The way people shop has undergone notable changes in recent years. Customers now discover new products on social platforms, check them out in a physical store, and finally purchase them on the web for home delivery. Buying habits that cross multiple touchpoints to acquire a single item is now becoming commonplace for Japanese shoppers.

In fact, according to a survey conducted by Dentsu Digital in fiscal year 2024, the percentage of people in Japan who use online channels during the comparison and consideration stage of buying items increased from 50% in 2022 to 55.7% in 2024, indicating that the presence of digital channels in product selection is growing year by year. Conversely, many people still choose brick-and-mortar shops as their final place of purchase, and cross-channel buying patterns, which flexibly combine digital and in-person touchpoints, are becoming commonplace in the Japanese market.

Against this backdrop, the concept of unified commerce is gaining attention. Regardless of the selling route, the adoption of this approach is progressing in numerous markets (including Japan) as an important method for providing a consistent customer experience by leveraging real-time integrated data.

This article offers a clear overview of what unified commerce is, its benefits and points of caution, and explores methods for adopting and integrating it. We add practical recommendations on how companies could leverage this model to prepare for the future.

What’s in this article?

• What is unified commerce?
  
• Background to the interest in unified commerce
  
• The advantages of introducing unified commerce
  
• The challenges of introducing unified commerce
  
• How to introduce unified commerce
  
• Unified commerce case studies
  
• How Stripe Terminal can help
  

What is unified commerce?

Unified commerce is a system that completely integrates all sales routes, including physical stores, ecommerce sites, apps, and social media, and manages them in real time on a single platform.

Previously, businesses kept customer details, inventory, order history, and other data in separate channels; however, they are now able to manage everything in a common database, allowing access to the same information across all touchpoints and creating a smooth, personalized shopping journey.

Differences from omnichannel

Because they pursue similar goals, numerous businesses draw comparisons between omnichannel and unified commerce. Both aim to provide a cohesive customer experience through multiple channels. For example, shoppers can browse products at a physical store and then purchase them on the company’s ecommerce site, or place an order on the app and pick up the products at a store. Either approach makes buying journeys like those possible.

That said, their underlying mechanisms and record handling differ significantly. Due to its deeper integration and live capabilities, unified commerce builds on and advances the omnichannel model.

Let’s take a look at the specific differences:

The table above provides a general idea, but it might be difficult to visualize fully. Let’s take a look at the differences using more specific scenarios.

One day, a user sees a pair of shoes they like on their smartphone and decides to try them on before buying.

Under omnichannel:

The person is able to check shoe details on the webshop, but cannot confirm whether they are in stock at a nearby location. “I went all the way to the store, but they didn’t actually have it in stock!” is a scenario that might occur with omnichannel.

In this model, separate systems for brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce often lead to delays in confirming inventory and fulfilling orders.

Under unified commerce:

The user can see in real time how many pairs of shoes they found on the web and at which locations. They can also make an appointment to try them on and arrange for store pickup.

Furthermore, when the shopper visits the store, staff can use their past purchase history, sizes, preferences, and additional information to recommend products, such as “We have new items from the same brand as your last purchase,” or “We have a lighter model with a similar design to these shoes,” and these tailored suggestions create a closer relationship with the buyer.

The unified retail model enables a business to greatly improve support quality by centrally managing stock, touchpoints, and customer details.

Differences from OMO

Next, let’s take a look at how it differs from OMO (online-merge-offline). OMO is a marketing technique that easily connects digital and in-person experiences. It uses apps, social media, location data, shopper insights, and other resources to easily connect users’ online interests with in-store purchasing behavior.

OMO is similar to unified commerce, but differs in the following ways:

Since the table alone doesn’t tell the whole story, let’s examine the specific differences.

Under OMO:

A user found a new lipstick they liked on the brand’s official app. The app indicated that the item was available at a nearby location, so they went there.

Upon arrival, the shop’s signage played a promotional video for the lipstick. QR-coded coupons appeared on the in-store point-of-sale (POS) displays, allowing shoppers to scan them with the app and receive a 10% discount.

Before purchasing, they were able to ask the staff questions about the product, but the service was very standard. The goal of OMO is to link online interests with offline activities in a straightforward manner. However, assistance and the contents of the recommendations tend to be limited to one-time interactions.

