Imagine this. You scroll your Instagram feed, coffee in hand, when a video catches your eye. A sleek trench coat catches the autumn light perfectly—exactly what you need for your upcoming weekend getaway. You tap "Shop Now" without thinking twice.
An hour later, you are walking into Larkin's SoHo store to pick up the leather duffel bag you found online. The store associate greets you by name, mentions the coat you were browsing, and suggests a scarf that would complete the look perfectly.
That evening, back on your couch, you open the Larkin website. The homepage welcomes you personally and displays that same trench coat from this morning's Instagram scroll. One click later, it's ordered.
This isn't a fantasy. It's what happens when brands move beyond omnichannel to something far more powerful: unified commerce.
The Omnichannel Mirage
For years, we've been obsessed with omnichannel. Be everywhere your customers are. Connect your touchpoints. Break down silos. It was the right goal, but most brands fell short of the promise.
The reality? Most "omnichannel" experiences still feel disjointed. You browse online, but the store has no record of it. You call customer service, but they can't see your recent purchases. You get emails about products you bought last week. Each channel knows something about you, but none of them know everything.
We built bridges between channels, but we never unified them into a single, seamless experience.
Why This Matters Now
Customer expectations aren't just rising—they're being redefined by the brands doing this well. When someone experiences true unification with one company, every other interaction feels broken by comparison.
Consider what you experienced: personalized discovery, intelligent assistance, seamless store pickup, and frictionless online completion. More importantly, consider what you didn't experience: repeating information, irrelevant recommendations, or disjointed handoffs between channels.
The brands that master unified commerce won't just meet expectations—they'll reset them for entire industries.
The Business Case Is Compelling
Recent research from Adyen, an Astound partner, reinforces why unified commerce is essential:
- Cross-Channel Customer Expectations: 46% of Gen Z choose retailers that let them shop on social media, while 52% of consumers would be more loyal to a retailer if they were able to purchase an item that was out-of-stock in store and have it shipped directly to their home. Unified commerce delivers these seamless cross-channel experiences.
- AI-Powered Personalization: 36% of consumers have used ChatGPT or AI assistants to shop, and 63% of consumers understand that retailers use AI to help recommend products they might be interested in. Unified commerce enables AI to work across all touchpoints with complete customer context.
- Payment Performance Impact: 40% of customers will abandon a purchase if payment takes too long, while 53% of retailers don't agree that their transactions are processed quickly and without delays. Unified commerce ensures consistent, fast payment experiences across all channels.
- Loyalty and Personalization Gaps: 54% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands who give them discounts through loyalty programs, though 43% feel that loyalty programs rarely offer things they actually want. Unified commerce closes this gap by enabling truly personalized rewards based on complete customer understanding.
>> Learn more about how Adyen’s data and platform fuel the next wave of personalized commerce Adyen Index Report.
What Unified Commerce Actually Means
Unified commerce isn't just about connecting channels—it's about erasing the boundaries between them entirely.
When you see that Instagram ad, it wasn't a generic promotion. The system knew you’d been searching for weekend getaway inspiration and served you exactly what you needed, exactly when you needed it.
When you had a question about the duffel bag, the AI assistant didn't just answer—it checked real-time inventory at your local store and offered to reserve it. When the store associate pulled up your profile, they saw the entire journey: what you browsed, what you bought online, what brought you into the store that day.
Every interaction built on the previous one. Every touchpoint had complete context. The experience wasn't just connected—it was continuous.
The Technology That Makes It Possible
What changed? The rise of composable commerce architectures that let brands combine best-in-class solutions into unified experiences.
Your journey was powered by a network of specialized platforms: Fermat for shoppable social content, Algolia for intelligent search, Salesforce Einstein for AI-powered assistance, Adyen for seamless payments, and Forter for fraud protection. Each excelled at what they do best, but together they created something no single platform could deliver alone.
The magic wasn't in any one tool—it was in how they shared data and context in real-time. When you added items to your cart through social media, that information instantly flowed to the search engine, the AI assistant, the store systems, and the personalization engine. Every system learned from every interaction.
Building Your Unified Foundation
The path to unified commerce starts with a fundamental shift in thinking. Instead of asking "How do we connect our channels?" ask "How do we create one continuous experience?"
Start with your customer data. True unification requires a single, real-time view of each customer that every system can access and contribute to. This isn't just about combining databases—it's about creating a living profile that updates with every interaction.
Next, embrace composable architectures. The brands winning at unified commerce aren't building everything themselves—they're curating best-in-class solutions and orchestrating them into seamless experiences. The question isn't whether to build or buy—it's how quickly you can compose the right solutions for your customers.
Finally, think beyond transactions. Unified commerce isn't just about making it easier to buy—it's about creating experiences that customers genuinely value. When your AI assistant offered to reserve the bag at the local store, it wasn't just convenient—it was thoughtful. Those moments of unexpected helpfulness are what build lasting loyalty.
The Window Is Now
We're at an inflection point. The technology exists. Customer expectations are clear. The brands that act quickly will build sustainable advantages while others are still debating channel strategies.
The question isn't whether unified commerce will become the standard—it already is for the brands doing it well. The question is whether you'll lead this transformation or spend the next few years playing catch-up.
The journey from Instagram inspiration to seamless purchase wasn't powered by magic—it was powered by brands that decided to put customer experience above organizational convenience. They stopped thinking about channels and started thinking about customers.
Your customers are already living in a unified world. The only question is whether your brand will meet them there.
Ready to reimagine your customer journey? Let’s map what unified commerce could mean for your business. Connect with our team for a private advisory session