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Having a website alone is no longer enough to sell in 2024, especially for growing and small businesses. Today's customers expect you to be everywhere they are.

This is why it's important—and smart—to promote and sell your products via multiple channels, including your own independent ecommerce store, multiple marketplaces, social media platforms—the big ones being Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok—and even brick-and-mortar storefronts (after all, in-store shopping isn’t dead yet).

Grow your ecommerce business with Extensiv

According to Statista, retail ecommerce sales are estimated to exceed $4.1 trillion worldwide in 2024, and this figure is expected to reach new heights in the coming years. A large portion of these sales can be yours—if you tap into multichannel ecommerce.

What is multichannel ecommerce?

Multichannel ecommerce—different from traditional multichannel selling, which involves marketing products via multiple avenues like catalogs and physical stores—refers to brands listing their product catalogs on more than one online storefront. These channels can include social media platforms, marketplaces like Amazon or Google shopping, mobile apps, and websites.

Experienced retailers know that selling on multiple channels is the best way to get eyeballs on your product listings, which helps businesses stand out in the crowded and competitive ecommerce marketplace.

Here are some key benefits of selling on multiple platforms:
  • Increases Revenue: By diversifying your sales channels, you cast a wider net and increase your opportunities for sales. This is especially important as consumers increasingly explore alternative marketplaces and direct-to-consumer brands.
  • Builds a Strong Brand Identity: A multichannel strategy also means building a bigger and better omnichannel brand. A consistent presence across multiple platforms strengthens your brand identity, improves your customer experience, and builds trust with consumers.
  • Reduces Risk: Relying solely on one sales channel is risky. Marketplaces can change their algorithms, economic conditions can fluctuate, and consumer preferences can shift. Multi-channel selling provides a safety net by diversifying revenue streams.

Why Selling on Multiple Channels Is a Must in 2024 + Beyond

Customers are everywhere, and your business must be too. Multichannel ecommerce is not just about reaching more potential customers (though that's a huge plus!); it's about creating a smooth and consistent brand experience for customers wherever they choose to shop.

Multichannel sales were forecasted to generate $575 billion in 2023—up from $350 billion in 2020, the widely-accepted breakthrough year of ecommerce. Businesses have the potential to tap into these numbers and substantially increase their revenue by expanding to multiple sales channels.

Multichannel selling—much like many other ecommerce trends—has drastically evolved over the past few years, with some of the biggest changes coming from the rise of mobile commerce and the transformation of social media apps into selling channels.

Build Brand Loyalty with Mobile Commerce

It’s official: browser-based shopping is out and mobile commerce is in. Consumers now use mobile phones more than any other device for online shopping, and the ecommerce app market is projected to grow significantly as more consumers transition from shopping in-browser to on their mobile phones. Nike, for example, was able to link 18% of their annual revenue in 2022 to mobile apps—including the Nike app, the Nike SNKRS app, and Nike Training Club.

Grow Your Audience with Social Commerce

Selling on social media used to mean sharing a link to your website and praying people click on it, find your products appealing, and make a purchase. Now, it’s different—and better. Social media platforms have now become the #1 product discovery channel and are as relevant as online and brick-and-mortar stores, especially considering the growth of mobile commerce.

In fact, Hubspot reports that 1 in 4 social media users bought a product through social commerce in the past 3 months. Social commerce is maximizing change by introducing shopping features—like Instagram shop, TikTok shop, and Facebook Marketplace—where customers can buy products directly without leaving their feed.

10 Multichannel Ecommerce Marketing Tips

There’s a lot of information out there about multichannel ecommerce marketing, but unfortunately, much of it is either obsolete or ineffective. To truly gain a competitive edge, online retailers need to supercharge their multichannel marketing strategy with advanced, unconventional methods that add value to the overall buying experience.

The following tips and tactics are not only practical; they’re also easy to execute without relying on external help.

