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How Retailers can Overcome Common Delivery Challenges

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 22:14:12 +0000

Retailers have come a long way to keep up with the rapid challenges due to the pandemic, and high inflation rate and still keep evolving with the flow. However, at some point, customers want more. Customers ask retailers to be more knowledgeable about their orders, get their online purchases right away as they are lack of patience than ever before.

That is being the case, retailers need to be take a holistic approach over the entire operation and go through each process until the order is received by the customer. However, there are some main obstacles that retailers may miss out. Let’s take a look at what are the three challenges that retailers must overcome in order to meet custumer demand, compete in the retail environment and still be profitable.

Costly Fulfillment Methods

Let’s assume that a customer places an order and the retailers get notified. How the process work? In traditional and most common way, the order is fulfilled from the warehouse or from a distribution center without considering the current situation of that particular place in terms of busyness, distance and even the stock quantity. The operation until the order is delivered to shipping provider is run with manual actions which may cause frictions that ends up with lack of customer satisfaction and profit loss. However, in a world that an order management system is used, with an omnichannel approach, the order is fulfilled by business-spesific rules to find the most efficient way to fulfill an order and not only from a depot but from any stores available.

Lack of Technology

It gets complicated when multiple methods and shipping providers are involved. Most of the retailers don’t have control over their shipping providers to choose the most optimal way to make deliveries. This is how it is handled; retailers choose and integrate different methods including same-day delivery, standard delivery, etc. once and let customers choose. In this case, retailers can get help from a technology to make the right decision by considering the cost, distance and the most optimal way to deliver the order to customer’s doorstep.

Poor Communication

Customers have no patience for delayed orders and according to Deloitte’s latest research, 70% of customers are less likely to shop with a retailer again if an item is delayed and that is being the case, retailers should be more cautious while tracking and informing customers about where their order is placed and what is the exact time of delivery. It’s hard to track and handle tons of orders from different sales channels in real time without having a robust system. What retailers can do is get access to the entire lifecycle of orders accurately and give the right information to their customers whenever and wherever they want.

Shopi’s Omnichannel Order Hub solution is the perfect fit for retailers who suffers these challenges and face friction about their order lifecycle on a daily basis. With the shipment module, retailers can manage each and every order, in which conditions they will be shipped, and with which shipping provider by setting their own business rules and making it run in seconds. Today, it’s time for retailers to keep up with their customers’ demand, and thanks to Shopi, not only do customers get what they need but also helps to increase operational efficiency. To find out more about our solutions, please feel free to contact us!

Retail’s Perfect Complement: Omnichannel Approach for Efficient E-commerce Operations

admin — Sun, 04 Sep 2022 14:11:36 +0000

Shoppers have been spending less each and every passing month due to the high inflation rate and according to Forrester’s latest research shoppers spent $73.7 billion online in July, a dropped from the $74.1 billion spent in June. It is being the case, retailers need to find ways to avoid shoppers who are willing to make purchases facing inconvenience due to frictions. Customers are less patient and understanding with the problem they have with a retail brand online, mostly because of inaccurate information and out-of-stock. Retailers can cope with e-commerce issues by having the right strategies and technologies to step ahead of their competitors. It requires an ongoing commitment to adopting digital-centric practices that provide the agility and flexibility to meet expectations. With the right unified commerce framework in place, retailers can take proactive steps toward fostering new pathways to profitability and loyalty. Here are three tips for retailers to succeed in online shopping.

Make each inventory available to sell

Retail brands have already been challenged with managing inventory accurately and accessing the correct information and as the sales channels vary, controlling inventory is getting harder by using legacy systems existing. Imagine that a shopper goes into an e-commerce store, wants to buy a product that seems to be unavailable online and checks other stores’ stock, and finally finds a store where this specific product is available. The shopper goes to the store with the motivation of making a purchase, yet the product is unavailable in the store as well and unfortunately, the customer leaves the store empty-handed and dissatisfied.

The omnichannel approach eliminates such-like situations that lose sales even if the product might be available at other stores or warehouses. With the right technology adoption, retailers can unify their inventory in a single hub, see their statuses if they are not available to sell, make and control inventory available to sell at any desired sales channel and it makes each inventory available to sell and increase their profitability.

