Shoppers today don’t think about channels. They just want to find what they need, trust that it’s in stock, and choose how to get it. One person might browse on their phone, compare on a laptop, and then stop by a store on the way home. Another might place an online order and expect it to arrive the next day.
Every one of those journeys comes down to one thing: inventory.
If shoppers can’t see what’s available, they can’t buy it. That is why accurate inventory is the first step to winning in omnichannel. Without it, orders get cancelled, shoppers lose trust, and growth slows. With it, you can unlock more channels, increase revenue, and deliver experiences that keep customers coming back.
Retailers often focus on the fulfillment workflows of omnichannel like same-day delivery or buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS). But those options don’t work unless your inventory is accurate.
The foundation looks like this:
All channels pull from a single source of truth
Updates happen in real time across stores, warehouses, and partners
Marketplaces and partner listings update automatically when stock changes
New channels can be added without manual uploads
This is what we call the Reach stage of the order experience. It’s where a brand either gains or loses a shopper’s trust before checkout. If a product isn’t available when it shows up online, the customer moves on to a competitor who can give them confidence.
The payoff for getting it right is clear. Deck Commerce customers who make their inventory available across channels see a 37.3% revenue lift from non-primary channels. That lift comes from showing shoppers what is truly in stock and letting them buy where they prefer.
Poor inventory visibility doesn’t just create small hiccups. It costs real money and damages relationships.
In 2024, the total cost of inventory distortion was projected at $1.7 trillion, with out-of-stocks accounting for $1.2 trillion and overstocks $554 billion.
Think about the shopper’s point of view. They find a product, place the order, and get excited for it to arrive. Then a few days later they get an email saying the order has been cancelled. That moment is hard to recover from. The cost to acquire that shopper is wasted, and the odds of them coming back shrink.
Retailers also pay for mistakes behind the scenes. Without accurate visibility, many carry too much safety stock, pay to move goods between locations, or mark down products that sat unsold in the wrong place for too long. Each of these adds up to lower margins.
RetailTouchPoints reports that 10% to 25% of omnichannel orders are cancelled because the inventory is no longer in the store or employees can’t find the product. That’s not a minor issue. That is a revenue leak.
When inventory is accurate and visible, the story changes. Growth gets easier, and trust gets stronger.
Connecting store inventory to online channels can open up 66% more SKUs to sell. Think of it this way: if half of your products sit in stores but aren’t visible online, you’re hiding half your store from shoppers. By unlocking that stock, you can grow sales without adding new warehouses.
Omnichannel shoppers are more valuable than single-channel shoppers. Companies with strong omnichannel strategies keep 89% of their customers, while those with weak strategies keep only 33%. These shoppers also spend 30% more, with a 4–10% higher average order value and a 23% higher conversion rate.
With one source of truth, you can route orders to the best location every time. That cuts shipping costs, speeds up delivery, and minimizes split shipments. For example, a sporting goods retailer might ship a baseball glove from a nearby store instead of a distant warehouse, saving money while getting the order to the shopper faster.
Real-time inventory visibility also makes it easier to expand into new marketplaces. Instead of manual uploads or spreadsheets, product feeds update automatically. A beauty brand that wants to test Amazon or a fashion label moving into Zalando can move quickly without worrying about overselling.
Accurate availability lowers cancellations by cutting down overselling. Even a slight increase in visibility can reduce cancellations, save revenue, and ease the load on customer service.
Omnichannel success is really about trust. Shoppers need to believe that if your site says an item is available, it truly is.
Without that, you get phantom inventory. A shopper sees something online, but it’s already been sold in-store. Or they place a pickup order and show up only to be told it isn’t there. These moments leave a lasting impression, and not the kind you want.
When inventory is accurate, you earn loyalty. Omnichannel shoppers deliver 30% higher lifetime value than single-channel shoppers. That is the type of trust that turns a one-time buyer into a long-term customer.
Getting to accurate inventory visibility isn’t simple. Many retailers struggle with the same challenges:
System integration. If your ERP, OMS, POS, and marketplaces don’t sync in real time, delays creep in. Even small lags can lead to overselling.
Allocation rules. Visibility doesn’t mean showing the same stock everywhere. You still need rules like buffer stock and channel priorities.
Data quality. Inconsistent SKUs, missing return data, or mismatched location codes can break the system. Regular audits help close these gaps.
Team alignment. Technology is only half the battle. Teams need to be trained and accountable for keeping data clean.
So how do you get started? Here’s a simple path:
Audit your cancellations. Find out how many are tied to stockouts or mismatched data.
Measure accuracy. Do cycle counts and compare them to your system. If you’re off by more than a few percentage points, it’s a problem.
Check latency. Map how often each system updates. Nightly updates aren’t enough for omnichannel.
Start small. Pick a region, store set, or product category and test real-time sync.
Expand. Once you see results, roll it out across more products, stores, and channels.
Some retailers start with BOPIS inventory, then extend to marketplaces. Others focus on their top-selling SKUs first to capture quick wins. The order doesn’t matter as much as getting started.
As shopper expectations grow, the pressure to get inventory right will only increase. Faster fulfillment, more personalization, and seamless cross-channel journeys all depend on accuracy.
This isn’t just about avoiding cancellations. It’s about unlocking new revenue, serving shoppers the way they want to buy, and building a brand known for reliability.
Omnichannel success doesn’t start at checkout or delivery. It starts with inventory. Accurate, real-time inventory availability is the foundation that makes every other promise possible.
Get it right, and you’ll see higher conversion, fewer cancellations, and stronger loyalty. Get it wrong, and you’ll keep losing sales before they even start.
For retailers and brands ready to grow across channels, the first step is clear: make inventory accurate everywhere. Contact us to see how to get started.