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Digital transformation promised a smooth, seamless omnichannel world. The reality, however, is substantially less elegant. Customers today move in a fragmented environment – they switch between channels according to context, mood, time pressure, and the type of problem they are solving. And it is precisely this reality that many companies still underestimate.
Empirical data in this regard are consistent. According to the Salesforce State of the Connected Customer study (2023), 73% of customers use more than one channel during a single purchase journey. McKinsey has long pointed out that the customer journey today resembles a network rather than a linear funnel (McKinsey, The consumer decision journey, updated analyses 2020–2024). A combination of web, mobile, social media, email, call centers, and brick-and-mortar stores is the norm – not the exception.
The myth of the linear customer journey
The traditional “awareness–consideration–purchase” model is ceasing to be usable for managing customer experience (CX – Customer Experience). Real customer behavior looks different:
They start research on mobile, continue on a work computer, return via retargeting, inquire about details via chat, complete the purchase online or in-store – and if a problem occurs, they choose a completely different service channel.
Every transition between channels is a critical moment. If a company cannot maintain context – that is, the history of interactions, preferences, or an in-progress request – friction arises. And friction is a direct enemy of loyalty.
Research by Gartner shows that 96% of customers who experience a high level of effort (Customer Effort Score – CES) exhibit lower loyalty, while for customers with low effort the probability of repeat purchase is significantly higher (Gartner, The Effortless Experience, Dixon et al.).
Fragmentation is not the customer’s problem
Customers do not think in channels. They think in goals:
“I want to choose.”
“I want to purchase.”
“I want to solve a problem.”
Channels are only a means. However, if they are internally separated – marketing separated from customer service, retail from e-commerce – the customer feels it immediately.
Typical symptoms are well known:
- the need to repeatedly provide the same information,
- inconsistent responses across channels,
- different prices or conditions,
- separate handling of complaints and sales.
Each of these moments increases customer effort. And as data show, effort is one of the strongest predictors of loyalty – often stronger than satisfaction itself (Harvard Business Review, Dixon, Freeman, Toman, 2010).
What omnichannel really means
Omnichannel is not about the number of channels. It is about continuity.
A functional omnichannel environment is based on three principles:
Shared data across channels – a single customer view.
Consistent processes – aligned policies, prices, and service logic.
Transferability of context – the customer never starts “from zero.”
Technologically, this means integration of CRM (Customer Relationship Management), marketing automation, e-commerce platforms, service tools, as well as systems in brick-and-mortar stores. Organizationally, it means a fundamental change: a shift from channel management to customer journey management.
How customers actually switch – and why
From practice and research, four basic patterns repeatedly appear:
ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline) – typical for higher-value products.
Showrooming – the customer views the product in-store but purchases online.
Service switching – the purchase takes place online, the problem is resolved by phone or at a branch.
Escalation – the customer starts with self-service but switches to human support when frustrated.
The key is to understand the motivation behind these transitions. Most often it is a combination of four factors:
- speed,
- need for reassurance,
- risk reduction,
- frustration from a previous interaction.
Without data at the level of the entire customer journey, companies do not see these patterns. They see only isolated touchpoints.
What CX leaders should do differently
The fundamental shift lies in companies stopping optimizing individual channels and starting to manage real customer journeys.
In practice, this means several steps.
Map real journeys, not assumed ones. Combine quantitative behavioral data with qualitative research.
Measure experience across the journey, not only at individual points. NPS (Net Promoter Score) after purchase loses meaning if it was preceded by three frustrating interactions.
Identify critical switching points. Where do customers most often change channels? Where does drop-off increase? Where is context lost?
Connect CX and EX (Employee Experience). If employees work with disconnected systems and search for information in a complicated way, the customer experience inevitably suffers. Research by MIT Sloan confirms that companies with a high level of EX achieve up to 2× higher customer satisfaction (MIT Sloan Management Review, 2021).
It is precisely here that the importance of structured CX programs and tools becomes evident, enabling the tracking of experience across journeys, identification of critical points, and prioritization of improvements based on data – not intuition.
Fragmentation as a competitive advantage
Fragmentation will not disappear. On the contrary. With the rise of voice assistants, marketplace platforms, or social commerce, it will continue to grow.
The question therefore is not how to “keep” the customer in one channel. The real question is: how to enable natural movement without loss of continuity.
Companies that can connect data, processes, and people around real customer journeys will gain not only higher NPS. They will gain trust.
And in a fragmented world, trust is the most valuable currency a brand can have.
