Category Archives: Customer Engagement & Business Intelligence

by Jennifer Bosavage

Connecting with Generation Z

Generation Z includes retailers’ first set of digitally native consumers. Born after 1996, these customers have never known a world without the internet.

As a result, they have high expectations of interconnectedness between online and in-store shopping experiences. Smartphone in hand, they browse merchandise online and pickup in-store while communicating in real-time with friends on social networks, apps and text messages.

They were born to shop omnichannel style.

Different paths to purchase for different generations

Sometimes also referred to as “Centennials,” they, together with the previous generation of Millennials comprise more than half of the world’s population.

But the two groups approach shopping very differently.

Whereas Millennials eschewed purchasing “things” in favor of experiences, Centennials are happy to buy technology as well as health and wellness products.

More than any other generation, Gen Z shoppers tend to rely on mobile channels first, particularly YouTube and Instagram. Snapchat and TikTok figure into the mix as well.

Once the initial product research is completed, the brand itself comes under scrutiny.

Many in this age group have bought products because they have values that align with the retailer or brand. Others have boycotted a business to show disapproval of certain practices.

Gen Z is very attuned to the retail ecosystem and not only wants to be a part of it but also understands how to influence it. Irregardless, a syncing of data and inventory across channels is an important feature for brands that want to remove barriers to purchase for Gen Z consumers.

Retail Pro Prism gives retailers the ability to have a centralized view of their inventory across channels, in turn allowing them to give this to their customers.

Loyalty motivators for Gen Z

With a spending power of more than $140 billion, retailers are learning that though digitally native, Gen Z cares about connections and community.

They prefer to shop where they can chat with their friends online as well as with store associates in person, while feeling confident that their purchase decisions are supporting businesses that treat employees well and are not harmful to the environment.

Stores such as Nordstrom combine a traditional brick-and-mortar setting with the more personal experience of a pop-up store.

Mobile POS easily creates a personal feel as it allows sales associates to meet customers where they’re at, whether for item lookup or free-standing checkout, and lends itself perfectly to pop-up environments.

Retail Pro readily supports mobile POS since it’s a browser-based software, which means you can choose whether to use it on Apple, Windows, or Android devices.

AI-driven software helps retailers gather information and analyze data of Gen Z shoppers, which they can use to help create intimate experiences and personalized moments.

Those retailers who have established and communicated an authentic identity that mirrors Gen Z’s ethos will be rewarded with these shoppers’ loyalty.

Timely Delivery vs. Sustainability values

While all demographics want fast, reliable delivery, research finds that Gen Zers are the most impatient. Many want same-day delivery and yet are also very interested in carbon-neutral or emission-free deliveries.

While that appears to be a somewhat conflicted stance, these shoppers are also willing to pay more for more sustainable delivery and returns services: They understand the consequences (higher cost) for the services they want (faster, ecologically responsible delivery).

Retail Pro Prism gives you a clear view of across your channels, which increases your ability to identify points where you might be able to save time for your associates and customers’ orders.

Top retailers are investing in key technologies that provide the enhanced customer experience these young consumers are demanding.

Digital customers will check websites for in-store inventory even for stores that don’t have BOPIS or curbside pickup, which leads to a disconnect between channels that ultimately can lead to customers going to competitors.

As younger generations are digitally native, they’ll embrace technology, digitization and collaboration, and require the brands they buy to do the same.

For retailers, that will lead to more success and profitability.

POS software on tablet for specialty retail

Get 360 degree visibility with end-to-end retail software

Take Another Look at Sustainability

Using Retail Pro mobile POS to connect with customers on the sales floor

by Jennifer Bosavage

Reaching Customers In a Sluggish Economy

The current uncertain economic climate is putting a damper on consumer confidence. A shaky job market economy coupled with inflation is affecting daily life everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store.

As a result, many shoppers are focused on getting more value for their money by seeking lower pricing on everyday purchases.

Often, that means frequenting discount stores rather than higher-end retailers as well as shopping using less-traditional channels, such as retailer loyalty rewards and cashback offers. In combination with reports to help analyze potentially advantageous adjustments to price levels, Retail Pro Prism offers loyalty and rewards programs with it’s software out of box, which come in handy in these times.

Omnichannel Advantage

However, retailers that can strengthen the bond between online and in-store will find that success with one channel will positively influence the other.

Retailers and brands that provide a true omnichannel experience deliver consistent product information, customer service and account information using all their sales channels: online, in store and on the phone.

As a result, they build better customer relationships and inspire more brand advocates.

Shoppers’ purchase histories differ as widely as the ways they want to make purchases. Some prefer to shop online from start to finish.

However, according to Harvard Business Review customers who do use all channels in their journey tend to spend more – on average 10% more, so offering omnichannel services is important.

Retail Pro Prism is a full retail management and POS platform for omnichannel retailers, with integrated data and view of all channels.

Different Strategies Suit Different Customer Journeys

A solid self-service site should show customer-specific pricing, provide account information including order history and delivery status, give access to reference materials, and integrate in-store inventory information.

