Omnichannel Selling Explained: What It Really Means to Sell Everywhere

20 min read

For business owners, selling online has changed dramatically in recent years. It’s no longer enough just to have a website because consumers shop literally everywhere—on social media, marketplaces, in-person, on apps, and more.

To stay ahead of the curve, you must use multiple channels to sell your products and services. That’s where omnichannel selling comes in handy. Read on to learn what it is, how it benefits business owners, and what you can do to leverage selling on multiple platforms.

What Is Omnichannel Selling?

Omnichannel, or multichannel, selling is the practice of leveraging multiple sales channels simultaneously to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience across all touchpoints. These channels include online stores, physical stores, social media platforms.

Simply put, you want to sell everywhere your customers shop, as we like to say here at Ecwid by Lightspeed. By taking advantage of the multichannel approach, businesses can increase their customer base and maximize profits.

Let’s see how it works in real life.

Think about something you’ve bought recently. Maybe you were inspired by a TikTok video or found a product on Pinterest and followed the link to the brand’s website. But you didn’t have time to buy it or thought you could find a better deal. After work, you stopped by the store or searched for the product on eBay or Amazon to compare prices and read customer reviews. So many places to buy the same product from!

Your customers make their purchases through many different channels. They shop on websites, social media, in apps, brick and mortar stores, and online marketplaces. As a business owner, this means that whatever you’re selling should be available to your customers in a variety of locations to maximize the possibility of a purchase.

Benefits of Omnichannel Selling

By providing customers with multiple channels of access to your products, you make it easier for them to purchase what they need.

Here are some other benefits of omnichannel selling:

Increase brands reach and visibility by having a presence on multiple platforms, such as Facebook, Amazon, and your website.
Boost customer satisfaction by letting people shop on their preferred channel.
Grow sales by reaching customers on more platforms.
Gain valuable insights into customer behavior by tracking how they interact with different channels.

Challenges of Multichannel Selling

Multichannel selling can be a great strategy for businesses of any niche. However, it does have its challenges.

Selling on several channels at once means managing all those channels at the same time. That can become overwhelming. You need to keep track of your inventory, orders, and customer questions in multiple places at once. You don’t want to sell your whole inventory through Instagram or a physical store only to discover that your Amazon customers are still waiting for their orders.

While large businesses have resources to manage several selling platforms effectively, small businesses often opt out of omnichannel selling because they simply don’t have enough time and manpower to handle it. However, without omnichannel selling, businesses have a harder time reaching more customers and growing their business.

Omnichannel Selling Made Simple for Any Business

As the saying goes, “You can’t be in two places at once.” Here at Ecwid by Lightspeed, we reject that statement. We want to help you be everywhere at once because that’s exactly what our software was designed to do.

Our technology optimizes a multitude of ways to sell online and in-person using a single inventory. With Ecwid, you can serve your customers anywhere and everywhere they are from a single dashboard.

With Ecwid by Lightspeed, you set up an online store once and then add it to as many platforms as you want. No need to create a separate store for each platform!

For example, you can create an online store and add it to a website, Facebook, Instagram, Google Shopping, and Amazon to sell on all those places simultaneously. Your inventory and sales are synced across all platforms. You can then manage every channel from one place—your Ecwid dashboard.

With the right tools, omnichannel selling can be profitable and effortless, no matter the size of your business. Here’s how you benefit when you sell everywhere with Ecwid by Lightspeed:

Save time and effort. You don’t need to spend hours on different platforms because you can manage everything from one dashboard.
Prevent overselling. Your inventory is synced across channels so you don’t need to worry about selling too much of an item.
Get more customers. Reach your potential customers on multiple selling channels without putting in more effort.
Grow sales. Selling across multiple platforms increases your chances of making a sale.

How to Easily Sell Everywhere

Here at Ecwid by Lightspeed, we’ve made managing multiple sales channels as easy as checking your email. Curious? Read on to learn about some of the different ways you can sell with Ecwid, then give it a try for yourself!

Sell on a Free Ecommerce Website

The moment you sign up with Ecwid, you’ll be given a free website to sell your products. We call it the “Instant Site.” It is designed to be a stepping stone to easily launch your online presence with minimal cost and effort.

You can customize your Instant Site’s template with your own cover images, text, and information about your business, like your story, testimonials, business hours, address, contact details, and social links. You decide on the content and we’ll automatically format it to look great on your customer’s screen.

An example of an ecommerce website set up with Ecwid Instant Site

Open a Facebook Store

Selling your products on a website with 2.9 billion monthly active users sounds awesome, doesn’t it? In fact, the average Ecwid merchant with synchronized stores receives 15% of their sales from Facebook. Take your Facebook selling to the next level by opening a Facebook storefront.