Shoppers are everywhere, be everywhere

Shoppers are indecisive with the increase in sales channels and tons of products, and they have trouble finding what they are looking for. To increase the chance of sales opportunities, retailers need to be everywhere where there customers are. From the operational perspective, being able to manage all sales channels and ever-growing marketplaces need a logical and comprehensive platform for retailers. Right order management systems enable retail decision makers to have a holistic view of each sales channel including stores, webshops, and marketplaces in a single place of control and manage the entire inventory allowing set buffers and allocating stock availability for each channel that automatically increases sales, and customer experience accordingly.

Let your customers choose how they want their orders delivered

While being able to make each inventory available is a game changer for retailers, the shopping experience continues until it is delivered to customers’ hands. The true omnichannel platform enables customers to track where their orders are in real-time giving them the trust they are looking for. Once the customer decides how they want their order to be delivered; last-mile delivery, same-day delivery, standard delivery, or even click & collect, the order is fulfilled from the most optimal location based on cost, time, and distance and making sure that both customers and retailers’ expectations are met right away.

Shopi’s Omnichannel Order Hub solves not only e-commerce frictions but all sales channels that the retailers are challenged enabling them to have full control over their operations, allowing them to manage each sales channel and their stock availability accurately with real-time visibility and smart order routing functionalities. While customers get what they want, retailers can enjoy fulfilling customers’ needs and increasing operational efficiency. Contact us to find out more about what Shopi’s Omnichannel Order Hub can offer to solve daily operational challenges with a robust platform.

How to Turn Physical Stores into Profit Centers

admin — Sun, 31 Jul 2022 17:47:55 +0000

Retail store spaces’ roles have been changing for good regarding how store associates are positioned, how each square meter is used, and what to achieve out of it. While the outcome retailers expect to get is more or less the same, there are tons of strategies to implement in order to serve best to meet customer expectations and of course increase the operational profit. Between all those strategies, turning stores into mini fulfillment centers is a hot topic even the biggest retailer brands consider and adopt lately. It seems to require hard work. Isn’t it? Because apart from it, there is an important part that retailers shouldn’t miss out on, according to IBM’s latest research, 72% of customers still rely on stores as a primary buying method. It shows that before adopting new methods to transform physical spaces, retailers also need to keep physical stores as sales channels and in the best way, as customers still rely on touching, seeing, and feeling the products before making a purchase.

In the real world with the existing traditional ways, providing the best customer service, transforming stores, and gaining new functionalities can be costly and requires hard work. With all the conflicts and expectations, what should be retailers’ next move to have the best running operations?

Identify your customers and what you are missing out

Before executing a new method that holistically changes the role of stores, retail decision-makers need to come up with a solid action plan, to access accurate forecast to know any type of costs -labor cost, delivery cost, transfer costs- and get to know their expectations and what they want to offer to maximize the efficiency. In order to decide on the new functionalities, they need to know their customer’s shopping habits and their demand. Customers vary and the best move is to find the right technology to offer a variety of options that makes them free to choose whatever they want.

Mini-fulfillment centers are the next big thing in retail

The key here is that while retailers focus on the transformation, they might forget offline customers which would be a huge mistake. In order to add new values to physical stores, retail decision makers make sure that their customers are happy being in the store and have a seamless shopping experience until they leave the store. Empowering store associates to accelerate their service time, and minimize the workload while providing the best experience might not be impossible with the right technology. If store associates have the right device that removes them from cashiers, and access what they might need to guide the customer, retailers have proper conditions for transformation.

The latest changes in big retail brands’ operations show that turning all physical spaces available into fulfillment centers seem like the next big thing in retail. There are two strategies that retailers implement; they either turn their existing stores into fulfillment centers, or both use their stores and buy new small spaces near city centers for faster and cheaper delivery. Executing both plans require the right technology.

With a robust order management system, retailers can easily control each sale and distribution center in a single place of control. Fulfillment processes are not simple enough to only ship from the nearest location but there are other metrics to consider like stock availability, the delivery cost, and the busyness of the channel.

Shopi’s Omnichannel Retailing Platform eliminates any friction during the shopping journey and the fulfillment processes. With a strong Omnichannel OMS in place, retailers can determine their priorities based on their customer habits, costs, and business strategies without needing a hardcoding but a simple and user-friendly configuration panel and let the algorithm works and find the best location to fulfill an item. Once retailers decide to turn their stores into fulfillment centers, all they need to do is use Shopi’s fulfillment application to complete any fulfilment tasks automated.