Others rely on customer service representatives to help place their order, or to provide more personal assistance with transactions.

Full-service requires expert salespeople or customer service reps who can answer questions, provide recommendations, develop personalized solutions and place orders for buyers.

A hybrid approach is aimed at those looking to make a purchase by themselves, but who want the opportunity to speak with someone in case a question arises.

Shoppers can communicate with a salesperson or representative by using online chat, e-mail messaging or “click-to-call.”

Combining round-the-clock customer service assistance with self-service ordering provides buyers the freedom they want with the support they need to make their purchases.

Hybrid Support

A solid hybrid methodology showcases an online approach that supports in-store shopping – which, in turn, encourages online purchasing.

By regularly evaluating your customers’ online search and purchasing history, a more personalized online experience can be created.

Streamline checkout, make special pricing easy to understand and find, and reduce friction both online and in-store.

Whether a retailer embraces online, in-store or a hybrid approach, web analytics defines the products customers have been researching and offers insights regarding buying patterns.

That information can inform loyalty program profiles and help provide a personalized omnichannel experience. Such personalization illustrates to customers that a company has taken the time to know them and their preferences.

Security

Another way to build trust and, as a result, loyalty, is to invest in secure, accurate technology that protects customer data.

Retailers collect a variety of information, with an enormous responsibility to keep it safe. Firewalls, private networks, encryption and multi-factor authentication can all be part of your security portfolio.

Be sure to communicate what security measures are in place with your customers, because the more customers see retailers working on securing their data, the more likely they are to trust you. Economic stutter steps are unavoidable. Retailers that are prepared with solid omnichannel solutions backed by secure technology will be well equipped to face the challenge of such slowdowns.

Retail Pro Prism is PCI compliant and has functions to prevent errors from being executed by employees that cost your business, such as limits on certain actions or transaction sizes, so that when mistakes happen they don’t have consequences.

Woman window shopping and carrying lots of shopping bags

Recessionary shoppers: convenience over experience?

female owner of fashion store using digital tablet to check stock in clothing store

Tempered supply chain issues and strategies

by Jennifer Bosavage

Brands Explore Creative Ways To Boost Customer Loyalty

From using artificial intelligence to analyze shoppers’ actions to promoting their own core values, retailers are looking to deeply engage with their customers to increase repeat business.

Customer loyalty is the Holy Grail for retailers. Businesses put hours of effort into understanding just what combination of factors entice a shopper to return – as well as what makes them choose one retailer over another time after time.

The elusive answer may be to create a brand that displays insightful knowledge of the customer, without being overbearing, and connect with them on a personal level.

Retail Pro Prism provides an integrated view of data across all channels and retailers can create customer profiles to record important, helpful data to improve their relationship with customers.

To Know Them is to Love Them

Who doesn’t prefer to shop where the associates are thoughtful, attentive and – if you’re lucky – just a bit intuitive?

It’s for those reasons that retailers such as Nordstroms and hoteliers like Ritz Carlton stand apart from their peers. And it’s why they have tremendous loyalty among their customers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help retailers gain insights into their customers, offering data that helps provide personalized experiences with targeted product recommendations.

Brands can tailor shopping experiences to fit customers’ interests, based on real-time web browsing habits and shopping data.

Knowing what’s of interest to a particular customer allows the retailer to curate selections.

Further, to keep an experience fresh yet relevant, AI can use browsing data to automatically present shoppers with new product selections whenever they visit an online store.

That creates customer excitement over new merchandise, prevents boredom and helps encourage spontaneous buying behavior, especially on mobile devices.

Personalized shopping experiences are central to customer engagement, retention and loyalty in today’s retail environment.

Personalization is also linked to higher conversion rates and product sales. According to McKinsey, personalization can deliver 5 to 8x times the ROI on marketing spend and improve revenue by 10% or more.

AI creates seamless experiences that leave shoppers satisfied and inclined to return.

Personalized ecommerce uses company data to recommend, cross-sell and upsell relevant items to shoppers.

By synthesizing shoppers’ onsite actions, AI can deliver recommendations tailored to individual customer’s tastes.

It’s a strategy aimed at providing better customer experience and higher conversion rates.

AppCard with Retail Pro allows retailers to leverage every bit of data collected from their POS system and using AI to create personalized marketing strategies to increase customer loyalty and in turn, retention.

The Value Proposition

Knowing and catering to the values of your customers can also help foster repeat business.

Values-based purchasing takes into account more than just price, quality and convenience.

These customers look at factors such as sustainability and resale practices as well as cruelty-free manufacturing, local sourcing and fair labor practices.

Sustainability casts a wide net. It can include retailers that sell pre-owned clothing or furniture, for example.

Some brands, such as Patagonia and Coach, incorporate both new and preowned products.

Such retailers have loyal followings that particularly enjoy “vintage” finds of their favorite brands.

Conversely, “pre-loved” merchandise is often available at lower price points, which provides a convenient entry point for a new set of customers.

