Unified Commerce vs. Omnichannel: what’s the difference?

E-commerce in Brazil has shown significant growth in recent years. According to data from E-commerce Brasil, in 2024 the sector generated R$ 204.3 billion, recording an increase of 10.5% compared to the previous year, with 414.9 million orders and an average ticket of R$ 492.40. The number of online buyers reached 91.3 million, highlighting the consolidation of e-commerce in the country.

Despite this progress, many consumers still face challenges when making online purchases. A survey revealed that 77% of Brazilians have abandoned an online purchase due to factors such as a lack of clear information about products (24%), distrust in payment methods (22%), and absence of security seals on websites (21%). Additionally, another study shows that nearly half of consumers have received defective products or items different from what was advertised, reinforcing the need for improvements in the online shopping experience.

To address these issues and enhance the customer journey, strategies such as Unified Commerce and Omnichannel have gained prominence. Continue reading to understand the differences between Unified Commerce and Omnichannel and how these strategies can benefit both businesses and consumers in the current scenario of Brazilian e-commerce.

What is Unified Commerce?

Unified Commerce is an approach that integrates all sales and service channels of a company into a single platform, providing a seamless and personalized experience for the consumer. Unlike the traditional model, where sales channels operate independently, Unified Commerce eliminates barriers between physical stores, e-commerce, marketplaces, and other touchpoints, ensuring that all customer interactions and data are centralized and accessible in real-time.

This strategy emerged as a natural evolution of retail, driven by changes in consumer behavior and the challenges faced by companies in digitizing sales. With the growth of e-commerce and the popularization of multichannel consumption, it became evident that conventional models, such as omnichannel, still exhibited flaws in integration and consistency of customer experience.

What is the difference between Unified Commerce and Omnichannel?

While Unified Commerce and Omnichannel are often mentioned together, they are not synonyms. Both aim to improve the consumer experience and integrate sales channels, but there are fundamental differences between the two concepts.

1. Channel Integration

• Omnichannel: The omnichannel model seeks to integrate different sales and service channels so that the consumer can transition between them seamlessly. This means that the shopping experience should be consistent, regardless of whether the customer is in a physical store, on the company’s website, in an app, or on a marketplace. However, the integration is not always complete, and information may not be fully synchronized across channels.
• Unified Commerce: Goes beyond the integration of omnichannel, centralizing all company data and operations in a single system. Thus, inventory, prices, orders, and customer interactions are managed in a unified manner, ensuring that information is consistent in real-time, regardless of the channel used.

2. Customer Experience

• Omnichannel: The main focus is on the consumer experience, allowing them to transition between channels without barriers. However, since most companies still work with fragmented systems, the experience is often not 100% seamless, which can lead to inconsistencies, such as price discrepancies between physical stores and e-commerce or difficulties in exchanging products purchased online.
• Unified Commerce: Provides a truly integrated experience, as all customer information (previous purchases, preferences, service history) is centralized. This allows for a personalized and frustration-free buying journey, ensuring greater satisfaction and loyalty.

3. Business Management

• Omnichannel: Despite the integration of channels, the company may still manage inventory, orders, and customer data separately, relying on multiple systems that do not always communicate perfectly. This can lead to more complex and inefficient processes.
• Unified Commerce: Unifies the management of all company operations into a single platform, optimizing internal processes, improving decision-making based on data, and increasing operational efficiency.

4. Technology and Infrastructure

• Omnichannel: Many companies still use outdated systems or different platforms that do not fully integrate. This can lead to communication failures between channels and inconsistencies in the customer experience.
• Unified Commerce: Requires a robust technological infrastructure, where all channels are connected to a single management system. This allows access to real-time data, ensuring greater agility in operations and a more efficient experience for consumers.

Summary of Differences

While Omnichannel aims to provide a seamless experience between channels, Unified Commerce resolves the shortcomings of this model by ensuring centralized and efficient management. Companies adopting Unified Commerce not only enhance the customer journey but also optimize their processes and increase conversion rates.