Retailers can also place Omnichannel POS in the store to minimize store associates’ workload so that they can focus on other works to add more value to the operation while increasing customer satisfaction as the application seamlessly help store associates to access and provide the full catalog, sell from everywhere and complete checkout right in the aisle. If you’d like to find out more about how Shopi can help you through your digital transformation, get in touch with us and ask for a demo that is customized for you!

How to Increase Customer Loyalty: High-Quality Omnichannel Data

admin — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 11:46:18 +0000

Retailers have been implementing technologies in almost every step of their organizations to get to have more data to help them run their businesses more efficiently, smoothly, and cost-effectively. However, there are some challenges out of their hands. Even if they acquire technologies to find out the demand, they always need accurate visibility of their inventory helping them to make the right decisions. There are few things worse than losing your customer who’s willing to buy a product and letting them down as you don’t know if you have that item in your stock, and even if so where it is.

Not only do retailers lose the chance of selling that product but their customers for good. Once customers face such problems, they tend to try other options, and unfortunately, gaining customers back is more costly than only losing one transaction because of stockout. Where there is a challenge, there is always an opportunity there for retailers to take advantage of. Having up-to-date data about orders and inventory and most importantly, having the capability of meeting inventory with customers no matter what is the key. Smart order management systems that have the ability to orchestrate orders “omnichannel”, reduce frictions of inefficiency both customers and retailers face. Let’s have a look at what are the main advantages.

Make every single inventory visible

Customers can face stockouts at any channel, it can be whether a physical store, webshop, or marketplace. Retailers try traditional ways of fulfilling the item from another location but while doing that give their customers hope ending with disappointment from time to time. However, they can not use these old-fashioned methods for their online customer. With an easy touch to their operations and placing a real-time inventory visibility module on top of their ERP systems, both retailers and customers can access the most up-to-date information on stock availability. The “secret sauce” is that, not only they can access the data of specific sales channels but the centralized inventory that is available for sale everywhere gives retailers to use their inventory wisely and keep their customers satisfied with a smooth shopping experience.

Now retailers have access to a centralized accurate inventory view, how do they sell?

One of the challenges is solved when retailers have access to stock availability of each channel in the most accurate way possible. But, here comes another challenge; how they will be able to sell the inventory efficiently when it is located in another location?

It’s hard to manage cross-channel sales without placing a smart algorithm in the center but not impossible if retailers are fine with fulfilling orders without doing cost optimization and also facing frictions caused by manual actions. There is no need for these inefficient actions with an omnichannel order orchestration engine in place. The second customer completes checkout, the algorithm can find the best place to fulfill the order based on the retailer’s business rulesets. These algorithms allow retailers to decide how important is time, distance, and channel’s current stock situation in order to find the most optimal way to fulfill an order.

Sales channels are increasing each and every day and retailers keep implementing those channels to have a presence to reach every potential customer. Here it gets complex to manage the inventory, but with detailed data of each sales channel and their real-time stock information, retailers can set safety stock to eliminate overpromising.

Better build the future with valuable data

These algorithms not only help retailers to make automated instant decisions but collects valuable data to make right further decisions. It gives them a snapshot of how their operations doing, what are the achievements, and what are the blind spots that they have been missing out on in a single place. As the advanced platforms allow decision-makers to change any variables in seconds without needing needs, enabling them to see the inconveniences, and immediately change them.

If you are a retail decision-maker who is facing those challenges in your operation, it’s time to meet Shopi! Shopi’s Omnichannel Order Hub gives you extensive control over your inventory involving you to decide on some variants and automates even the most complex scenarios with its smart algorithm based on your rules. Shopi guarantees to make each and every inventory to be available to sell at any sales channels, increase your sales volume, and provide a more customer-centric shopping experience. If you’d like to find out more about Shopi’s omnichannel capabilities, contact us now!

“Omnishoppers” are on the rise. How retailers can keep up?

admin — Sun, 29 May 2022 19:17:30 +0000

It’s no secret that retailers have focused on enhancing their e-commerce channels as they faced a dramatic shift to online shopping starting especially during the pandemic. Even though it can’t be considered a wrong move, retailers who totally ignored the in-store experience and invested online only to keep up with the trend will actually be losing in the long run. Why? It’s because customers now are not only do shopping online but blend online and offline who are “omnishoppers”.