Sustainability can also include retailers that support certain delivery practices – bundling orders for similar areas, providing eco-friendly shipping materials and cutting back on their carbon footprint throughout their supply chains and operations.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of looking at points of friction to find alternate options for those points of operations.

With Retail Pro Prism, retailers have an integrated view of the data from every corner of operations so they can analyze the whole picture and look for ways to eliminate unnecessary steps or trips.

“Value-driven retail” is more than a buzzword. In a crowded market, it differentiates a brand, and encourages loyalty.

There are factors in addition to fair pricing and convenience that encourage customers to return. A strong set of brand values fosters emotional investment and positions a brand as the best solution for customers’ needs.

And AI-powered technology can help brands create the customer experience that drives success.

6 Ways to connect your physical and digital store operations with Retail Pro Prism for better omnichannel experiences

The Benefits of Consolidating Point of Sale Data

Take Another Look at Sustainability

by Jennifer Bosavage

Rebuilding customer relationships

Visit Retail Pro at NRF 2023 booth 6203

The retail landscape is challenging, regardless of business success and size. Visit Retail Pro at NRF 2023 to see how you can get total visibility into the operational issues that keep you from rebuilding strong customer relationships.

Rebuild customer relationships

Professional Shopping Assistant Using Digital Tablet Helping Female Client Buy Clothes And Improve Personal Style In Store. Free Space

Improve your relationships with customers with smoother operations and personalized service tailored to their individual needs and shopping habits.

  • Serve customers more effectively with operational efficiency and flexibility to use your whole business to its full extent – merging inventory visibility across store, branches and channels
  • Gain visibility, and in turn insight to their desires: track responses to promotions, price points that capitalize on value, and pinpoint trends across the business
  • Improve the personal connection by staying in touch using your choice of marketing tools that best help your business, and reducing the strain that comes with human error

Streamline for operational efficiency and better experiences

When you connect all your retail technologies to the Retail Pro Prism platform, you get more accurate insight into operations to help you streamline across stores and regions and better serve your customers.

  • Reduce friction in purchase experiences with the ability to see current or potential bottlenecks
  • Identify areas where automated functions can increase efficiency and reduce human error
  • Strategize and uncover alternative options or ways to re-direct a process
  • Determine customer-facing associate strengths and weaknesses
  • Gain clarity on areas for improvement and staff’s best place in your company
  • Set parameters for inventory functions on a store-by-store basis
  • Automate replenishment and distribute inventory to needed locations with allocation tools

Integration between Retail Pro Prism and our ecommerce platform enables us to ensure inventory updates and smooth order flow across the organization. With Retail Pro, it is easy to keep track of inventory and display online whether an item is out of stock or ready to be picked up, resulting in less frazzled associates and happier customers.

Pawan Dangol, Area Manager

Grow your presence internationally with ease

Retailers learned a lot during COVID about what works for your customers. Apply these insights to grow your presence across borders and make it easier for customers to shop with you wherever they are.

  • Leverage Retail Pro resources like region-specific fiscalizations and localizations and local technological professionals with regional expertise
  • Gain total performance visibility across stores, channels and subsidiaries
  • Spot trends from a wider perspective with the whole data picture in one unified view

As you grow, you need clear visibility on all parts of the business and we want to ensure we’re not letting down one side of the business at the expense of the other – to be successful we have to develop the online and offline experience simultaneously, which we’re trying to do. We are hopeful and confident that Retail Pro will be able to support us on this journey.

Miniso UK

Visit us at NRF 2023

Heading out to NRF this January? Visit the Retail Pro team at booth 6203 to start the conversation on how you can start using the Retail Pro Prism POS and retail management platform this year to gain the insight and efficiency you need for rebuild customer relationships.

by Jennifer Bosavage

Create Better In-Store Experiences with Retail Pro Prism

Good products attract customers.
Great experiences keep them coming back.
Retail Pro Prism’s capabilities gives you the tools to choose where and how you reach your customers, and the POS data to inform your approach.

POS Shopper Data

Shape your CX strategy with pertinent shopper data collected in the POS workflow.

Personalize recommendations

Make personalized recommendations with access to customer details in Retail Pro on mobile.

Inventory Visibility

Give shoppers all the options when you’re out of stock with total inventory visibility for every location.

by Jennifer Bosavage

Get the Omnichannel Word Out to Customers

beautiful light skinned black woman with happy look holds smartphone and credit card, shopping online ecommerce omnichannel

Shoppers that use all your retail channels are your most valuable.

The past two years of lockdowns, social distancing, and other restrictions put a damper on in-store shopping.

Even the most exclusive boutiques began offering curbside pickup fueled by fledgling attempts at e-commerce. Larger retailers augmented their omnichannel offerings and promoted their increasingly frictionless experiences.

Retail Pro Prism facilitates seamless omnichannel operations with a complete view of data from both online and in-store in one place.

Now, as the economy opens up, retailers of any size are looking for the best of both worlds: Online customers who shop in-store. In other words, omnichannel customers.

And so, they continue to innovate on e-commerce strategies while attracting customers back into brick and mortar stores.

