Unified commerce: preparing for retail's next big leap

IGD’s 2025 online trends report covered the topic of unified commerce. For some, this might feel like a futuristic area of interest, especially given today's deeply complex and volatile trading environment. However, I'd argue it's a concept you need to be prepared for within the next 18 months.

Multichannel becoming omnichannel – quickly

Our report highlights the evolution from a multichannel to an omnichannel environment – one where retailers and suppliers have had to adapt rapidly to shifting shopper behaviours, driving business model and operational changes to meet those needs.

Yet, as my colleague Michaela Jay recently observed at Shoptalk Europe, the lines between shoppers and consumers are blurring, and the channels themselves are collapsing now at speed into a 'channel-less' commerce reality - where shoppers move fluidly between touchpoints, often without distinction between online and offline.

Integrating different parts of the business through technology, to create a seamless and unified experience for shoppers, therefore, remains challenging. We only need to look at recent struggles, such as Asda's move away from its legacy IT infrastructure or the disruptive impact of cyberattacks on M&S and Co-op, to see this in action.

There are huge benefits to combining different parts of a retailer's or supplier's operations to better serve shopper needs. At the heart of unified commerce is the intent to integrate the ‘backroom’ – the unseen infrastructure that drives efficiency and effectiveness across physical and digital stores, supply chain, operations, customer planning, and shopper insight.

Instead of operating with multiple siloed systems, this unified approach brings everything together, typically within a singular cloud-driven infrastructure, powered by a constant flow of shopper and business data, and enabled by AI.

The future is already here

Given the scale of digital transformation required, unified commerce is often discussed in the language of global technology integrators. This makes the topic feel vast, technical, and, at times, futuristic. However, it is already a reality.

We can look to the US for examples of unified commerce in action. Anyone who has read my posts on LinkedIn will know I'm a long-time admirer of Walmart and how, over the last decade, it has evolved its omnichannel proposition in line with its mission statement:

Walmart is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer helping people save money and live better-anytime and anywhere, in stores, online, and through their mobile devices.

In my mind, Walmart's focus on the seamless shopping experience took a fundamental step forward in January 2024, when Doug McMillon and his senior leadership team delivered a keynote speech at CES on its 'adaptive retail' thinking. At its core, they spoke about deeply embedding AI and technology across the business to deliver improved experiences for shoppers and associates, now and in the future.

In an especially insightful section presented by Suresh Kumar, Walmart's CTO, Walmart defined its concept of 'adaptive retail' as:

bringing the very best aspects of all channels to delight customers no matter how they like to shop.

In essence, Walmart isn't thinking separately about online or in-store – it is designing one adaptive, seamless experience for its customers.

This is unified commerce in a nutshell.

Being Walmart, it is moving quickly to implement these principles across its business –whether using AI in search to drive more natural and expansive product discovery in its Walmart+ app, reducing friction at Sam's Club exits through AI basket scanning, or making delivery easier through drones.

I would encourage you to watch its CES presentation and read its first State of Adaptive Retail report, published in July 2024, to get a sense of the scale of its ambition.

What are the implications of a move to unified commerce?

So, what does this mean for retailers and suppliers across grocery?

First, while I've talked here about Walmart's efforts, it is not the only one making headway. In our report, we highlighted several regional and global leaders including Tesco, Carrefour, and others who are demonstrating the shift to a unified commerce approach. 

At Shoptalk Europe, leading FMCG brands, like Nestlé, were also spotlighted for their pioneering work in this space. In fact, as Michaela noted, Nestlé is at the forefront of embracing a 'channel-less' mindset, where the boundaries between online and offline dissolve and every customer interaction is treated as part of a single, unified journey. This is a powerful example of how suppliers are driving unified commerce forward alongside their retail partners. You can't afford to be complacent; this technology-led approach is a global trend.

Secondly, unified commerce helps bring a single view of the shopper to your organisation, meaning you can better understand their motivations and journeys as they move across physical and digital environments. As Michaela points out, with shoppers always in 'shopper mode' and traditional funnels collapsing, businesses must create a virtuous cycle of data and personalisation – where better data enables more tailored offers, which in turn generates even richer insights and engagement. As a result, organisations need to conduct a structured review of what data is held where, and consider how it can be collated, centralised, and used within the parameters of GDPR.

Thirdly, aside from the technical infrastructure, unified commerce leans heavily on the use of AI to unlock decision making, insights and strategic planning. We saw these areas clearly in our March report on how AI is changing the food and grocery industry. While businesses will naturally focus on educating teams on how best to use the technology to drive efficiencies in these spaces, it is even more vital to put in place appropriate governance and ethics policies for the application of AI when using shopper or customer data.

Finally, retailer-supplier collaboration is the linchpin of success in the era of unified commerce. By jointly leveraging shared data, FMCG suppliers and retailers can co-create smarter ranging strategies, optimise promotional effectiveness, and ensure the right products are available at the right time and place for shoppers. At Shoptalk Europe, Nestlé and other FMCG leaders demonstrated how closer collaboration and shared digital transformation can unlock new value for both suppliers and retailers – enabling both to respond more swiftly to shopper dynamics and deliver truly seamless experiences. 

Through a greater leap in integration, automating data sharing and linking planning platforms would allow both parties to respond swiftly to shifting shopper dynamics, reducing out-of-stocks, and minimising loss – all while building a more customer-centric shopping experience.

Simple behaviours to prepare for what’s next

So, as the grocery sector accelerates toward unified commerce, the imperative for retailers and suppliers is clear: stay curious, ask questions, test and learn, and be open to change, as only through closer collaboration and shared digital transformation will they unlock the full potential of seamless, insight-driven shopping experiences. 

The next 18 months will belong to those who act decisively – transforming not just technology, but the entire way they work together to serve the shopper.

Want to learn more?

New to or curious about the omnichannel world? Interested in understanding the role it has in meeting shopper needs at a time and place of their choosing? It is increasingly important for those in commercial roles, including account managers, category managers and shopper marketers, to understand omnichannel’s role in grocery retailing today and where it can go tomorrow. If you want to know more, sign up for our virtual course about Success in an Omnichannel Market.