What: Bain and Aptos’ research reveals that meeting consumers' demand for a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels is a top priority for retailers and brands.

Why it is important: Retailers and brands that invest in technology to deliver a seamless experience experience higher profitability and sales growth than their peers. However, few companies have a clear roadmap for implementing unified commerce.

Integration of back-end and in-store technology is desired, but physical stores are not yet ready for this integration. Retailers are more likely to succeed when they align the entire organization and use data analytics to understand customer preferences across physical and digital channels.

The report highlights the importance of offering in-demand services such as buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) and ship from store, but it also emphasizes the need to ensure a seamless customer experience, as customers are likely to abandon their purchases if they encounter gaps or disruptions.

Unified commerce: key to profitability and sales growth, according to Bain and Aptos study