Rocky times for stores

black woman on the couch smiling looking at her laptop shopping online ecommerce

The pandemic created an online shopping surge but was difficult for physical stores to navigate.

According to reports, in 2020, more than 8,300 US stores closed, but the following year, that number was down to 5,079. And, according to NBC News, 2021 saw 5,083 stores open.

The challenge lies in being able to connect the dots between the online customers that retailers cultivated during the past two years and their in-store purchases.

Studies have shown that omnichannel shoppers tend to spend more than those who use one channel exclusively, such as online-only customers.

Those who, for example, use an app to browse products, bought online and picked up in-store, or bought in the store and got their purchases shipped are higher-value customers.

While the behavior spans all demographics, it is especially prominent with Millennials and Gen Z.

Promoting omnichannel behavior

couple holding shopping bags in a mall smiling looking at woman's smartphone

Online customers are a treasure trove of information: Data analytics can provide insights on not only the products they’ve bought but also on what they’ve looked at and put into (and removed from) their baskets.

Retail Pro Decisions compiles data across channels, compiles and analyzes it all for you and displays the findings visually, allowing retailers to easily understand specifics of employees and product performance.

Taking that information and using it to tailor an in-person experience is what differentiates an average in-store experience from an extraordinary one.

Most people actually prefer shopping in-store, according to PwC research. The study found 65 percent of consumers shop in-store to avoid delivery fees, while more than 60 percent enjoy the immediate gratification of in-store shopping. Further, 61 percent said they like trying on the item or seeing it in person before buying it.

Great experiences start with seamless processes. For example, customers appreciate the ability to look up in-store product availability online. To incent online shoppers to visit a store for pickup, make it worth their while by offering a discount or special offer.

Use Analytics

white retailer lady looking at the customer dashboard analytics in Retail Pro POS, making notes

Analytics can enable businesses to target a customer with the appropriate marketing message at just the right time, according to where he or she is in the buyer’s journey.

Such targeted campaigns have higher conversion rates than generic campaigns.

Predictive analytics can further help identify trends in consumer behavior, ensuring that retailers with omnichannel strategies remain skilled at understanding and responding to their customers’ needs.  

A customer’s journey through online and physical channels must be accurately analyzed and captured to deliver a more personalized shopping experience.

Retailers can also provide a consistently personalized ‘VIP’ experience to each customer with automated marketing with the option for custom dynamic promotions, such as Opt Culture for Retail Pro.

Professional Shopping Assistant Using Digital Tablet Helping Female Client Buy Clothes And Improve Personal Style In Store. Free Space

6 Ways to connect your physical and digital store operations with Retail Pro Prism for better omnichannel experiences

pdf on iPad with title of whitepaper on left and smiling Asian woman holding shopping bag with heart on it.

How to Harness the 2 Main Drivers of Personalized Experiences to Win More Shopper Loyalty

Measuring ROI of relationship building with loyalty programs

by Jennifer Bosavage

Lux Customers & the Omnichannel Experience

In the aftermath of COVID-19 restrictions, even luxury brands have ventured into the world of e-commerce.

Many leading brands are taking the best of their existing bricks-and-mortar customer service and applying that to enhance their online offerings — as well as using digital tools to enhance the in-store experience.

Drivers of luxury shopping

Beautiful middle age woman working in jewelry store. She holding and showing expensive watch to male buyer.

The luxury shopper of yesterday embraced conspicuous consumption and fashion, often incorporating a brand’s name overtly into its design.

Today, a company’s commitment to sustainability and social awareness are more important to the new generation of these shoppers than a particular brand name.

However, one thing has remained the same: Luxury doesn’t have to be rational. It can be pure fun with little or no practicality.

Luxury shoppers tend to make a purchase to make themselves or others feel good, rather than because they require the item.

Their purchases can be impulsive or for gift-giving; a Deloitte study found that 20.5% of millennials bought a high-end item for a particular occasion and 18.5% bought one as a “treat.” 

Take the Louis Vuitton skate shoe for instance – or the diamond and ruby studded Victoria’s Secret bra. How could any data support creating such items? But even if only a handful are ever produced — that rarity is part of what makes them luxurious.

Luxury is about a vision that totally transcends data.

9 tactics to borrow from luxury retail’s clienteling strategy to improve your omnichannel CX Read article >

Luxury omnichannel experiences

Attractive young woman jewelry store clerc smiling talking to her customer helping her choosing items.

Luxury is fantastic at cultivating extraordinary customer experiences beyond the product and making people feel good about their purchases.

With COVID, many luxury retailers began selling online for the first time in their history. Luxury has sat out from the ecommerce game for years, since a major part of what makes a luxury experience luxurious is the personal, human touch that surrounds the client with readiness to anticipate and exceed expectations.

Now, with nearly two years of online selling under their hand-crafted cowhide belts, luxury retailers are applying their creativity in reinventing digital experiences both online and in-store.

Bootmaker and Retail Pro user Lucchese is an example of a luxury brand offering clienteling online to replicate the personal nature of in-person shopping.

