What is omnichannel?
Omnichannel means your online store, physical stores, app and other channels work as one, with the same stock, prices, orders and customer data. A customer can order online and collect or exchange in store, and a sales assistant can see right away what’s in stock at every location.
Omnichannel is mainly about online and offline as one. Multichannel is about selling through many channels at once, such as marketplaces, wholesale and dealers. Growth Sharks helps retailers and brands choose how to bring their channels together, and which technology fits.
Last updated on 10 November 2026 by Ramón de L’Hotellerie, co-founder of Growth Sharks.
Three technologies that connect in-store and online
NextChapter Ecommerce is the foundation. Reskyt and Fozzels build on it.
“As far as I’m concerned, this was a textbook migration. Everything was well prepared, and to me that’s a clear sign of a strong partnership.”
If you sell your in-store stock online before Christmas (25 December), you won’t lose any more sales to ‘sold out’.
Which approach fits your online store?
From the Knowledge base: in-store and online as one
Go to the Knowledge base →Frequently asked questions about omnichannel
What is omnichannel?
Omnichannel is an approach in which your online store, physical stores, app and marketplaces work as one, with the same stock, prices, orders and customer data. Customers can then combine channels freely: order online and collect in store, or exchange in store what they bought online.
What is the difference between omnichannel and multichannel?
Omnichannel is about online and offline as one: online store and physical stores share stock, orders and customer data, so a customer can order online and collect in store. Multichannel is about selling through many channels at once, such as your own online store, marketplaces, wholesale and dealers, with one view of stock and product data across all of them. Many brands and retailers need both.
What is an OMS?
An OMS, order management system, manages orders and stock across all your points of sale: shops, warehouses, suppliers and marketplaces. It decides which location fulfils an order. That lets you sell in-store stock online and route orders smartly. NextChapter Ecommerce includes an OMS as standard in its suite.
How do I sell in-store stock online?
By linking your stores’ stock to your online store in real time, through an OMS. The online store then shows what’s in stock at every location, and an order is shipped from the best location or prepared for collection. That way you also sell what’s now sitting on the shelf.
Do I have to replace my whole platform for omnichannel?
Not always. Sometimes you can link existing systems better. If you work with lots of separate integrations that often break, or you’re missing a PIM and OMS, a suite that includes them as standard is often simpler and cheaper to run. In a call we look at your current systems together.
How long does a move to an omnichannel platform take?
That depends on your systems and your data. With NextChapter Ecommerce’s Prebuilt suites you start with a platform already set up for retailers, brands or enterprises, and a replatforming takes about two months. A good migration plan also protects your visibility in Google.
Which technology fits my organisation?
That depends on your channels, your current systems and your online ambitions. Retailers with several stores and brands that sell through many channels usually benefit most from one platform with a PIM and OMS. In 30 minutes we map out your systems together.
Do I pay Growth Sharks for advice?
No. Retailers, brands and online stores pay no consultancy fees to Growth Sharks. We have commercial agreements with the technology partners. You sign the contract for the platform directly with the vendor.
How well do your systems talk to each other?
In 30 minutes we map out your online store, physical stores and systems together. You get advice on the first step.