What is the difference between Omni Channel and multichannel retailing?

Major differences between Omnichannel and Multichannel retailing are

Omnichannel retailing: Omnichannel retailing is a kind of retailing/ marketing and a multichannel sales approach providing the customer integrated shopping experience. The modes of shopping can be online from any device such as a desktop or mobile device through phone or in any of the offline stores. Whatever the mode of shopping is, the experience will be seamless. The main aim of the omnichannel approach is to give the customers a consistent as well as unified experience at every point of shopping. This means the customer is at the center of focus in this approach.

This is done by interrelating every possible channel to communicate and engage with customers so that they can have a satisfying experience with the brand. Omnichannel retailing is much more consistent than multichannel retailing. It aims to give the same experience and comfort to the customers through every channel the company uses. It is completely based on involving data to analyze where effort exists in the experience of customers and how to eradicate it. It aims to have a diligent name and brand image for a long interval of time.

Multichannel retailing: Multichannel retailing can be considered as the process of retailing which involves the ability to interact with more and more potential customers on all possible platforms. Multichannel retailing involves channels like a printed advertisement, a retail location, a website, a promotional event, a product’s package, word-of-mouth and so on. Multi means many, this means, the focus is on the number of channels involved to interact with the customer and not the customer himself.

It works on the principle of getting the hold of a maximum number of channels. It focuses on establishing the widest network of channels to grab the attention of maximum customers. The most widely used channels are social media and email. They mainly focus on the engagement of the customers through consistent or non-consistent methods. This method of retailing may or may not be consistent and has the freedom to use various channels differently. As the focus is to establish a network, they may choose as many channels (giving some channels more importance than others) for publicity purposes.