The company offers chat – “live shopping” – that enables a customer to connect with an in-store associate for virtual personal shopping, fit advice and style recommendations.

For a shoemaker that makes every pair by hand, having one-on-one help helps ease concerns, particularly about fit.

VIP experiences that build loyalty in luxury retail Read article >

Retail Pro technology for a personal touch

To a large degree, success will be dependent on luxury brands taking the opportunity to extend the personal touch to both the online and in-store experiences, based on previous interactions and reflecting the quality of interaction their high-profile customers experience in-store.

It’s omnichannel taken to the next level: Offering that personal touch regardless of where the purchase is made.

In this arena, there’s a valuable opportunity to use technology to recognize enthusiasts and online customers when they come to pick up or tailor their online luxury purchase in-store, and provide exemplary service that’s personalized, relevant and unique.

As much as customer engagement strategy differs between brands, one thing is consistent across the board: the POS is still the one thing that never fails to bring sales associate and customer together.

And last impressions matter.

Using Retail Pro Prism on mobile devices frees your sales associates from the cash wrap so they can more meaningfully engage with shoppers on your sales floor and learn about them.

There is no better way to personalize a customer’s experience than by actually getting personal and asking questions. What are they looking for? What’s the occasion? Can we help you find something to go along with the item you’re trying on?

That kind of human connection through clienteling makes customers feel like they’re shopping with a friend, and it builds emotional attachment to a luxury brand.

Clienteling data not only enhances the shopping experience for those in physical stores but is also used by associates to reach out to customers between visits.

Associates with access to customers’ spouses’ birthdates, for example, might place a well-timed call detailing the latest merchandise that would make a great gift.

Such focused, one-to-one outreach is extraordinarily effective in attracting high-value customers.

Going to the

2022 Retail Technology Show?

26-27 April 2022 | Olympia, London | Stand 6e28

About Pinnaca Retail & IT Solutions

Founded in 2015, Pinnaca Retail & IT Solutions is a family-run business offering retail solutions, specialist management consultancy and IT services. Our company is UK based, with offices in London, and a client base across the globe.

We work with all levels of business to define and develop strategies focused on our clients’ needs and objectives. Our tailored solutions are developed and optimised to fulfil your key business demands.

Over time we have added to our 20 years’ experience in the field and built up a team of experts, with a wide range of experience and in-depth knowledge, who are eager to help your business succeed and grow.

About DataScan Retail Systems

Datascan Retail Systems are a leading UK and European supplier of solutions to the retail sector, from small businesses through to mid-tier and international enterprises. We have vast experience in the analysis and design of retail IT and the implementation of EPOS and Stock Control Systems and provide all the services required to plan, implement and maintain an effective Retail Management System. We are committed to match the Retail Pro System to the exact needs of the retailer, utilising our development, training and help desk teams.

About RIOT

RIOT is turning traditional RFID solutions for retail on their head with RIOT Insight​. Insight is RIOT’s real-time inventory accuracy service offered as a simple but powerful add-on to a retailer’s existing systems. 100% inventory accuracy to support Omni-channel is now yours on demand.

About PAR

PAR Technology Corporation provides industry leading software and hardware solutions that are always there when you need them but never in your way.

  • State of the Art Point of Sale Systems.
  • Tablets and Portable Devices.

About XRetail

XRETAIL is a Global leader in Unified Commerce solutions, with a prime mission to empower enterprise retailers by helping to boost their sales and retain their clients. Through state-of-the-art technologies, integrations, and solutions, the XRETAIL platform creates unified sales channels including eCommerce, Mobile commerce, and Social commerce. XRETAIL’s Cloud-based platform creates seamless end-to-end solutions allowing enterprise retailers to blend brick-and-mortar and digital retailing into one unified platform, with notably enhanced customer experience both online and offline.

About Loqate

Combining leading technology with the richest data, Loqate provides several solutions to help bring businesses across the globe closer to their customers:

Address Validation
A faster, easier way to capture and verify addresses in real-time for your online forms and checkouts.

Email validation
Increase email delivery rates, boost customer marketing and reduce bogus registration when you verify email addresses upfront.

Mobile & phone validation
Take the guesswork out of reaching customers. Capture the right phone number, mobile or landline at the point of entry.

Data maintenance
The foundation of any customer management strategy, Loqate’s cleansing and maintenance software helps build lasting customer relationships.

by Ulyana Avetisov

Omnichannel strategies impact customers, sales, and brand growth

woman shopper holding plant smiling at male worker holding a tablet POS omnichannel strategies

Shoppers love the convenience of online shopping, but still want the benefits of visiting in-store, which is why having an omnichannel presence is so important.

A unified commerce experience means shoppers can start in-store and finish the purchase online – or vice versa. Returns are easy and customers can even plan their in-store trips with updated inventory available at a mouse click.

Driving both online and in-store sales

female shopper at laptop, looking at her smartphone to check retail payment

Unified retail can offer the customer flexibility to shop how and when they want, while also giving them targeted and appropriate offers and recommendations that are exclusive and will enrich the overall experience. 