Omnishoppers are more demanding compared to ones who only shop online or from a physical store. Retailers need to take those customers seriously and build experiences to meet their demands while maintaining profitability as they are now not insignificant. In that case, let’s take a look at what retailers can do to build more efficient operations.

How to create an intriguing online & offline experience

Physical stores still occupy an important place but if retailers have the right strategy to turn them into space to attract customers. Customers get the best service in the fastest way possible which is only possible through adopting the right technology. While a customer does online shopping, engines find them where they can find the product, the availability and suggestion. Physical stores need to provide that service to keep customers coming back. Digitizing the store with omnichannel POS and clienteling solutions makes a big difference from the moment a customer comes in the store. Store associates can complete registration processes without leading customers somewhere in the store that completely distracts them. By empowering store associates with the right tools, they can provide an experience that can compete with online shopping. Customer information and purchase history can be kept and accessed within seconds, and most importantly store associates don’t get tied in cashiers and complete checkout anywhere which improves customer experience.

What if customers face stockouts…

Let’s suppose a customer gets the best and most personalized experience from sales assocaites but if the sales associates can not access the accurate stock data, the shopping journey ends up being a disappointment. At that point, there should be a robust system that provides real-time inventory visibility to enable store associates to access the most accurate data. With a system that connects all the inventory of online and offline channels, store associates can share the stock availability confidently, complete checkout right away in the aisle, or even better, they can provide various fulfillment options including click and collect, and send to address as they are sure that the item is available at that store.

Does in-store inventory need protection?

Another aspect to consider is that there are a lot of physical stores retailers have to manage and each has a different size, busyness, and a number of employees working. In order to provide the same service in each store, retailers need a robust order management system that enables retailers to manage even the smallest detail, SKUs, the daily order assignment limit for each store, and give them the ability to turn on/off click & collect and send to address options in seconds. The answer is yes. For busy stores and trend products, there should be options to enable retailers to set buffers that minimize out-of-stock problems, their stress, and unsatisfied customers.

If you want to serve the best possible experience out there, meet Shopi’s ORP! With Shopi’s core capabilities, you can manage the entire operation confidently while maximizing profit and customer loyalty. Turn your stores into a place where “omnishoppers” get the speed and convenience they get from online channels. This way, increase the foot traffic to unlock cross-sale opportunities and offer convenient payment and fulfillment options. To find out more about how to transform your operation and how to do it easily with Shopi, get in touch with us!

3 Reasons Why You Need a Single View of Inventory

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 16:14:03 +0000

Retail processes are already complex enough as retailers should manage the inventory of all sales channels, distribution centers, and warehouses accurately. In order to improve the customer experience and to use the inventory without causing any overstocking and overselling, retailers need real-time visibility of their inventory. It’s nearly impossible to provide a friction-free service when stock is located across different channels and to achieve success by managing the entire organization with ERP systems that aren’t meant to design for that.

Retailers are aware of the importance of inventory visibility yet it is a huge challenge to find the right solution. That being the case, as the processes and decision-making become more complex and overwhelming, it may end up with inefficient operations and a lack of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Here are three reasons for retailers to understand the importance and the urgency of implementing a true omnichannel solution that provides accurate and real-time inventory visibility in a single place.

Sell from everywhere with confidence

The digital age has completely transformed the ways in which retailers seek to meet customer demands and every aspect of the business. While technology has brought about all of these changes, however, some underlying factors never change –– like the importance of customer satisfaction.

It does not really matter from which channel the customer use either online or offline, retailers become able to see the entire inventory from anywhere; in a physical store at the sales associate’s hand, online, and on marketplaces by accessing the right stock right away. This way, they never lose a customer who intends to purchase a product yet can not, as the product is out-of-stock in the current store’s stock. It also both increases the revenue by being able to sell physically unavailable products and more importantly improves the trust of the customer.

Never sell unsellable items

A true omnichannel experience does not only give retailers the real-time accessibility of inventory but to track what’s in stock, what orders are being processed and ready for pick up/shipment from stores or distribution centers. With the advanced technology and integration, retail employees can now mark damaged and unsaleable items and it drops from the inventory and are not shown in online channels automatically. Also, the inventory can be flagged as available for pickup from the store or sent to the address on SKU or channel level without bothering the IT departments and the changes reflects within seconds.