What are the benefits of Unified Commerce?

By centralizing all sales and service channels within a single system, the main goal is for brands to enhance the customer experience, optimize operations, and increase sales. But the benefits don’t stop there; check out the main ones below:

1. More Consistent and Personalized Customer Experience

With Unified Commerce, all customer information—such as purchase history, preferences, interactions, and support—are centralized. This enables a personalized and frictionless experience, regardless of the chosen channel. The customer can start a purchase on the website, ask questions via WhatsApp, and finalize in the physical store without losing any information in the process.

2. Total Synchronization of Inventory and Orders

One of the biggest challenges in retail is ensuring that inventory is always up-to-date across all channels. In the omnichannel model, many companies still deal with decentralized systems, which can lead to errors such as selling an unavailable product. With Unified Commerce, inventories are managed in an integrated and real-time manner, reducing errors and avoiding consumer frustrations.

3. Increased Conversion Rate and Customer Retention

When consumers have a seamless and obstacle-free experience, their likelihood of completing a purchase and returning to the brand increases. Studies show that companies offering personalized and efficient buying journeys record higher conversion and loyalty rates.

4. Greater Operational Efficiency

With all processes centralized, companies can reduce operational costs and avoid waste. Sales, marketing, and support teams work with more accurate data, facilitating strategic decision-making and improving productivity.

5. Data-Driven Decision Making

The unification of channels allows the company to have a comprehensive and detailed view of consumer behavior. This enables real-time analysis of metrics, helping to forecast trends, optimize marketing campaigns, and adjust inventory more intelligently.

6. Increased Agility and Flexibility in Service

Modern consumers expect quick responses and efficient solutions. Unified Commerce facilitates service by integrating chatbots, artificial intelligence, and human teams within the same system. This ensures faster responses, efficient support, and greater customer satisfaction.

7. Reduced Infrastructure and Integration Costs

Companies using separate systems for each channel incur high maintenance and integration costs. With Unified Commerce, management is simplified, reducing the need for multiple platforms and decreasing IT expenses.

What technologies are essential to support a Unified Commerce strategy?

The implementation of Unified Commerce requires a robust technological ecosystem to ensure that all channels are synchronized and that the customer experience is consistent. Below, we highlight the main technologies that are fundamental to this approach:

1. Integrated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

The ERP is the system that centralizes and manages all company operations, including inventory, orders, sales, logistics, and finance. In Unified Commerce, an efficient ERP allows all channels to access up-to-date information in real-time, avoiding issues such as stockouts, delivery delays, and price inconsistencies between physical and online stores.

Main ERPs:
SAP S/4HANA
Oracle NetSuite
Linx

2. Omnichannel E-commerce Platform

E-commerce platforms are essential for companies that sell online, enabling integration between physical stores, marketplaces, and other digital channels. In Unified Commerce, these platforms should offer functionalities such as:
Automatic synchronization of inventory and orders;
Centralized management of prices and promotions;
User experience personalization based on purchase behavior.

A solution that stands out in this scenario is the Liferay Experience Cloud, which allows the creation of personalized digital experiences and the management of multiple sales channels within a single platform. With advanced segmentation and data unification features, Liferay facilitates the implementation of Unified Commerce by integrating e-commerce, content management, and digital experiences in a single environment.

Other e-commerce platforms:
VTEX
Magento (Adobe Commerce)
Shopify Plus 

3. CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

The CRM is one of the pillars of Unified Commerce, as it centralizes all customer interactions with the brand. With it, companies can:
– Personalize offers and communications based on consumer behavior;
– Track purchase histories and customer preferences;
– Unify support across different channels, ensuring a consistent experience.

In addition to traditional CRM solutions, such as Salesforce and HubSpot, Liferay also offers features for managing customer relationships, allowing the creation of personalized journeys and more efficient communication segmentation.