Digital doesn’t just drive e-commerce; it also gets people in stores. 

Smartphones have become a personal shopping assistant for people once they’re inside. Marketing strategies must therefore accommodate customers and help them buy products and services on any channel. 

Research has found that omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who shop using only one channel. Unified retail helps convert shoppers to buyers seamlessly and with minimal effort on their part.

Retail Pro Prism: Tracking inventory needs and movement in COVID-19’s accelerated Omnichannel

Stop the Silo

Many retailers are still running on systems that operate independently of each other, with data unintegrated between the two systems.

Siloed information stores information in separate databases and servers. A better system communicates between data and connects all applications, including e-commerce but also POS, back office, vendor supply chain, mobile and order management.

That type of integration can mean, for example, that inventory can easily be moved from a web warehouse to a store and associates can anticipate and plan for that shipment.

Better stock visibility and operational time savings like this can help retailers improve decision making and efficiency, which will be key to scaling brand growth.

Create Better Profiles

a woman in a suit wearing glasses holding a paper with infographics as two male colleagues discuss with her POS omnichannel

With siloed data, brick and mortar retailers only see a subset of information about their customers – the part that is reflected by in-store sales. Likewise, e-commerce sites can only recommend products based on previous online purchases.

Investing in a 360-degree view of the customer provides holistic visibility and provides data on which to base predictive models.

Customer information can be varied and may include: past purchases, contact information, size preferences, website browsing history, wish list, and customer service interactions.

Armed with more complete customer profiles, retailers can shape more personalized offers and experiences, helping customers get what they need and enjoy from the retailer.

Retailers going omnichannel pass on tech benefits to customers

Calling all Products

shopkeeper lady in a store with various types of products omnichannel strategies

Retailers seeking to unify commerce should determine how product information should be formatted, and then consolidate all of it into a single location.

That will result in fewer redundancies and errors in product information and will allow you to trace and manage products more easily. Retailers should also invest in technology that helps associates check inventory in real-time on the sales floor.

A better handle on products and their availability will help retailers ensure customers don’t leave disappointed by out of stock situations but rather have their need met, even if via a different store in te retailer’s chain.

Unified retail is the next step in providing superior customer experiences. By implementing solutions that work to provide enhanced communication between inventory and the customer, retailers will see more robust sales and, potentially, repeat business due to a more responsive, personalized experience.

9 tactics to borrow from luxury retail’s clienteling strategy to improve your omnichannel CX

by Jennifer Bosavage

Understanding Key Performance Indicators

As a retailer in a competitive marketplace, a major focus should be monitoring the health of your business. For most retailers this means getting a handle on your Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs.

Defining KPIs

A KPI is a metric that is designed to give you a quick snapshot of some aspect of your business. A KPI might be a measure of sales, customer activity, or financial strength.

More than simply a bottom line number, a KPI is usually expressed as a comparison with some other factor. For example, looking at the average sale per customer gives you an understanding of the potential value of each customer.

Which KPIs should I track?

There are hundreds of KPIs that a retail business owner could be using at any one time. If an activity can be tracked and measured in your store, a KPI can be developed to provide you with business intelligence. One of the challenges is to decide on a handful of KPIs that provide you with the most valuable information based on the goals and objectives of your operation.

Every retailer will have a different set of KPIs. For example, a business that uses commissioned sales associates to sell to customers may place a heavy emphasis on KPIs that track the effectiveness of an individual sales associate while these KPIs may be irrelevant for another retail business.

You may want to track KPIs related to your customers. Simply knowing the number of customers who enter the store each day may not be enough for you. You may want to gain a deeper understanding about your customer’s shopping patterns and what converts them from a casual shopper into a dedicated, returning customer.

To do this, you need to carefully consider what data you should collect and analyze.

Choosing the right data

Data, by itself, is not a KPI until it’s arranged in a meaningful way. A list of sales transactions throughout the day is good data to have but it’s not the whole picture. The next step might be to calculate the total dollar amount of sales for the day. You can arrange the data in any number of ways: sales by department, sales by item, or sales by cashier. At this point, you still only have data to analyze.

The strength of KPIs is knowing how to use data to gain a competitive advantage. It all comes down to the goals and objectives you set for your business.

For each goal you establish, you must also create the metric that will determine if you are successful in reaching that goal. Your KPIs become the method by which you track your progress. If your key performance indicators do not reflect progress toward your goal, you must change the tactics you are using in your business.

Using raw data to optimize your retail operations

Let’s look at one simple example of how your goals and KPIs come together to give you a competitive advantage.

Marlene runs a small clothing store in a mid-size urban market. Lately things have been going good but the business has leveled off. She would like to increase her business over the next year. She creates a goal to increase her sales by 10%.

Marlene realizes that an obvious KPI is her total sales. She can also break down her sales on a daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis to compare with the previous year. This gives her the maximum degree of flexibility especially since her sales tend to fluctuate according to well-defined fashion seasons.

