Retailers that still operate with a “store-first” mindset are falling behind. Shoppers no longer think in terms of aisles or apps—they move fluidly between digital discovery and physical purchase, often in the same shopping journey.
This disconnect between how customers behave and how retail teams are structured is creating friction, missed demand, and stalled growth.
Digital Influence Now Drives Total Retail Outcomes
Recent data shows digital touchpoints influence more than 70% of total retail sales, and a majority of overall growth comes from e-commerce and digitally assisted channels. Walmart, for example, continues to see strong performance in online grocery and pickup, fueled by its investment in digitally enabled operations.
Yet many organizations still separate merchandising, marketing, and inventory planning by channel. The result? Conflicting promotions, misaligned inventory, and fragmented customer experiences.
A Blueprint for Breaking Silos
To compete in a true omnichannel landscape, retailers must unify operations around the customer.
That means:
- Shared KPIs across store and digital teams
- One planning cadence for assortment, media, and promotions
- Cross-functional squads with merchants, retail media experts, and supply chain working side by side
Emma Curry’s conversation outlines how technology and team design can support this shift.
Key enablers include:
- A unified product catalog
- Privacy-safe identity resolution across touchpoints
- Blended attribution models that reward total customer value, not just channel wins
Culture Must Catch Up to Tech
Finally, even the best tech stack won’t fix a fragmented culture. Teams must be incentivized to optimize for total customer experience—availability, price transparency, speed, and satisfaction. The retailers that move now will gain agility, loyalty, and share.
Those that wait risk becoming irrelevant as digitally native brands move faster and think holistically.