1. Use All the Data Available to You

Utilizing all available data is crucial for effective multi-channel marketing. This means gathering product data from every touchpoint—website analytics, social media engagement, email responses, customer surveys, purchase history, product information, pricing, etc.

By analyzing this data, you can gain a deeper understanding of your audience, their preferences, and their behavior across different channels. Armed with this knowledge, you can personalize your messaging, tailor content accordingly to specific channels, and optimize your marketing strategies for better results.

2. Use Dynamic Retargeting Across Your Channels

Ecommerce retargeting is a gentle nudge to potential customers towards a purchase and is a strategy that can significantly reduce your cart abandonment rate while pulling in higher conversions and improving your user experience.

This powerful technique allows you to show relevant, personalized ads to people who have previously interacted with your website or online store that promote specific products or services they've shown interest in before—and they’re only getting better with advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

You can use retargeting through Meta ads, TikTok ads, Google ads, etc. to reach consumers who liked a product on your page. Alternatively, you can send retargeted emails that remind shoppers of their wish list or a discounted product they recently looked up on your site. Regardless of the method you use, make sure to set up retargeting on channels where your target audience spends time for maximum effect and best results.

3. Experiment with Event-Triggered Marketing

Event-triggered marketing occurs when the actions of people on one channel determine what type of marketing they’ll be exposed to on another channel. So, when a customer abandons the shopping cart on your site, it might trigger a follow-up email containing incentives to complete their purchase. The benefit of event-triggered marketing is that once it’s set up and tested for efficiency, it’s a quick and cost-effective method for increasing conversion.

To take this approach further, calculate the lifetime value of each customer and use the most appropriate event-trigger marketing medium to increase conversion rates. For example, a loyal customer should receive more personalized outreach while you can get away with a more generic email to a prospective customer with basic inquiries.

4. Leverage Social Commerce

Social commerce is the future of selling; it creates opportunities for consumers to have interactive and entertaining purchasing journeys. Leading brands are working with platforms like TikTok to forge new relationships with consumers, shifting from traditional advertising strategies to fun, engaging content that's not overly salesy.

For example, rather than watching an ad for a new skin-care formula, your favorite celebrity can invite you behind-the-scenes into their daily skin-care routine, showing you how they use the branded product and why they love it. Consumers can then buy the product directly within the platform, whether it’s on Instagram, TikTok, or through YouTube Shopping. Plus, using a multi-platform approach helps brands connect with a wider audience—where they already spend time scrolling—and turn viewers into loyal customers.

5. Align Your Email & Social Media Efforts

Your brand should feel cohesive to customers and viewers. You can achieve this by aligning your email marketing branding and social media persona (e.g., using similar visual design, tone, and voice in all communications) and by cross-promoting content (e.g., sharing snippets of your most engaging social media posts in your email campaigns).

Aligning your email marketing and social media personas doesn’t just help with brand development; it can also bring followers from one platform to another and help you boost engagement opportunities all around.

6. Market to Prospects, Not Channels

It’s easy to get carried away with multichannel marketing; after all, you can promote products to people on any given channel and get new leads. But modern ecommerce customers are pretty savvy, and they don’t appreciate being thought of as “just another lead.” So, create authentic content that showcases your product while also entertaining your audience.

Above all, you should be authentic—but culturally aware. Consumers are increasingly choosing to support brands committed to diversity and inclusion. The Bobba bubble tea incident on Dragon's Den is a clear example of why cultural awareness matters to customers.

The entrepreneurs behind Bobba attempted to market a "new and improved" version of bubble tea, a drink with deep roots in Asian culture. However, their pitch lacked any Asian representation or acknowledgement of the drink's origins. This led to accusations of cultural appropriation and widespread backlash from consumers on social media with many viewers stating they wouldn't buy the product because they felt the company was exploiting Asian culture for profit.

7. Harness the Power of Video

No matter what channels you decide to market your products or services on, you need videos in your multichannel ecommerce strategy. If the massive popularity of TikTok teaches us anything, it’s that people love short-form videos. So, it’s unsurprising that 91% of businesses use video as part of their marketing strategy—and 68% of those not using it planned to build a video strategy this year.

