Unified payments: The backbone of your omnichannel strategy

When it comes to optimizing the shopping experience, we often focus on acquisition, content, or logistics. But there’s a crucial step in the process that is often overlooked—yet it can mean the difference between a seamless customer journey and operational chaos: the moment of payment.

In this session at LogiCommerce Connect 2025, the speaker explained how unified payments not only streamline transactions but become the backbone of an effective omnichannel strategy. Let’s break down the key takeaways.

ROPO: Research online, purchase offline

One of the most common and complex behaviors in omnichannel commerce is ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline). Consumers often explore products online but end up buying in-store—or vice versa.

This behavior makes it extremely difficult to trace sales and correctly attribute which channel influenced the purchase. Where did the customer journey begin? Where did it end? Which channel earned their trust? Answering these questions requires more than just technology—it demands true channel integration.

Are we truly omnichannel?

During the talk, a brief test was proposed for brands to self-assess:

• Do you have both a physical store and an online store?
• Does your customer journey start online?
• Can online customers return items in physical stores?
• Do you have cross-channel sales data?
• Do you correctly attribute your sales?

Very few attendees raised their hand more than twice. The data tells the story:

• 69% of Spanish retailers operate across both physical and digital channels.
• 81% of consumers begin their journey online.
• Only 37% of retailers allow online purchases to be returned in-store.
• Truly omnichannel brands sell 30% more.
• But only 44% can’t trace the true origin of a sale.

Conclusion: There’s still a long way to go.

Multichannel vs. omnichannel

One of the most common mistakes is confusing having multiple channels with having a real omnichannel strategy. In a multichannel model, each channel works independently. In an omnichannel strategy, all channels communicate and connect.

This isn’t just a marketing issue—it’s a technological and structural one. If your physical store and online shop use different checkouts and payment terminals, your systems won’t talk to each other. The result? Fragmented customer data, duplicated transactions, and inefficiencies in sales, returns, and attribution.

What role do payments play?

Payments should be the core of your omnichannel strategy, not an afterthought. A unified payment system enables you to:

• Identify the customer across any channel (store, online, mobile…).
• Correctly attribute sales.
• Offer real-time personalized experiences.
• Connect payment methods, devices, and touchpoints.
• Eliminate friction in the buying process.

Most importantly, it gives you a 360° view of the customer: what they buy, how they pay, where they are, their preferred payment methods, which products they combine, and more.

Real case: A fully connected beach experience

One of the most striking examples shared was a man-made beach in Casares (Málaga). It may sound far from the eCommerce world, but they’ve built an integrated omnichannel reservation system:

• You can book your sunbed online from home—even from another country.
• Upon arrival, you can switch your reservation without having to re-enter payment details.
• The payment terminal is fully connected to the system, allowing for personalized upsell offers like towels, drinks, or children’s packs.
• The entire journey—from purchase to experience—is integrated and centered around the user.

The result? Customers don’t remember how they paid. But they do remember the experience—and they come back. That’s the true success metric.

Bottom line: No unified payments, no omnichannel

If your eCommerce and physical store still rely on separate payment systems, your strategy is not omnichannel—it’s multichannel. And if your data isn’t connected, you’re missing out on sales, loyalty, and operational efficiency.

Payments are not the final step: they are the backbone of your entire business architecture. Unifying them means investing in customer insight, operational efficiency, and long-term growth.