How Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Ann Summers and TCTG Enabled Unified Retail Across Physical and Digital

Retail leaders often talk about omnichannel, but few brands have operationalised it in a way that truly unifies in store and online commerce at a technical level. The real challenge is not adding new channels or ways to shop. It is ensuring every touchpoint runs on the same commerce foundation, so customers experience consistency whether they browse online, walk into a store or speak with an associate.

For Ann Summers, this meant rethinking the store experience around one clear principle. Stores should not operate in isolation. They should run on the same commerce platform as part of a unified retail channel.

In partnership with The Commerce Team Global, Ann Summers used Salesforce Commerce Cloud as that foundation, extending it into physical retail through in store ordering enabled by purpose-built technology. Together, they delivered a unified commerce experience that connected the store and online journey.

‍

Salesforce Commerce Cloud as the Unified Commerce Foundation

Unified retail only works when products, pricing, promotions and inventory are governed from a single source. Without that foundation, store and online experiences quickly diverge, creating friction for customers and complexity for teams, while undermining visibility into the data needed to improve the overall experience.

For Ann Summers, Salesforce Commerce Cloud provided that shared commerce layer. Rather than powering ecommerce in isolation, it was used as the core platform across channels, ensuring consistent catalogue data, availability and ordering logic wherever a transaction started.

This approach allowed the store to operate as a connected commerce touchpoint rather than a standalone environment. By running both digital and in store journeys on the same platform, Ann Summers was able to move beyond channel-based execution and deliver a more unified retail experience in practice, not just in principle.

‍

The Challenge: Bridging Online and In-Store Sales

Ann Summers has a long heritage on the high street, supported by a growing ecommerce business with a broad and evolving product range. Stores play a critical role in brand engagement, advice and conversion, particularly for customers who value confidence and personal interaction as part of the purchase journey.

However, physical retail comes with unavoidable constraints. Store space limits the range that can be carried on site, while customer expectations continue to be shaped by the breadth and availability of online commerce. Increasingly, customers expect the same level of choice and convenience in store as they do online.

When products are unavailable locally, intent is often lost in the moment. Customers may leave without completing a purchase, delay their decision, or turn to alternative retailers who can meet that demand immediately. Over time, these missed opportunities impact both revenue and loyalty.

The challenge for Ann Summers was not a lack of customer demand. It was the experience gap between store and online. Customers in store had no visibility of the full product catalogue or network wide inventory, and associates lacked a simple, reliable way to convert interest into a completed sale when stock was not physically available.

‍

Extending Commerce Cloud into the Store: In-Store Ordering

To address this challenge, Ann Summers and TCTG built a purpose driven solution that extended the Salesforce Commerce Cloud storefront into the store environment using existing payment terminals.

During the discovery phase, it became clear that the terminals did not support a native browser but could run an Android application. Within a single day, the team created an Android interface that allowed store associates to browse the existing Commerce Cloud storefront and place orders directly from the terminal. This approach became the foundation of in store ordering, fully aligned with the same inventory visibility and order management logic used online.

The solution consisted of a dedicated in store ordering website powered by Salesforce Commerce Cloud, a companion Android application accessed through the terminal, real time inventory alignment between online and store, and a unified checkout and fulfilment process across channels.

The pilot launched in December 2023 and by January 2024 the solution was live across 85 Ann Summers stores.

‍

Delivering a Seamless, Unified Retail Experience

The result was simple but powerful. Inventory was no longer siloed by channel. Instead of losing a sale when an item was unavailable on the shelf, store associates were able to place orders through the Commerce Cloud storefront, using the same pricing, availability and fulfilment options as online customers.

This unified approach delivered clear benefits.

• Protected revenue that would otherwise have been lost

• Reduced friction in the customer journey

• Equipped store teams with the same tools used online

What was once an aspiration for many retailers became a practical reality. Through a considered combination of platform choice and delivery, Ann Summers achieved a genuinely unified commerce experience across store and online.

‍

What This Means for Retail

Unified retail is no longer defined by the presence of individual features such as an app or click and collect. It is defined by whether a retailer can deliver one coherent commerce experience, supported by a single platform, across every customer touchpoint.

At Ann Summers, Salesforce Commerce Cloud provided the foundation, while The Commerce Team Global extended that foundation into the store environment. Together, they demonstrated how physical and digital retail can operate as part of one connected commerce model, even within live trading conditions.

For retailers working towards more unified experiences, several lessons stand out.

• Treat stores as active commerce touchpoints rather than isolated channels

• Select a platform that supports shared inventory, pricing and checkout logic

• Extend that platform into physical environments with purpose-built solutions

• Maintain consistency through real time visibility and aligned customer journeys

The future of retail is not about adding more channels. It is about unifying them. Retailers that succeed will be those that build on a single commerce foundation and design experiences that work seamlessly across both digital and physical environments.

Want to learn of the benefits this solution can have on your bottom line? Get in touch with us at: info@thecommerceteam.com    

‍

Want to see how Ann Summers reduced lost sales in store?

In this short video, Jeannette Copeland - Technology Director of Ann Summers, explain how in store ordering helped capture demand that would otherwise have been lost and supported a more unified retail experience across store and online.

Watch episode two to hear directly from Ann Summers and see the impact in practice.

‍