There’s no great multichannel ecommerce strategy without videos, as video content is great for educating, generating leads, and converting customers. Besides, video productions can be cost-effective and easy to accomplish; smartphones make it easier than ever to shoot and edit clear, high-quality videos.

To get started with video content creation for your ecommerce strategy, first, define your goals and target audience. Understand where your target audience spends their time online and what content they engage with. Next, plan your video's message and format. Create videos that showcase your brand's personality and offer valuable tips to attract new customers. To convert viewers into leads, use product demos, webinars, and case studies. Finally, choose the right platform to share your videos, and track your success with relevant metrics.

8. Consider a Founder-Led Marketing Strategy

Nowadays, people don’t want to follow brands; they want to follow people, and this is why businesses who leverage a founder-led marketing strategy are raking in the big bucks. Founder-led marketing is a strategy where founders leverage their personal narratives to forge genuine connections with their audience and drive business growth.

People are naturally drawn to authenticity. When you share your personal story, you humanize your brand, revealing the real people and reasons behind the company. People will remember a face and a story over a product. This promotes trust with potential customers, making them more likely to engage with your brand and support your mission.

9. Leverage User-Generated Content

The best marketing strategy you can leverage for a multichannel campaign is user-generated content and word-of-mouth publicity.

To collect user-generated content, encourage customers to share how they use your product on their personal social media accounts and tag (or hashtag) your company in their posts. You can also collect video reviews of your products and feature them on your website or in newsletters to deliver a strong message backed by social proof.

As an added incentive, you can start a competition or giveaway for customers who participate; featuring the winners on multiple channels can generate additional buzz and brand awareness.

10. Get Influencers for Every Channel

As an ecommerce business owner, you can work with social media influencers—like known YouTubers, TikTok, or Instagram influencers—to gain multichannel marketing traction. These individuals have expertise aligned to the channel where they have large followings, so they can help you reach a wider audience.

For example, Nara Smith recently collaborated with Marc Jacobs using her signature cooking video format, dressed in a designer gown with her hair and makeup fully done. Nara shared a TikTok clip where she mixed flour, eggs, water, and red food coloring and kneaded the dough until it magically folded into a tiny Marc Jacobs tote bag. After an hour in the oven, she declared in her signature monotone that it was “perfectly risen and red” and ready to eat. This video garnered over 16 million views—and counting.

Each channel’s influencers have something to offer in their own right; play to their strengths to see more conversions from your multichannel marketing strategy, or look into platform-specific programs, like Amazon's influencer program.

Essential Multichannel Ecommerce Software Solutions

Selling on multiple online marketplaces is an excellent way to reach a wider range of consumers and increase your online sales. But expanding your online presence to various new online channels will require a greater investment of your company’s time and resources.

Fortunately, you don't have to do it alone—or the hard way. The following ecommerce management software solutions stand out with functionalities that will not only help you execute your multichannel strategy but also lay a solid foundation for your technology ecosystem.

Extensiv

Extensiv logo

An all-in-one platform for inventory management, order fulfillment, and product analytics, Extensiv brings your full operations into view across all ecommerce sales channels and warehouses—including outsourced fulfillment options like third-party logistics (3PL) providers.

One of the outstanding qualities of Extensiv’s platform is that it’s designed to adapt to your unique business needs—whether you're a new startup or a large enterprise—equipped with over 150 native ecommerce integrations including Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce.

Extensiv is a powerful order management system (OMS) and demand forecasting solution in your multichannel ecommerce business. By leveraging historical trends and point of sale (POS) data, Extensiv provides accurate insights on your sales performance for each SKU, enabling you to optimize your inventory levels and make informed decisions about purchasing and marketing efforts.

