it's pretty simple to walk into a store, browse for an item, and make that purchase on the way out the door. It's also increasingly simple to point a smartphone at a product's barcode, find that product at a competitor's online store at a competitive price, then make the purchase online... then walk out the door.

But what about the reverse process? The consumer finds the product online and needs it NOW. They go to their favorite store and look for the product - usually only to be frustrated that the store either doesn't stock the item or that the price is significantly different from what they found online. And that's where omnichannel marketing comes into play.

The solution is to deliver a fully integrated experience for the consumer. It could go something like this:

I find a product online that I want to purchase. I could buy it online because the product description, images, reviews, and price are all in line with my desires. But alongside the item is the "Find this item locally" button that offers to guide me to a store. Clicking the button displays a list of local stores with distance, stock status, and pricing. One store has the "Price match" logo so that I know that the price I found online will be matched at the store. I click that store and get a map with navigation, and an offer to have the item pulled from the shelf and held for me at the checkout, along with the option to prepay. I walk the 3 blocks to the store, show my ID and walk out with my purchase.

That's an omnichannel experience. It's something that is technologically possible but has yet to become commonplace (or even uncommon). 

Here's a list of 3 things that need to happen in order for this to become real according to Omnichannel.me

• In exploring and discovering products in your brand domain that data should be transferable for me to collect and use universally.
• In exchange for this data, the customer will give you access to other data they have collected that will far outweigh the value of the limited data in your brand universe.
• All experiences offline and online should allow an individual to identify themselves and present a brand with the opportunity to access my preferences.