Manage the operation in a single hub

Implementing a solution that automizes the retail processes is crucial, yet for continuous success, retailers should also be able to see the clear picture of the operation. Real-time dashboards give actionable data including the channel the most used for fulfillment, products the most sold, and, order and inventory-related details for better business decisions. This way, retailers can stock the inventory in the right place which minimizes the shipping cost and customer experience improve accordingly.

With Shopi’s Omnichannel Order Hub, inventory is kept on the real-time visibility layer that doesn’t bother ERP systems. It provides better performance while the inventory is managed accurately and despite the traditional legacy systems, damaged and unsellable items can be marked and it surely prevents stocking problems. Not only do retail decision-makers manage the inventory in a single place but thanks to the real-time dashboard, they can make strategic business decisions to be applied for more efficient operations and happy customers!

How Retailers Can Provide the Best Service While Maintaining Profitability

admin — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 07:42:55 +0000

Retailers have been adopting smart devices and technologies for their store operations to meet ever-changing customer behavior which has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. The need for rapid change put apparent pressure on retailers as the environment forced them to rethink their online and offline presence and there has been no slowdown of competition ever since with the acceleration of digitalization. These changes are here to stay and researches show that 85% of consumers report that they plan to continue with the shopping behaviors they adopted during the crisis.*

It is also already known that the existing systems are no longer hitting the mark and are not answering neither retailers’ nor customers’ needs in running the operations efficiently. Plus these systems are not sufficient to compete when it comes to “omnichannel” transformation as they aren’t designed to answer retailers’ complex problems. In order to have control over their operations, they need to be able to have full control over their stocks and have accurate inventory visibility. Retailers need to know if a product is damaged, not found, or has another status until it’s sold, and while doing that, they also need to provide an exceptional shopping experience both online and offline. It sounds like too much work, right? Implementing the right technology eases each process and accelerates the transformation right away. Here are three main key points to adopt in order for retailers to have the most efficient and up-to-date operation out there.

Enhance In-Store Experience

There has been a constant change in customers’ shopping habits affecting the channels they prefer to do the shopping at and we have been witnessing this more for the past two years. With the pandemic, online sales increased dramatically, but even so, the latest research conducted by IBM in 2022 shows that 72% of consumers still rely on stores as their primary buying method. So, it may be the right time to consider in-store digital transformation to be able to provide the best service. But how?

Omnichannel mobile POS solutions that enable store employees to access the digital catalog as well as real-time stock availability and let them complete checkout without needing a cashier, will prevent lost sales stemming from out-of-stock problems. Even if an item is not available in that particular store but can be seen as in-stock in other stores or in any distribution center, customers can still purchase that item at that moment and have it shipped to any address they prefer.

Clienteling is also high in demand and could be considered for improving customer satisfaction. It’s no secret that brand loyalty is a key driver of business profitability and with such an app, customers can feel free to enjoy a personalized shopping experience while getting a fast and seamless service as store associates never have to leave customers’ side anymore.

Remove the Barrier of Stocktake Discrepancies

Sales channels become more and more varied leading to increased stocktake discrepancies. This is indeed one of the most critical issues for an organization since you can’t sell the inventory that you don’t see accurately.

To add to this problem, ERP systems are, unfortunately, not designed to answer real-time visibility requests. Yet, retailers mistakenly try using ERPs for such requests, almost like an order management system, and naturally can’t get the results they are looking for. On the other hand, an omnichannel order management system will provide retailers a reliable mechanism to sell without the hesitation of inaccurate inventory as these systems provide an almost 100% accurate inventory and real-time access to that information.

With a proper and holistic OMS in place, retailers can sell their inventory in the most ideal scenario possible and access real-time data of their orders, returns, cancels, and more detailed information including the most used delivery and fulfillment methods that help them immensely while making strategic business decisions.

Provide Exceptional Delivery

For most retailers, the order process ends when the package is delivered to the courier, however, there is a big opportunity for optimization right after “ pick and pack” processes so that in the end there is more profit, increased efficiency, and improved customer satisfaction.

Large retailers have vast resources to speed up and enhance their shipping processes while many mid-to-large retailers face a much different reality. They have little control and effort over their customer’s shipping experiences. Forward-thinking retailers are aware of the gap there and consider optimizing the shipping process with fully-automated shipment modules. By adopting the right module, retailers can fine-tune their business rulesets on the configuration panel and the algorithm finds the most optimal shipping provider from existing ones. The workforce and the effort can easily be minimized and as the processes run friction-free and automated, customer satisfaction improves accordingly.

