In your observation, how open are offline retailers to omnichannel in the real sense of the word?

Most retailers are very clear they want to be on the omnichannel journey. Earlier you had to really sell the idea to them. But today the senior management of most retail companies want to be across channels. Of course, the extent to which they implement all that the omnichannel journey entails is debatable and varies from company to company, but they are all moving in that direction and spending accordingly. 

What are the typical challenges that offline retailers face when they get on the omnichannel journey?

There are many aspects to this. The first is the tech challenge, since there are many integration elements involved and there needs to be multiple systems that can talk to each other. This means having the knowledge and ability to implement the required changes. The second aspect is store staff training. They need to be able to manage the diverse dynamics involved in the shopper journey that come with omnichannel. This also means incentivising the sales staff.  The other question to be considered is whether omnichannel is to be limited to company stores or does it need to be extended to franchisee stores as well. The inventory and stock movement have to be managed accordingly. 

So the omnichannel strategy actually involves end to end tech thinking across functionalities right?

Yes, you have to think of it functionally and you have to think of it from multiple user definition points of view. And, like I said, you have to have multiple systems talking to each other. So I’d say it’s not for the weak-hearted! 

Any check list to get the best ROI from omnichannel?

I’d call it the omnichannel readiness checklist and can be in terms of the following:

1. Deciding on product stock volumes across offline and online channels. This also depends on whether you are a manufacturer or only a retailer, your rights to sell, etc. 
2. Demography and pricing-  Looking at uniform pricing across both the offline and online channels is important. This also means deciding on the demography and geographies of targeted customer base
3. Choosing the right tech partner who can integrate all the aspects involved - from inventory, logistics and supply chain to marketing and others 

Do get a close view of the impact of backend tech integration on the front end? 

Of course, there is a clear impact of back end tech integration tech on the front-end, customer experience side. Today data is available and there are tools to analyse impact. But to measure the impact, clearly defined parameters and processes have to be available. So it’s about meaningfully defining processes and building the right tools for it.