Marlene decides that a good strategy would be to do more advertising on radio and television during the coming year. To find out if the advertising is bringing customers into the store, she decides to track footfall, the number of people coming into the store. Fortunately, she tracked her traffic last year but if she didn’t, she could use the new data by correlating store traffic with the dates and times that advertising is running to see if the ads have an immediate effect.

If she notices that store traffic increases for a few days after a television ad appears, she may make more strategic choices about when to run television ads. Or she may be sure to have a special sale during the weekend following a big flood of advertising.

By tracking average customer spend, Marlene can determine how much the average customer spends during each purchase transaction. In order to increase sales, she decides to place some displays with accessories, scarves, and jewelry close to the cash registers. The strategy works and she notices that her average customer spend amount increases due to impulse purchases while customers are waiting in line.

Although her total sales KPI indicates some overall growth, Marlene is not satisfied with the progress she is making. She begins to track her conversion rate, the number of transactions throughout the day divided by the number of people who enter the store. This seems to indicate that a lot of people are coming into the store but not many are making purchases.

To combat this, she could implement a number of new strategies. Perhaps she should take a look at rotating her inventory more frequently so the styles are kept fresh. She might decide that she needs to add new merchandise. Eventually, Marlene decides to hire additional staff to take more time with the customers and help them pick out merchandise.

To maximize the effectiveness of her new employees, she tracks shopper to staff ratio. This KPI lets Marlene determine if she has the appropriate number of employees on the sales floor to handle the volume of shoppers. Monitoring her wage costs, which is wages paid divided by the total sales, will also help her monitor her costs.

As her business grows, Marlene may decide to implement different strategies or develop completely new goals for her business. These goals and strategies may necessitate new KPIs to help her determine if they are effective. As her needs change, so will her data collection requirements and so will the way she analyses that data.

Tracking KPIs in your Retail Pro

Retailers using Retail Pro have several built-in tools to help them track important KPIs easily and automatically, including pre-designed reports that can be accessed in Retail Pro Reports.

Filters allow you to easily report on different aspects of your operation and break down your data into different segments to allow you to take a birds-eye view or get down into the weeds.

Retail Pro reports can also be completely customized. This allows you to save time and money by adapting an existing report to show exactly the information you need without a lot of work and effort.

From inside Retail Pro, you can use customer or inventory statistics to gain more perspective.

X-Out and graphical reports allows you to look at sales activity throughout the day and get instant analysis.

Have a different KPI that makes your retail life easier, or have questions about KPIs? Email us at training@retailpro.com with your comments and questions.

Happy tracking!

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7 Data Insights to Shape Your Retail Decisions Post COVID-19

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by admin

Enhancing the In-Store Shopping Experience With a Loyalty Program

Guest post from Antavo

In-store promotions are designed to attract customers to brick-and-mortar stores, build brand or product awareness and provide benefits that online shopping simply just cannot give them. If customers are not visiting the store they might be missing out on special promotions, discounts or free giveaways. 

Also when customers shop at a local business, they are strengthening the local economy as well. 

In order to compete with eCommerce, loyalty programs for physical stores have to be more than just membership cards. Creating a loyalty program is a great way to effectively strengthen your brand image, connect with your customers, improve your retention and drive more in-store sales. Following the pandemic touchless solutions are playing an essential role in the in-store experience. It is crucial that retailers show customers that they are invested in their safety as stores reopen.

Enroll Customers Into Your Loyalty Program In-Store In a Fun Way

Show customers how your in-store location is just as enjoyable as shopping online by:

  • Vivifying the thrills of shopping in person via allowing your customers to browse your online shop in your physical location 
  • Implementing click and collect 
  • Making sure your physical and digital stores work together
  • Letting your customers interact with your products 

Also, reward your returning customers with a loyalty program by offering discounts after a certain amount of visits, access to special in-store events and other perks. If they like the program they are more likely to recommend your store to friends and their families.  Special offers by push notifications, personalized offers will help you enhance brand experience. 

Bridge the gap between offline and online customer interactions with digital loyalty cards, which is an effective solution to boost in-store engagement and reach more customers through location-based messages, thereby driving multiple business KPIs.

Experiential Retail 

According to a study by Deloitte experience has become the differentiating factor for businesses. Over 50 percent of customers say that the overall enjoyment of the shopping experience was important when making their final decision. When customers visit a store and are offered experiences such as large video display walls, a cafe, kids’ corner, virtual reality they will want to return. All these create a memorable experience and soar customer expectations.

Retailers can engage with in-store customers by enriching the offline customer journey, by offering them fun, easy and convenient ways to interact with gamified features. For instance, an offline treasure hunt, where customers need to find marked treasures or products inside the store, then use their mobile to scan the item’s barcode for a reward. You can prompt customers to thoroughly inspect the whole store, ensuring that they discover products or sections they would have overlooked otherwise. Send customers a push notification inviting them to play a fun game and win rewards. A Prize Wheel is ideal for mobile apps if you prefer touchless engagement for in-store devices. Showcase the prize wheel on an in-store device to instantly catch customers’ attention. Customers can approach the wheel and take a spin, giving you a new way to engage them.

