Ecommerce Trends: What Matters as Much as Tech to Get Omnichannel Experiences Right

Omnichannel Is No Longer Optional for Retail Leaders

If there is one theme dominating conversations in retail boardrooms across North America right now, it is omnichannel. For years, the term was treated as an aspirational buzzword — something brands would "get to eventually." In 2026, that moment has arrived, and the retailers who have not acted are feeling the gap widen between themselves and their competitors.

According to data from Digital Commerce 360's Top 1000 Database, an impressive 85.9% of top retail chains offered some form of omnichannel fulfillment option in 2025. That number alone tells a story: the industry has shifted decisively toward blended physical and digital commerce. But what is perhaps even more interesting is what is driving genuine customer satisfaction within those omnichannel models — and the answer goes well beyond the technology itself.

What Omnichannel Fulfillment Looks Like in Practice

Before diving into the human and experiential factors that make or break omnichannel execution, it is worth grounding ourselves in what these fulfillment models actually look like on the ground. The most commonly deployed options among leading retail chains include:

• Curbside pickup: Customers place orders online and collect them from the parking lot without entering the store. This option surged in popularity during the pandemic and has retained a loyal following among convenience-minded shoppers.
• Buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS): Perhaps the most widely adopted format, BOPIS allows shoppers to browse and purchase digitally while collecting their items in person — often the same day. It eliminates shipping costs and wait times while driving in-store foot traffic that can generate additional purchases.
• Real-time in-store stock visibility: Retailers sharing live inventory data across online channels so shoppers can check whether a product is available locally before making the trip. This reduces wasted journeys and builds trust in the brand's digital experience.

These are not cutting-edge innovations anymore — they are baseline expectations. The differentiator in 2026 is how well retailers execute them and what they layer on top.

What the Data Says: Lessons from Academy Sports, Kohl's, and Others

Some of the most instructive case studies in omnichannel execution right now come from brands like Academy Sports and Outdoors and Kohl's. Academy Sports has been tightening its fulfillment data-awareness across channels, ensuring that inventory signals, order management, and customer touchpoints are all working from the same real-time information. This kind of cross-channel data coherence is critical — without it, promises made online cannot be kept in-store, and that erosion of trust is extremely difficult to recover from.

Kohl's, meanwhile, has been focused on reducing friction within its omnichannel journey. Friction — any moment where a customer hits an unexpected delay, a confusing process, or a broken promise — is the enemy of repeat business. Kohl's is finding that small, strategic improvements to the handoff between digital ordering and physical pickup can meaningfully improve customer sentiment scores and loyalty metrics.

These examples reflect a broader truth: the retailers winning at omnichannel are not simply those with the most sophisticated technology. They are the ones building systems where technology serves a seamlessly human experience.

Beyond Technology: The Human Factors That Drive Positive Experiences

This is where the conversation gets particularly compelling. A March 2026 consumer survey conducted by Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights — gathering responses from 1,005 online shoppers — explored not only which omnichannel fulfillment services consumers used most, but more importantly, what actually contributed to positive experiences. And the findings point firmly toward factors that no tech stack can manufacture on its own.

What shoppers consistently valued included clarity of communication throughout the order and pickup process, staff knowledge and helpfulness when they arrived in store, accurate and honest inventory information, and speed of the actual pickup transaction. None of these are purely technological outcomes. They are the result of well-trained staff, strong operational processes, a culture of accountability, and genuine investment in the last mile of the customer journey — the in-person moment.

This matters enormously for how retailers should be thinking about their omnichannel investments. It is tempting to treat omnichannel as primarily a technology problem — to buy the right platform, integrate the right APIs, and consider the job done. But if the associate handing over the BOPIS order is uninformed, unhelpful, or simply absent, the entire digital experience collapses at the final step.

Building an Omnichannel Strategy That Lasts

So what does a well-rounded omnichannel strategy look like in 2026? The most effective approaches tend to share several characteristics:

• Unified data infrastructure: Inventory, orders, and customer data flowing seamlessly across all channels in real time. No silos, no lag, no contradictions between what the website says and what the store has.
• Staff training and empowerment: Store associates who understand the omnichannel options available, can troubleshoot common issues, and are empowered to solve problems on the spot without escalating every query.
• Transparent communication: Proactive notifications at every stage of the fulfillment journey — confirmation, preparation, ready for pickup, and follow-up. Customers who feel informed feel respected.
• Frictionless physical handoffs: Dedicated pickup zones, clear signage, minimal wait times, and a process that respects the customer's time once they arrive.
• Continuous feedback loops: Mechanisms for gathering and acting on customer feedback specific to omnichannel transactions, so the experience improves iteratively over time.

The Competitive Imperative Going Forward

The retail landscape of 2026 rewards retailers who understand that omnichannel success is a product of both operational discipline and genuine customer empathy. Technology is the enabler, but it is not the experience itself. The brands gaining the most ground are those who have closed the gap between what they promise digitally and what they deliver physically.

With 85.9% of top retail chains already offering some form of omnichannel fulfillment, the conversation has moved past adoption. The question today is execution quality — and the retailers who treat it as a human challenge as much as a technical one are the ones building durable competitive advantages that are much harder to replicate than any software platform.

For retailers still refining their approach, the data is clear: invest in your people, your processes, and your communication just as seriously as you invest in your technology. That is where the real omnichannel experience lives.