Steps to Seamless Omnichannel Shopping

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

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Join a Community that Champions, Connects, and Elevates!

Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

FMI has partnered with FitForCommerce, a boutique consultancy firm specializing in ecommerce and omnichannel retail, on the 2019 Grocery Omnichannel Index. After mystery-shopping 26 U.S. food retailer’s online grocery shopping experiences and evaluating them based on a list of 175+ online, mobile and in-store criteria, we’ve developed this benchmarking index designed to help food retailers meet expectations for seamless and convenient online grocery shopping experiences.

<p>By: Doug Baker, Vice President, Industry Relations - Private Brands, Technology, FMI<img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/photos-for-staff-use/online-ordering/20171129-fmi-home-shoot-0581r-lowres.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=e823786e_2" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="20171129-FMI-Home Shoot-0581r-LowRes" title="20171129-FMI-Home Shoot-0581r-LowRes" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p> <p>My daughter showed me this great recipe on Instagram from our local grocery store the other day. It looked interesting and I instantly wanted to give it a try. In a perfect world, I would have been able to put all the ingredients I needed directly into my shopping cart right from the Instagram post for Sunday dinner. But that would be a perfect world. Instead, I had to write down the ingredients I needed and then add them to my online order for pickup later that day.</p> <p>This is an example of a missed opportunity. I was intrigued by content, in this case a recipe, but when it came down to it, shopping that content wasn’t seamless. But, maybe someday it could be.</p> <p>FMI has partnered with <a href="https://www.fitforcommerce.com/">FitForCommerce</a>, a boutique consultancy firm specializing in ecommerce and omnichannel retail, on the <a href="https://www.fitforcommerce.com/items/groceryindex/">2019 Grocery Omnichannel Index</a>. After mystery-shopping 26 U.S. food retailer’s online grocery shopping experiences and evaluating them based on a list of 175+ online, mobile and in-store criteria, we’ve developed this benchmarking index designed to help food retailers meet expectations for seamless and convenient online grocery shopping experiences. Specifically, the index pinpoints six critical indicators contributing to the customer omnichannel shopping experience including:</p> <ul> <li>Convenience.</li> <li>Data practices.</li> <li>Personalization.</li> <li>Content and digital tools.</li> <li>Mobile experience.</li> <li>Pick up experience.</li> </ul> <h5>The Checklist</h5> <p>Included in the report is <em>The Omnichannel Shopping List</em>, which has several key elements food retailers should consider when developing or fine-tuning their online grocery offering. This checklist for food retailers should be customized by each company and aims to help ensure seamless online grocery shopping experiences. The list includes:</p> <ul> <li>Design experiences around customer journey.</li> <li>Ace the basic digital best practice functionality.</li> <li>Personalize across all touchpoints.</li> <li>Deliver relevant content and make it shoppable. </li> <li>Integrate digital shopping tools across channels. </li> <li>Bridge loyalty and transactional apps. </li> <li>Leverage threshold messaging at multiple stages.</li> <li>Elevate customer service.</li> <li>Double down on convenience.</li> <li>Optimize in-store signage.</li> <li>Differentiate through experiences.</li> </ul> <h5>Aha Moment</h5> <p>One of the light-bulb moments we had developing this report was around shoppable content. Food retailers are content kings—producing recipes, product reviews, family meal plans, dietitian advice and more. Consumers find this content highly valuable, but how often do grocers make it easy for shoppers to shop this content? Only 50% of the grocers included in our mystery shopping have taken steps to make content shoppable, and only 38% digitize printed fliers and make them shoppable. Clearly there is an opportunity to improve in this area and in other areas to make online grocery shopping truly seamless.<br /> <br /> Join us Wednesday, November 13 for an online learning experience on <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/Microsite/omnichannelindex">New Benchmarking Insights on the Omnichannel Roadmap to Success</a>. </p> <p><a href="https://www.fitforcommerce.com/items/groceryindex/" class="button-secondary" target="_blank">Download 2019 Grocery Omnichannel Index</a></p>

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Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.