Unified Commerce isn’t a buzzword, it’s a wake-up call

1. Unified Commerce ≠ Omnichannel

Let’s get one thing straight. Omnichannel is what brands built to connect their systems. Unified commerce is what brands must build to replace them.

Omnichannel means you allow the customer to buy online and return in-store. Unified commerce means the stock is truly shared, and the system knows that in real time.

Omnichannel means your app shows loyalty points. Unified commerce means those points are actually calculated consistently across every channel.

Think of omnichannel as duct tape. Unified commerce is a rebuild.

Most retailers are still duct taping.

2. Where most retailers get it wrong

I’ve been called into too many projects where the brand thinks they’re “doing unified commerce.” They’re not.

They’ve just connected systems that don’t talk the same language. Here are three common signs:

• You have different product data in store vs online. The PIM, ERP, and CMS aren't aligned. Your store staff is Googling your own site to find product specs.
• You have different pricing rules by channel. Discounts get manually set in POS. Promo codes only work online. And no one knows which price is the “real one.”
• You fake inventory visibility. Your site says “available” because it should be. Not because it really is. And customers find out when it’s too late.

At one of our clients, we saw firsthand what happens when store and online stock aren’t synced. A client buys a coat online, selects pickup in store, only to arrive and discover the item was sold 10 minutes earlier.

The issue wasn’t the employee. It was the system. Two sales channels. One broken promise.

3. Unified Commerce is a system design problem

Let’s break unified commerce down into real components, not philosophy. Here’s what it actually means.

A. One customer profile

• Whether I’m browsing as a guest or logged in, the system should recognize me.
• My store purchases, newsletter engagement, returns, loyalty status, all in one profile.
• That profile should be usable across CRM, marketing, customer service, and the store app.

Still using different IDs per channel? You’re not ready.

B. One product catalog

• Your PIM isn’t just for ecommerce.
• It should power store screens, POS, customer service consoles, and product detail pages.
• Titles, descriptions, attributes, images, all sourced from a single reference.

For a fashion brand, we launched with a single PIM powering both B2C and B2B catalog content. It avoided the chaos of reworking product data for every front.

C. One price logic

• No more “POS has different promo logic than my Ecom CMS.”
• Pricing rules, including B2B tiered pricing, bundles, discounts, should be stored once and read by all systems.

If the discount engine isn’t shared, the experience won’t be either.

D. One stock truth

• Store, warehouse, click & collect, supplier: all should feed into a live stock engine.
• I should know not just if the item is available, but where and when I can get it.

We implemented this for a large B2B client on Shopify Plus. They had to allocate 80% of stock to specific resellers. The remaining 20% was free stock, visible to both B2B and DTC portals. We made it work with a custom OMS layer + metafield tagging.

That’s unified commerce.

E. One checkout brain

• Whether I buy online, in-store, by phone, or via WhatsApp, the order flow must behave the same.
• Same rules. Same fraud checks. Same shipping logic.

For one of our clients, we designed a flow where B2B clients could reserve, quote, pay later, even in store, using the same approval engine. The sales rep didn’t need to “call HQ.” They were the channel.

F. One support logic

• When I call support, I shouldn’t have to explain what happened in-store.
• When I return an online item in-store, the refund logic should be automatic.
• When I ask for my purchase history, it should show every touchpoint.

If your Zendesk agent can't see what happened on your POS, you’re leaking experience (and margin).

4. Real-world wins and pain points

What worked:

For a client, we went from siloed channels to a Shopify Plus stack where:

• Stores, online, and global markets were reconciled via crossborder + OMS.
• Prices and metafields were synced across all frontends.
• Store pickup logic was rebuilt from scratch.

It wasn’t smooth. But it worked because leadership treated tech as part of the brand, not just cost.

What Didn’t:

For a luxury brand, they had a beautiful DTC site. But stock was reserved in a WMS that wasn’t connected to POS. Outcome?

Their best clients couldn’t get their hands on key SKUs. The flagship had 4 pieces in backstock. Online said sold out. The loyalty was real. The system was not.

5. Your next steps: a unified action plan

Here’s what I tell every client who wants to “do unified commerce.”

Step 1: Map your truth sources

• Who owns the truth for product, price, stock, customer, order?
• Are these truths stored in one place?

Step 2: Simplify tech, don’t add more

• Don’t add a customer data platform if you haven’t unified identity.
• Don’t build a fancy OMS if your stores don’t scan barcodes properly.

Step 3: Fix stock at the root

• Most unified commerce fails because inventory logic is broken.
• Build a stock truth layer. Then expose it to all systems.

Step 4: Make store teams part of the equation

• They aren’t “just a channel.” They’re part of the experience.
• Train, equip, and involve them in the tech roadmap.

Step 5: Choose battle-tested partners

• Choose vendors that understand complexity, not just features.
• Avoid solutionism. Choose integration maturity.

6. Unified Commerce is a discipline, not a feature

You don’t "implement" unified commerce. You build it. Over time. With the right architecture. And a leadership team that values clarity over comfort.

I’ve seen clients get it right, and it’s not because of their budget. It’s because of their mindset.

If you're leading an eecommerce brand right now, ask yourself:

• Do we actually share data between store and online?
• Can we fulfill promises in real time, not “after reconciliation”?
• Would a customer feel the difference if we unplugged a channel?

If the answer is no, you’ve got work to do. But it’s worth it.

Because the brands that win in 2025 won’t be the ones with the most features. They’ll be the ones that keep the few promises that matter. And keep them every time.