Under unified commerce:

That same user found a new lipstick they liked on the brand’s official app. Since they hadn’t bought anything in a while, the app included a 20% discount coupon, a special offer sent to those who haven’t bought anything within a specific period. They wanted to use the coupon if something appealed.

The app displays messages such as “In stock at Store A, where you previously made purchases” and “This lipstick matches the Shade 10 foundation you purchased last time.” With the ability to make a reservation through the app and coupons in hand, the user proceeded to book a time and decided to pick up the lipstick at the location at a later date.

When the buyer visits the store, the associates already know which other cosmetics might interest them based on past orders, as well as their foundation shade, whether they have any coupons, and how long it has been since the last order. The staff recommended other lip colors that match the user’s preferences, the foundation previously bought, and the latest skincare products. They noted that the discount coupons apply to any item.

The strength of unified commerce lies in its ability to provide data-driven experiences and service by integrating customer details, stock, and purchase history in real time.

Background to the interest in unified commerce

The ever-increasing capabilities of smartphones, the evolution of social media, and the lifestyle changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in significant changes to buying patterns. In Japan, it has become quite common for shoppers to use multiple touchpoints to get a product, from information gathering to the actual purchase.

To effectively respond to such patterns, businesses need a setup that provides a consistent journey at every point of contact. Unified commerce is attracting interest because it centralizes systems and data between channels behind the scenes.

Advances in technology and increasingly complex customer behavior

With the advancement of technology, it has become straightforward to search for items on a smartphone and check out smoothly while away from home. Moreover, social commerce, which allows people to make purchases directly via social platforms such as Instagram Shop, is also expanding.

On the other hand, in Japan, there is still a strong buyer preference for handling and examining products in person before ordering, and many divide their shopping between digital and brick-and-mortar options depending on the situation.

Toward an era that demands consistency and personalization

A large share of customers now want and expect a smooth process and personalized services across all channels.

According to a survey performed by Adobe, about 60% of Japanese consumers say they expect a tailored shopping experience.

The unified retail model is gaining attention as a way to respond to increasingly complex purchasing behaviors and provide highly personalized shopping journeys. Providing the same high-quality experience through touchpoints while also tailoring responses to individual preferences and order history offers significant value because it improves satisfaction while also boosting the brand’s trustworthiness.

The advantages of introducing unified commerce

By adopting unified commerce, companies see not only improved revenue and customer experience but enhancements in operational efficiency and profitability. Let’s look at the advantages from a long-term perspective:

Reduced long-term operating costs

By managing selling routes, stock, and order information in a single platform, you can reduce inventory losses, labor expenses, and duplicated system management costs. In particular, companies running multiple locations or ecommerce sites can expect notable savings over time.

Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty

Providing personalized recommendations and support based on real-time integrated customer data helps boost satisfaction and increase repeat purchases. Such work leads to the creation of a loyal sales base that values your company and brand for years to come.

The challenges of introducing unified commerce

While the unified retail model offers numerous long-term advantages, it also presents short-term burdens and operational hurdles associated with its introduction. Understanding these points is fundamental for creating a successful implementation plan.

Initial investment is high

Development and migration costs are needed to integrate existing systems. The short-term expense burden will be substantial, so it is necessary to plan how the investment drives returns carefully. One effective way for reducing these costs is taking advantage of subsidies and grant programs offered by local and national governments.

Restructuring of operational systems and human resources

Under the new setup, processes and support methods must evolve, requiring internal training and a redesign of work steps. In particular, poor coordination between departments or weak data utilization skills could expose organizational shortcomings once the system is in place.

How to introduce unified commerce

Effectively adopting unified commerce doesn’t require transforming everything at once. The key to success lies in proceeding step by step, aligning with your company’s unique circumstances and resources.

Analyze the current situation and set goals

• Make sure that you understand current sales channels (stores, ecommerce sites, social media, etc.) and their operational status
  
• Visualize customer records, inventory figures, and order processing flows
  
• Ask “What kind of problems do we need to solve?” and “What kind of customer experience do we want to provide?”
  

Select the system to be adopted

For this model, it is important to select a system that centrally handles revenue and shopper details. Specifically, the following options are available.