A Prize Wheel is ideal for mobile apps and for in-store devices as well.
After spinning the wheel and landing on a reward, customers are asked to log in or enroll in the loyalty program to redeem it. This ensures that they identify themselves while shopping.

QR Codes  

Implementing a touch-free solution like QR codes on brochures or on signages in different areas of the shop, on the counter or in the dressing rooms, is a great way to make customers aware of your loyalty program. You might consider putting a QR code on the tags of your most popular products, so customers can scan it with their phone and receive a reward in return such as a small gift at the counter or a sum of loyalty points. Make sure to let the customer know that upon scanning the QR code they get rewarded.

DSW, the American branded footwear and accessories retailer featured QR codes on their magazine ads to engage customers. When customers scan the QR code they are taken to the DSW’s mobile site, where they can find the store nearest to them to view the products in person, check their order status, view DSW’s rewards program, and redeem their loyalty points, or make a purchase then pick up their order curbside, completely contactless.

The visual design of Timberland’s Manhattan flagship store
The NFC technology helped Timberland increase customer engagement. The store could track, analyze and interpret their shoppers’ behavior

NFC Technology

NFC technology is a great way to spice up in-store customer engagement. With its help, you can create novel in-store experiences. It allows retailers to connect quickly and easily with customers at every step of the customer journey. In a loyalty program, NFC enables people to use their smartphones to interact with store-exclusive loyalty program features. 

In Timberland’s Manhattan flagship store around 50 percent of the store’s inventory had been equipped with NFC tags. Upon tapping information about the product came up on the screen. The NFC tag was integrated to collect data from the customer. The store started adding credit for customers who signed in on the tablets, adding an extra touch to the customized shopping experience.

Beacon Technology

Beacon technology boosts customer experience by increasing efficiency, providing money savings, convenience, inspiration, and personalization. With targeted ads and brand offers, notifications and greetings on special occasions, you can add value while increasing trust. With just a single beacon near the entrance of a store, you could send a promotional notification to the user whenever they enter it or track how many users come to the store in a specific timeframe. 

Target, the American retail corporation, is using beacon technology to help in-store customers to use Target’s app to create shopping lists, and then see where items are located in-store. As they move, their location changes in real-time, showing them whether they’re getting farther or closer to the product.

Target’s application will show your location on the map
The new Target application will actually show your own location on the map, as indicated by a blinking dot. As you move through the store, your location will update, too. (Source: TechCrunch

Introduce a Kiosk In-store

Self-service kiosks are a rising component of in-store technology. It gives customers the possibility to shop for both the physical and online product offerings. They help shoppers gather information and speed up the shopping process. In-store kiosks are also a great way to promote a loyalty program. You can either set up a kiosk where waiting customers typically gather or offer priority lanes as a members-only feature. It is also an excellent solution to make sure customers are entertained while standing in line. 

In order to help the customer as much as possible in finding products and to prevent lost sales, the ANWB,  a travelers’ association in the Netherlands, needed a new solution to offer customers products that are not yet in stock. The kiosk has almost the same performance as the webshop on a PC, but the navigation especially works in terms of visual language and icons.  By adding NFC technology to the kiosk retailers can ensure contactless touch screens for the customers making in-store shopping even safer in the post-pandemic world.

ANWB’s in-store kiosk makes sure that their full online catalog is accessible
With the in-store kiosk ANWB makes sure that their full online catalog is accessible. (Source: Kega)

Sales Associates

Obviously, human interaction has a great impact on a customer’s emotional connection to a retailer. It will be especially of outstanding significance following the pandemic when everyone is craving a return to normal face-to-face communication. Well-trained sales associates can help boost loyalty program membership rates, as one of the easiest ways to inform your customers about your loyalty program and how their today’s transaction will get them closer to earning exciting rewards.

The Douglas perfumery chain’s loyalty card, called the Beauty Card, makes it possible for the company to serve their customers in a much more personalized way both online and offline. Besides offering several benefits, such as birthday surprises, product samples and invitations to exclusive events. They also offer makeup refreshing, skincare services, and beauty tips in-store.

A sales associate is giving makeup tips to a customer in a Douglas store.
In Douglas stores, customers can collect Beauty Points on their Beauty Card with each purchase, regardless of where it takes place, at the brick-and-mortar store, online or via their smartphone. (Source: ixtenso)

Brick-and-Mortars Coming Back to Life

Following COVID-19 face-to-face interactions will be receiving an even greater emphasis, as customers are hungry for communication. As shopping has evolved dramatically over the past several decades, the competition between retailers is fiercer than ever. Customer buying behavior is constantly shifting, not only when it comes to in-store shopping but online shops have also joined the race for customers, providing them with more choice and convenience. 

Nevertheless, it is important not to overlook your stores as a crucial touchpoint in generating long-term customer loyalty. While customers are growing more comfortable with online shopping every day, the in-store experience isn’t going away anytime soon.

Brick & mortar borrowed this from online retail and increased revenue by 5.1%

Understanding the shopper in your data