As inventory management software, Extensiv monitors real-time stock status for you—sending low stock alerts so you know when to place orders for more goods—for greater inventory control and optimization. You can also automate purchase orders while providing all the product analytics you need to make strategic business decisions including insights on sales trends, inventory performance, and profitability levels.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce logo

BigCommerce is the most trusted and most acclaimed ecommerce platform, providing solutions for any commerce model you can think of: B2C, DTC, B2B, multi-storefront, omnichannel, and more. Some of their best features are their comprehensive list of ecosystem partners, including integrations between BigCommerce and Netsuite and the flexibility of their open platform that allows retailers to customize their ecommerce solution without being limited to proprietary offerings.

GoDataFeed

GoDataFeed logo

Trusted by thousands of online retailers worldwide, GoDataFeed is the go-to solution for product data management across multiple channels like Google Shopping, Amazon, Meta's Facebook and Instagram Shops, TikTok Shop, Pinterest, eBay, Walmart, and 200+ others. As a dedicated multichannel ecommerce solution, they streamline, simplify, and automate the process for online retailers to manage, update, and enhance their product listings—offering dynamic repricing, product targeting, and real-time analytics tools to help multichannel merchants succeed.

Gorgias

Gorgias logo

Gorgias is a specialized customer resource management (CRM) software that streamlines customer support for ecommerce businesses. One of Gorgias's best features is its deep integration with popular ecommerce platforms, particularly Shopify, which allows customer service agents to view and manage customer orders directly within the Gorgias interface without switching applications. It also allows customer service agents to access relevant customer information during interactions, providing response templates for quicker response and resolutions.

Loop

Loop returns logo

Loop is a dedicated customer returns management platform designed to streamline the returns process for ecommerce businesses. It focuses on transforming the often cumbersome returns experience into a more positive interaction that encourages customer loyalty and revenue retention and automates the entire returns experience. Loop allows customers to initiate returns or exchanges easily through a user-friendly portal, and merchants can tailor the returns experience to their brand’s image and policies, ensuring a seamless customer journey.

Handle Multichannel Ecommerce Like a Pro with Extensiv

Expanding your sales strategy beyond a single channel can significantly boost your brand's reach and revenue. However, managing inventory across multiple platforms can quickly become complex. Extensiv's solutions for brands empower you to seamlessly handle this complexity and streamline your ecommerce operations.

Our platform provides features like:
  • Accurate Inventory Management: Maintain accurate inventory counts across all your sales channels, preventing stockouts and overselling
  • Automated Order Management: Efficiently route orders to the best fulfillment location based on factors like inventory levels and shipping costs
  • Demand Forecasting: Anticipate future demand and proactively adjust purchasing and inventory allocation to meet customer needs
  • Centralized Insights & Analytics: Manage all your data, sales channels, workflows, inventory, and orders from a single, user-friendly dashboard

Want to learn more about how partnering with Extensiv can help your multichannel ecommerce business grow? Request a demo today!
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Multichannel Ecommerce FAQs

What is multichannel inventory?

Multichannel inventory describes inventory sold on more than one online channel. Many brands now list their goods on various digital platforms and marketplaces to get their products in front of more customers, but using traditional inventory management techniques for multichannel selling can cause logistics and supply chain challenges. Instead, brands should adopt an omnichannel inventory strategy that considers all sales channels so they can meet the demand without overselling and facing stockouts.

How do I manage multiple ecommerce channels?

Multichannel ecommerce software solutions like Extensiv can easily automate and streamline your inventory management and multichannel listings on your own ecommerce store and across all online marketplaces, whether handling your order fulfillment in-house or with an outsourced solution like a 3PL warehouse or Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

How do I market my website on multiple channels?

To gain a competitive edge over fellow ecommerce retailers, you’ll need to boost your multichannel marketing strategy with advanced techniques beyond basic SEO that add value to the overall buying experience. When marketing your website on multiple channels, try using dynamic retargeting, integrating Facebook ratings and reviews, promoting user-generated content, linking channels together, and banking on your website’s internal search data.

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