The importance of Omnichannel in terms of marketing strategies and a research

With the increasing presence of technology in human life, the fact that mobile phones have become an indispensable part of life and the desired information can be easily accessed, the expectations of the customers from the enterprises have changed in this direction, and the companies have required the need to differentiate the usual shopping models and marketing strategies in order to be present in the market. Nowadays, consumers desire to compare the product they want to buy from their personal tablets with equivalent products and add them to the shopping card, go to the physical store and review the product, make changes in the basket on their mobile phone, purchase the product, easily follow the order from the phone, store or customer service and communicate again from all channels for change. Therefore, regardless of which means customers are using, they want to access the same information from all channels and receive the same and consistent service and experience an uninterrupted and flexible experience. The evolution of marketing starts with marketing 1.0. Marketing 2.0, marketing 3.0, marketing 4.0, respectively, existed in their own periods, and ultimately, the effects of marketing 5.0 are now seen today. Marketing 1.0 is product oriented, marketing 2.0 is customer oriented, marketing 3.0 is value oriented. Since marketing 4.0, the focus has been on virtual marketing. Marketing 5.0, in other words, internet of things marketing, refers to a powerful and brand new type of connective marketing where product, consumer, human and digital are all in focus, as opposed to an approach independent from all other marketing phases. Marketing 5.0 has five components. These are respectively; data-driven marketing, agile marketing, predictive marketing, contextual marketing, and augmented marketing. Channels refer to the point where the consumer communicates with the business or the media (means) in which the consumer interacts with the business. Businesses primarily tried to reach consumers through a single channel. With the development of electronic commerce, a consumer group who researches and shoppers has been formed. It is called multichannel marketing strategy for retailers to be active in multiple channels to reach these consumers. In the multichannel marketing era, businesses reach consumers through multiple and various channels. However, these channels are not interconnected. The strategy in which the consumer benefits from the opportunities of each channel by increasing the level of integration in order to make effective sales channels even more efficient is the crosschannel marketing strategy. Crosschannel is the next version of the multichannel marketing strategy. However, in this marketing strategy, there is not a complete harmony between the channels used by the company. The omnichannel marketing strategy, derived from the Latin word "omnis", refers to the transition of businesses to an integrated channel structure. Consumers can use multiple contact points and channels at the same time, unlimitedly, between contact points and channels during shopping. Omnichannel retailing is a management model in which all channels are integrated, aiming to provide consumers with a comprehensive and unlimited shopping xvii experience. The fact that the distinction between channels seen in the multichannel marketing strategy is not observed in the omnichannel marketing strategy allows the consumer to move freely in all channels in a single shopping process. The most important factor that provides this opportunity is to manage the channels from a single point and enable the consumer to interact with the brand instead of the channel. Omnichannel is defined as a complex system with a high level of integration. The existence of various stock holding areas between channels and the continuous flow of products and information make the level of interaction high and the system complex. On the other hand, the high level of compliance helps the system to reorganize itself. Webrooming is when the consumer first researches and compares the product he/she wants to buy in virtual stores and then completes the purchase from physical stores. Showrooming is a shopping research where consumers obtain information from physical stores but often purchase through other sales channels, such as online channels. Click & Collect strategy is defined as the customer being able to receive the product purchased from a physical store that the retailer wants after online shopping. In-store ordering is the online search and ordering service in the physical store environment. The omnichannel strategy provides a synergy between channels by complementing the shortcomings of some channels with the strengths of other channels. Channels can be transformed into a competitive strategy by creating an integrated structure only by assimilating some approaches. These are integration of channels, mobile channels, customer focus, providing personalized experiences, creating interactive contact points, consumer satisfaction across channels, and adding new roles to traditional stores. In order to develop a good omnichannel marketing strategy, the customer path must be seen by marketers in a more granular plane. They need to map all possible touchpoints and channels across the five As. Consumers experience many possible touchpoints and channel combinations, so marketers identify the most preferable of these combinations. The omnichannel marketing strategy focuses on all of these most preferred channels. The first step to develop an omnichannel marketing strategy is to map all possible channels and contact points. The next step is to identify the most important touchpoints and channels. The third and final step is to improve and integrate the most important touchpoints and channels. Omnichannel marketing strategy has seven sub-dimensions. These are in-store availability, delivery, returns, channel integration, smooth online experience, loyalty programs and customer service. All these dimensions were also used in the research part of the study and some findings were obtained. The advantages of the omnichannel strategy are divided into two parts: the advantages it provides to companies and the advantages it provides to customers. As well as advantages, there are also some difficulties caused by the omnichannel marketing strategy to companies and customers. Technological investments and change are examples. xviii There are many brands that have introduced omnichannel marketing strategy in Turkey. In the study, firstly, an example with more than one brand from the fashion industry is given. Afterwards, there