• POS (point of sale) system: Manages store accounting and transaction data
  
• OMS (order management system): Coordinates orders (online or offline) from receipt to shipping
  
• CRM (customer relationship management) software: Records basic customer information and purchase history, and uses it to create customized responses
  
• Inventory management system: Provides a real-time understanding of inventory across all channels
  
• ERP (enterprise resource planning) system: Integrates key operations, including sales, stock, and accounting
  
• Payment integration solution: Connects in-store and web payments
  

System integration and operational design

• Integrate the selected systems to make live data sharing possible
  
• Consolidate inventory, buyer, and order records
  
• Build an environment where store staff and support agents refer to the same information
  
• Establish clear operational rules
  

Internal training and operations testing

• Train in-store teams and online support on how to use new systems and tools
  
• Conduct trial runs at select locations and products to identify any issues and areas for improvement
  
• Gather and reflect customer feedback and prepare for full-scale operation
  

Ultimately, the goal is to centrally manage sales channels, customer details, and inventory data, but it is not necessary to integrate everything from the outset. By gradually integrating and fine-tuning existing setups, businesses can implement unified commerce step by step while reducing the overall workload.

Unified commerce case studies

Up to this point, we have looked at the background and advantages of unified commerce, as well as the steps for integration. Let’s look at some case studies of companies that actually implemented it. What challenges did they face, how did they solve them, and what outcomes did they achieve? In this section, we will introduce specific examples and clearly explain the effects after deploying this approach.

Castlery

Let’s take a look at the furniture brand Castlery.

Challenge

Castlery operated both a physical and an online store, but after in-store checkouts, employees still had to enter shopper and payment information into the system manually. Returns could take up to two weeks to process, posing a challenge for customer satisfaction and staff workload.

Solution

The company introduced a process that enabled live integration of checkout and customer information between stores and the web. Instantly sharing purchase history and stock details eliminated duplicate administrative tasks.

After adopting this, the company achieved the following effects:

• Reduced return processing time from several weeks to just a few days
  
• Simplified administrative workflows, cutting most manual tasks
  
• Granted complete visibility into customer order history across online and offline channels, allowing for more personalized service and accurate recommendations
  
• Improved accuracy of accounting and inventory management, resulting in overall refinement of work efficiency
  

Traxero

Next, we’ll look at Traxero, which provides a software platform that simplifies operations such as dispatch coordination, vehicle tracking, and support for roadside assistance providers.

Challenge

Their old checkout system made it challenging to confirm transaction statuses and refund information for web and face-to-face tenders, hindering teams’ ability to understand situations in real time fully. As a result, there were issues around payment transparency and customer service.

Solution

Traxero launched an integrated platform that centralizes checkout and refund oversight, supporting both online and in-person transactions. The new setup went live successfully in just four weeks.

After adoption, they achieved the following effects:

• Live confirmation of transactions and refund status
  
• Reduced administrative processing time thanks to simplified payment management
  
• Improve speed and quality of response to shoppers
  
• Development uses fewer resources, yet teams can introduce new features quickly
  
• Overall improvement in the speed of work execution
  

As shown above, unified commerce can improve not just the cohesion of sales channels and payment methods but also the overall quality of business activities, including inventory management and customer service. When used appropriately, it serves as a powerful means to simultaneously improve operational efficiency and satisfaction.

Companies in the Japanese market that maintain brick-and-mortar locations and ecommerce sites face similar challenges and needs, and these overseas examples provide a powerful argument for considering the introduction of a unified retail model in Japan.

How Stripe Terminal can help

Stripe Terminal allows businesses to grow revenue with unified payments across in-person and online channels. It supports new ways to pay, simple hardware logistics, global coverage, and hundreds of POS and commerce integrations to design your ideal payments stack.

Stripe powers unified commerce for brands such as Hertz, URBN, Lands’ End, Shopify, Lightspeed, and Mindbody.

Stripe Terminal can help you:

• Unify commerce: Manage online and in-person payments on a global platform with unified payments data.
  
• Expand globally: Scale to 24 countries with a single set of integrations and popular payment methods.
  
• Integrate your way: Develop your own custom POS app or connect with your existing tech stack using third-party POS and commerce integrations.
  
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Learn more about Stripe Terminal, or get started today.