A Facebook Shop powered by Ecwid

If you set up your Facebook store with Ecwid, your customers can shop directly from your business page and go through the checkout from any device. Getting your product catalog on Facebook also gives you the opportunity to advertise specific products with powerful marketing tools like Dynamic Ads and the Facebook pixel.

It only takes a few minutes to create a Facebook store. It’s also a great option as a standalone channel if you haven’t created a website yet.

Sell on Instagram

Instagram is a profitable platform for businesses thanks to its visual format and active audience. But there’s no easy way to convert a follower into an actual paying customer without using Shoppable Tags. This Instagram feature encourages purchases by allowing users to buy products featured in your Instagram content by tapping a special shopping tag. The user stays on Instagram during checkout, and the whole purchase process happens in just a few clicks.

Ecwid’s integration with Instagram allows you to connect your Ecwid product catalog with your Instagram business profile and tag products (just like you’d tag people) in your posts, stories, reels, etc. Users can use those tags to purchase products. Make your Instagram feed sell for you—it just takes a couple of minutes to set up.

An example of a shoppable Instagram reel

Sell on TikTok

TikTok is exceptionally popular and helps businesses reach a wide audience. The app provides users with creative tools such as video editing designed to promote content, allowing businesses to create engaging videos while increasing their reach at the same time.

Another great thing about TikTok is that products can go viral, just like songs, trends, or filters. Check out #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag—it has billions of views in the app.

TikTok is ranked number one globally for ad equity. That means, users find ads on the app valuable thanks to platform-specific ad formats that allow you to promote your products and services in an organic way.

With Ecwid by Lightspeed, you can make the most of advertising on TikTok by having your product catalog and TikTok for Business account synced. That enables you to run more effective ad campaigns. For example, display ads that show a specific product to people that were looking at the same item on your website.

An example of a TikTok ad that features a product

Learn how to advertise your Ecwid store on TikTok.

Sell on Amazon, eBay, or Walmart

Giant online marketplaces provide business owners with a large and ready-to-buy audience. While a standalone ecommerce website works great for building your brand, including your products on Amazon, eBay, and/or Walmart is a chance to sell on an already trusted platform with a developed infrastructure.

With the apps from the Ecwid App Market (M2E Multichannel Connect, Channable, or Koongo), Ecwid sellers can make the most of selling on popular online marketplaces. Sell on eBay, Amazon, or Walmart right from your Ecwid account. Keep your inventory synced with your other channels. Test selling on big marketplaces without ever leaving your Ecwid admin.

Sell on Google Shopping

Google Shopping allows businesses to list products on Google Search and Google Shopping results pages. With this service, you can create product listings that appear alongside Google search engine results when a user searches for relevant keywords.

The integration between Ecwid and Google (powered by Kliken) allows you to easily advertise on Google. Google recently updated their advertising features, like Smart Shopping campaigns and product listings, to make advertising even more successful. You’ll be able to reach more customers right where the product search happens—on Google.

Listing products on the Google Shopping tab helps to reach more store visitors

Learn more about listing your Ecwid products on Google Shopping.

Sell on Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger live chat allows you to connect with your customers on one of the most popular chat apps. In fact, over 900 million people communicate with friends and brands through the Messenger app every month.

Offering to talk through Facebook Messenger improves customer service and creates a personal connection with your audience. You can answer customers’ questions, help them choose the right product, give advice on how to use your product, and/or recommend other items based on their needs.

Offering customer care through Facebook Messenger live chat improves potential customers’ experience because:

Most online shoppers would rather send a message than call customer service.
Being able to chat with a business helps customers feel more confident about a brand.

With Ecwid by Lightspeed, you can connect your store to Facebook Messenger and add live chat to your site in just a few clicks. Customers will be able to start a chat right from the product pages on your website. Any conversations will be saved in their Facebook Messenger inboxes for later.

Read more about using Facebook Messenger live chat in your Ecwid store.

Facebook Messenger live chat helps you make more recommendations to your customers

Add “Buy Now” Buttons to Your Blog or Webpage

A “Buy Now” Button is a fast and flexible option to sell your products. It helps you get products in front of customers by easily adding a button to anywhere on a website.

You can place a “Buy Now” button on:

A landing page
A blog
A sidebar
Your homepage
Partner websites

When customers click a “Buy Now” Button, they are instantly taken to the checkout. There, they can choose from various payment options and shipping methods.

The “Buy Now” button in the sidebar

You can customize the look of the “Buy Now” button by adding frames and choosing which fields are displayed, like the price, quantity, etc. The color scheme of your smart button will automatically match your website and flow seamlessly with your company branding.