Main CRMs:
Salesforce
Liferay Experience Cloud
HubSpot
Microsoft Dynamics

4. Marketing Automation Tools

Unified Commerce relies on personalization and efficient communication with customers. Marketing automation tools help to:
– Create segmented campaigns based on user behavior;
– Automate emails, SMS, and notifications to remind customers of unfinished purchases or relevant promotions;
– Integrate data from e-commerce, CRM, and social media for more strategic actions.

Examples of marketing automation tools:
RD Station
ActiveCampaign
Klaviyo
Hubspot

5. Unified Payment and Checkout Solutions

One of the biggest challenges of Unified Commerce is to provide a fast and secure checkout with no friction for the consumer. Integrated payment platforms ensure that customers have multiple payment options, enabling them to finalize their purchases conveniently.

Essential functionalities for a unified checkout:
– Integration with credit cards, Pix, boleto, and digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay);
– One-click payment with secure storage of customer data;
– Options for installment and recurring payments.

Main payment solutions:
Adyen
Stripe
PagSeguro
Mercado Pago

6. Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis

AI and Big Data are essential for optimizing customer experience and improving operational efficiency. These technologies help to:
– Predict demands and adjust inventories more accurately;
– Recommend products based on user behavior;
– Automate customer service via chatbots and virtual assistants.

AI and data analysis platforms for Unified Commerce:
Google Analytics 4
Microsoft Power BI
Tableau

7. Logistics and Delivery Management Solutions

Efficient delivery is crucial for the success of Unified Commerce. For this, companies need solutions that ensure visibility and real-time tracking of orders, reduce logistical costs, and optimize delivery routes.

Main logistical technologies for Unified Commerce:
– Melhor Envio (integrated freight)
– Loggi (express deliveries)
– Route Optimization Software (for route management)
– WMS (Warehouse Management System) for warehouse control

Unified Commerce demands a complete technological ecosystem to ensure seamless integration between channels and provide a superior customer experience. From inventory and sales management to service personalization, investing in the right technologies can make all the difference for the success of the strategy. Solutions such as Liferay Experience Cloud help streamline this integration by providing a centralized environment to manage and personalize the entire customer journey.

How to measure the success of implementing Unified Commerce in a company?

To ensure that Unified Commerce is generating the expected results, it is essential to monitor metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). Below, we highlight the main points that should be monitored to assess the success of the strategy.

1. Conversion Rate

If the strategy is successful, the conversion rate should increase, indicating that more visitors are completing their purchases.

Metric to monitor: Conversion rate by channel (physical store, e-commerce, marketplaces, social media).

2. Customer Retention and Loyalty

If consumers are purchasing more than once and interacting with different channels of the brand, it indicates that the implementation was successful.

Metric to monitor: Repurchase rate and Net Promoter Score (NPS).

3. Reduction of Stockouts and Inventory Errors

If the company experiences fewer cases of out-of-stock products or inventory discrepancies across channels, it means that the strategy is working.

Metric to monitor: Stockout index and average restocking time of products.

4. Increase in Average Ticket

If the company’s average ticket increases, it is a strong indicator that the approach is positively impacting consumer behavior.

Metric to monitor: Average amount spent per purchase.

5. Operational Efficiency and Cost Reduction

Process automation and centralization of operations should reduce waste and improve the company’s efficiency. With integrated systems, operational costs with multiple platforms and rework tend to decrease.

Metric to monitor: Reduction of operational costs and average order processing time.

6. Customer Engagement Across Different Channels

Monitoring consumer engagement in e-commerce, social media, apps, and physical stores is crucial to understand if the experience is integrated efficiently.

Metric to monitor: Average interaction time across channels and cart abandonment rate.

The success of implementing Unified Commerce can be measured by its impact on customer experience, increased sales, and operational efficiency. Monitoring strategic KPIs and adjusting the strategy according to the results is essential to ensuring the sustainable growth of the company.

If you want to adopt a Unified Commerce approach and don’t know where to start, Objective can help! With advanced technological solutions, such as artificial intelligence, automation, and personalization of the customer journey, Objective assists companies in transforming their operations and elevating their performance in the market.

Get in touch and find out how Objective can boost your business with Unified Commerce strategies!