Omnichannel is no longer a differentiator. It's the basics. Your logistics knows this

By Helena Vito Costa, Retail Director at nstech*

Retail that still treats omnichannel as an innovation project is already left behind.

In 2026, integrating channels is not a competitive advantage — it is a minimum operating requirement. Consumers don’t think about channels. He searches on GPT, discovers on TikTok Shop, buys in the app, returns it to the store. It is already omnichannel. The question is whether your operation can keep up.

And here lies the real risk: it is not just the risk of losing everything in a peak in demand. It is the risk of losing scale, margin and customers every day — silently — due to the lack of an integrated logistics structure.

The new omnichannel retail map

Physical retail is no longer just a point of sale. It became an experience, distribution center, return point and brand showcase simultaneously.

Digital, in turn, has become a democratic and massive sales channel — and increasingly contested by new formats. Live Shopping and TikTok Shop are not emerging trends: they are active phenomena that already generate billions and require real-time fulfillment.

What about AI? Consumers are already searching for products on ChatGPT. This isn't science fiction — it's the purchase funnel redesigning itself now. Those who do not have a logistics operation prepared to respond to this speed lose the sale before even entering the competition.

A well-executed omnichannel uses all of this to its advantage: store inventory as a mini-CD, ship-from-store reducing last-mile, click.

But only when the logistics network is prepared and connected.

The seasonal does not create the problem. He exposes.

Black Friday, Christmas, Mother's Day. Peaks in demand are the moment when structural fragility becomes visible — for the company and for the customer.

Retailers who do not have day-to-day cost visibility by channel cannot plan shipping six months ahead. What appears at the peak is the consequence of a problem that already existed in every common week.

The three real pains of omnichannel operation

After closely monitoring the operations of large retail chains, three pain points appear consistently:

1. Shipping costs that no one can break down — by channel, origin or destination. The bank bleeds, but no one knows exactly where;

2. Dependence on few transporters — concentrated operations that become a bottleneck at times of greatest demand and prevent scale;

3. Customer loss due to bad experience — inaccurate tracking, unproven delivery, no post-purchase visibility. The customer who has a bad delivery experience doesn't complain: he leaves;

Without control over these three points, omnichannel growth becomes synonymous with pressure on margin.

Logistics technology: when 1 is worth more than 2

Riachuelo and O Boticário are real examples of omnichannel retailers that have recorded record results in recent years by combining technology and logistics in an integrated way.

In 2024, Grupo Boticário reached the R$ 35.7 billion mark in total sales, almost 20% more than the previous year. The growth is the result of a multi-brand and omnichannel strategy focused on the customer experience, with investments in operational and logistics innovation.

The group continues to reach levels above projections and, by 2027, is forecast to grow at 7.2%, according to the Brazilian Association of the Personal Care Industry (ABIHPEC).

Meanwhile, Riachuelo recorded a net profit of R$ 322 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, growth of 28.8% year-on-year, the highest for a fourth quarter in the last five years.

It's no coincidence. It's structure.

Well-executed omnichannel is not a marketing agenda. It's a financial agenda. And the logistics network that supports this needs to be as integrated as the consumer served.