Retailers are under pressure to serve customers across a growing number of sales channels, but many are still trying to do that with systems that were never designed to work together. That creates a basic commercial problem. More channels should mean more ways to sell, but when each channel runs on separate systems, the result is often higher cost, weaker control and lower margin.
Many retailers still operate with one system per channel, leaving no single view of the customer, stock or orders. That makes routine decisions slower and more expensive. Stock can be tied up in the wrong place, customer interactions can become inconsistent and order management can become harder to control.
Most customers now move across multiple touchpoints before buying. A retailer may win attention in one place, build intent in another and complete the sale somewhere else. If the underlying systems are disconnected, the business risks missing sales, creating friction in fulfilment or absorbing avoidable cost just to keep the process moving. This is an operating issue with direct relevance to margin and execution.
The gap between retailers that manage omnichannel well and those that do not also points to a wider strategic divide. Businesses with stronger omnichannel capability are growing faster than those without it.
itim is arguing that retailers do not need another layer of software to patch over disconnected operations. They need one retail platform with a real-time view of product, customer, orders and stock across every channel. That is a more direct proposition than adding further bolt-on tools. It implies a simpler technology estate, stronger operational control and a better foundation for profitable channel expansion.
itim Group plc (LON:ITIM) is a SaaS-based technology company that enables store-based retailers to optimise their businesses to improve financial performance and effectively compete with online competitors. Itim adds retail value by helping multi-channel retailers optimise their business and their stores to improve financial performance and compete more effectively with the “Amazons”.