Adding a “Buy Now” Button is no harder than embedding a YouTube video. Simply copy and paste the code to any spot on your website.

Turn Your Online Store into a Mobile App

A native mobile app under your brand name is a unique sales channel available in Ecwid. It’s fully responsive and works on every mobile device. With an app, your customers will always have your store right in their pockets, perfect for the quickly growing market of mobile shoppers.

An example of a shopping app created with Ecwid

Having your mobile app available on the App Store and Google Play brings your business closer to your customers than ever before. The app also encourages customers to make a repeat purchase as your store is literally at their fingertips.

Sell on Pinterest

Unlike most social platforms that thrive on influencers and conversations, Pinterest exists solely to inspire. And regular Pinners use the platform to plan for some of life’s biggest moments—including the purchases they make for those moments.

If you want to get in front of shoppers at the exact moment they’re looking to be inspired by products like yours, Pinterest is a no-brainer.

What’s more, unlike other platforms, Pinterest users don’t mind seeing branded pins while they’re exploring the platform. In fact, most Pinners even find it helpful if the branded content is related to the inspiration they’re seeking.

With Ecwid by Lightspeed, you can leverage advertising on Pinterest with the Pinterest Tag. You’ll be able to promote your products to previously engaged store visitors and adjust your ad campaigns to make the most of the platform.

“Pinterest accounts for 90 percent of my social media traffic.” — Selena Robinson, founder of “Look! We’re Learning!” educational e-goods

Learn more: Run More Effective Ads With Pinterest Tag for Your Ecwid Store

Sell on Snapchat

When it comes to engaging younger audiences, Snapchat knows how. 71% of Snapchat users visit the platform multiple times per day, with the average user opening their app 20 times for a total of 30 minutes of engagement.

Snapchat ranks as the twelfth most popular social network in the world (Resource: Statista)

If you’re looking for new advertising channels to grow your business and your target audience includes teens and young adults, Snapchat might just be your answer.

And to top it off, Snapchat is still a relatively untapped resource. Many marketers turn to Instagram Stories for similar solutions, making advertising on Snapchat fairly competition-free.

To make your ads more effective on Snapchat and enhance your ability to find the right audience, add Snap Pixel to your online store. The Snap Pixel will help you run remarketing ads, optimize ad performance, and find more people like your customers to engage with through your ads.

If you’re on Ecwid, all you have to do to claim your Pixel is copy and paste the code into your Ecwid Control Panel. Best of all, the integration is available on all Ecwid plans—including our Free plan.

Learn more: Sell on Snapchat with the Snapchat Pixel for Ecwid

Add a Storefront to an Existing Website

You can add an Ecwid store to any existing website, whether it’s built on WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Joomla, Weebly, or something else entirely. Even with a custom website it only takes seconds to plug in a new Ecwid store.

An example of an Ecwid store added to a WordPress website

Your Ecwid store will come ready with all the features you need to sell online:

A rich storefront: photo gallery, detailed product descriptions, and convenient product options
100+ payment methods
Multiple shipping services with an automated calculator for shipping costs
Automated tax calculation
Marketing tools like coupons, sale prices, automated marketing emails, Facebook and Google Ads, etc.
Access to Ecwid App Market with 160+ ecommerce apps and more

Sell In-Person

Over 50% of your customers expect you to sell both online and offline. Maximize your revenue opportunities by creating both an online store and physical points of sale.

With Ecwid, it’s convenient to sell your products on-the-go, like at craft fairs, marketplaces, or even a pop-up store. Accept cash and update your sales list using Ecwid’s Sell on the Go app for iOS.

Make selling even easier when you accept credit cards at your brick-and-mortar store with one of our point of sale (POS) integrations. Ecwid offers integrations with different POS, including Lightspeed Retail (X-Series), Clover, Square POS. Syncing your Ecwid store with your POS systems helps you keep inventory in sync in your physical location and your online store.

Manage Your Sales from Anywhere

No matter how many sales channels you use, managing your store with Ecwid is always fast and easy. For convenient access to your Ecwid admin from anywhere, download the Ecwid mobile app for iOS and Android to manage your orders and inventory, upload product pictures from your smartphone, launch and control special offers, and much more.

Omnichannel shopping is more than just another trend: it’s the present and future of the retail industry. It comes down to understanding where and how your customers like to shop and providing them with a seamless shopping experience that gives them access to your products at the right time and through the right channels.

Create your Ecwid account and start serving your customers better with a new omnichannel strategy.

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Selling Online

Feb 23, 2023

About the author

Anastasia Prokofieva is a content writer at Ecwid. She writes about online marketing and promotion to make entrepreneurs’ daily routine easier and more rewarding. She also has a soft spot for cats, chocolate, and making kombucha at home.