A customer can learn about a product online, try it in the store and decide to buy it later. The path does not always follow the internal organization of the company. If the channels do not communicate, the person encounters different information and has to start over each time.
Omnichannel retail can be read as continuity of service across multiple points of contact. For a fashion company, this involves concrete questions: is the product indicated as available really found? Does the information on sizes and materials match? Can staff explain how an order started online works?
Consistency does not imply that each channel must perform all functions. A store can offer trial and support; a site can facilitate search and comparison. It is necessary to make the transition between these functions understandable, avoiding promises that the structure cannot keep.
A hypothetical example is online booking for in-store testing. The service works if the reservation arrives at the correct location, the product is reserved and the customer receives confirmation. Inserting a button on the site is only the first step.
To evaluate the result I propose to observe errors of availability, repeated requests, response times and purchases completed along different routes. OECD research on SMEs provides a picture of the opportunities and difficulties of digital transformation; service design remains a specific choice of the enterprise.