are many brands such as Aras Kargo, Boyner, CarrefourSA, D&R, DeFacto, Domino's Pizza, Flo, Gratis, IKEA, Karaca, Kiğılı, Koçtaş, LC Waikiki, Mavi, Migros, Mudo, Opet, Taç, Teknosa, Yapı Kredi and Yataş Group and innovations they have made. The leading institutions of the banking sector and their innovations are also included. Many brands that dominate the omnichannel marketing strategy in the world have also been included in this study. Apple, Clinique, Harrods, Disney, Chipotle, Starbucks, Amazon Go, Oasis, Sephora, Macy's and Zara are some of these examples. The innovations of these brands and especially their studies on omnichannel marketing strategy have been examined. Innovations in communication tools and technology are among the most important factors affecting retailing today. These innovations also benefit omnichannel retailing. Barcode scanners, smart supermarket trolleys, personal shopping assistant, in-store coupon printers, interactive information terminals, more commonly known as kiosks, in-store smart television broadcast network, electronic data interchange (EDI), RFID technology, QR code technology, mobile applications, cashier-free self-service cash registers (self-checkout), computer-based smart scales, cash register queue analysis system, smart shelves, gravity feed rack systems, bluetooth beacon technology, digital price tags, scan and go technology, in-store CRM, digital signage, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), internet of things technology (IoT), artificial intelligence technology, robot technology, interaction via NFC, instant notifications, face recognition technology, smart mirrors and chatbots have been the technological innovations that have been examined in the study. In the research part of the study, the sub-dimensions of the omnichannel strategy and demographic variables were associated. Sub-dimensions which is in-store availability, delivery, returns, channel integration, smooth online experience, loyalty programs and customer service are used. Demographic variables are the age of the participant, the gender of the participant, the participant's monthly personal income, the participant's marital status and the participant's education level. The main purpose of the research is to emphasize the importance of omnichannel marketing in terms of marketing strategies and to make this practice more understandable. In this way, better omnichannel marketing will be introduced to consumers in Turkey will increase companies' commitment to these issues and academic studies related to this issue will be further increased. Since the research was conducted during the COVID-19 period, face-to-face interviews could not be conducted with the participants, and the participants were reached using an electronic questionnaire and all data were obtained online. In the first part of the questionnaire, multiple choice questions were asked, then the questions asked within the scope of the 7 dimensions of omnichannel marketing were presented to the participants using the Likert scale. In total, 5 questions measuring store availability size, 6 questions measuring delivery size, 4 questions measuring return size, 9 questions measuring channel integration size, 11 questions measuring smooth online experience size, 3 questions measuring loyalty programs size, and 7 questions measuring customer service dimension. The first part was completed by using a 7- point Likert scale with 45 questions. xix In the second part of the questionnaire, the questionnaire questions were finalized by asking questions measuring demographic characteristics including age, gender, monthly personal income, marital status and education levels. With the prepared questionnaire, 308 participants were reached and the data obtained were evaluated in IBM SPSS Statistics 21 program. Reliability analysis, factor (validity) analysis, normality analysis, regression analysis, correlation analysis and Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis analyzes were applied to the data. Seven hypotheses have been developed within the framework of the research model and aims. In the analysis part, demographic data were analyzed first. When asked about the familiarity of the term omnichannel, it was understood that most of them had not heard of the term before and did not know its meaning. A question was asked about the frequency of online shopping of the participants and the data obtained were shown in graphics. Likewise, it was asked to what extent COVID-19 affected participants on the frequency of online shopping and according to the information obtained, it was seen that COVID-19 increased the number of online shopping of participants. On the other hand, as a result of the data from another question, it was understood that the majority of the participants first researched the product they wanted to buy on the internet, then went to the store and tested it personally, and finally ordered online after being sure of the product. When the participants were asked the reason for shopping in the physical store, the reliability factor was dominant. When the participants were asked the reasons for shopping online, the factor of affordability came to the fore. The participants were asked whether the product groups of furniture, perfume and cosmetics, food, books and stationery materials, clothes and accessories, cultural events, banking services, souvenirs, electronics, white goods, travel tickets and movie, game and music were purchased from the Internet, from the store or both, and the results were added to the study. After the reliability analysis, it was understood that all factors are reliable. After factor analysis, 8 out of 45 questions measuring 7 factors were excluded from the study. After the normality analysis, it was decided to continue the research with non-parametric tests. Following the application of Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, regression and Spearman correlation analysis, it was revealed that there was a significant difference between the age of the individuals and the store availability and delivery size, between the gender of the individuals and the smooth online experience dimension, the income levels of the individuals and the delivery size. Likewise, as a result of similar analyzes, it was seen that the gender of the individuals had a significant effect on the smooth online experience and loyalty programs, and the age of the individuals on the store availability dimension. Keywords: Omnichannel, Omnichannel Marketing, Omnichannel Strategy, Omnichannel Marketing Strategy, Omnichannel Retailing, Integrated Channel, Webrooming, Showrooming, Click & Collect, In-Store Ordering