Shopi’s Omnichannel Order Hub gives retailers full control of their operations by connecting all online and offline channels, offering real-time visibility and full automated work orders that prevent lost sales. Thanks to its smart algorithm, retailers can easily fine-tune the configurations enabling them to prioritize stores and warehouses for order fulfillment. Shopi also helps retailers manage pre-sales with the mobile pos and clienteling solution, Store Hub. This is how retailers can both provide the best service to their customers and make a profit as they can easily make the best decision by accessing the real-time data. If you want to find out how Shopi solves even the most complex scenarios with its highly inclusive solutions, contact us!

Resources

https://www.retaildive.com/news/report-85-of-consumers-will-continue-pandemic-shopping-behaviors-this-sea/608733/

https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/2022-consumer-study

Greyder “Omnichannel” Dünyasına Shopi ile Adım Attı

admin — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 06:13:42 +0000

Geniş ürün yelpazesiyle şıklığı ve konforu bir araya getiren Greyder, uzun yıllardır Türkiye’nin en çok tercih edilen ayakkabı markalarından biri. Ayakkabı severlerin tercihlerini önceliklendirerek hazırladığı koleksiyonlarıyla, kendini konumladığı “casual moda” alanındaki başarısını her geçen gün açtığı yeni satış noktaları ile kanıtlamaya devam ediyor.

Neden Shopi?

Greyder müşteri alışveriş deneyimini en üst seviyeye taşımak ve operasyondaki manuel işleyişi ortadan kaldırarak uçtan uca sorunsuz süreçler yaratmak için Shopi’yi tercih etti. Shopi’nin Omnichannel Order Hub çözümü, sipariş ile ilgili kararların akıllı algoritmalar ile vererek ve envanter üzerinde gerçek zamanlı görünürlük sağlayarak tüm süreçlerde maksimum verimlilik sözü veriyor. Shopi’nin “API-first” yaklaşımı ile var olan platformlara hızlı entegre olma yeteneği ile Greyder müşterileri ve çalışanları dijital dönüşümü deneyimlemeye başladı.

Değişen tüketici alışkanlıklarına “omni” çözüm

Greyder, 60 yılı aşkın tecrübesi, 40 ülkedeki 330’un üzerinde satış noktası ile ilk günden beri mevcut koşullarda en iyi üretimi yaparak, koleksiyonlarını tüketici ile buluşturmaya devam ediyor. Müşteri memnuniyetini her zaman ön planda tutan Greyder, değişen müşteri alışkanlıklarını geleneksel perakende operasyonları ile karşılayamayacağını öngörerek dijital dönüşüm için teknoloji arayışına girdi. Operasyonunu yalnızca fiziksel mağazalarında değil, e-ticaret alanında da hem web sitesi hem pazaryeri ile sürdüren Greyder, stoklarını verimli kullanmayı ve her kanaldan en iyi deneyimi sunmayı hedefliyor.

Shopi’nin Omnichannel Order Hub çözümü ile Greyder, kanal bağımsız online ve fiziksel mağazaların tüm siparişlerini tek bir noktadan yönetme yeteneği kazandı.

Greyder’in var olan ERP ve e-ticaret platformları ile entegre olarak kendini merkezde konumlayan Omnichannel Order Hub, ERP’nin sağlayamadığı gerçek zamanlı ve doğru envantere saniyeler içinde erişerek stok hatalarını ortadan kaldırıyor ve var olan stoğun en verimli şekilde kullanmasına yardımcı oluyor.

Sipariş tedariğinde Operations App ile otomatik süreçler

Yakın bir geçmişe kadar depolara düşen siparişleri manuel olarak yöneten Greyder, hem stoğu hem de depolarda oluşan yoğunluğu optimize etmek için, Shopi’nin tedarik, sevk ve teslimat uygulaması Opreations ile tüm satış noktalarını aynı zamanda birer tedarik merkezi dönüştürdü. Bu sayede e-ticaret sitesinden ve pazaryerinden gelen siparişler Omnichannel Order Hub’ın akıllı algortiması sayesinde depo ya da mağaza fark etmeksizin en doğru noktaya saniyeler içinde rotalanırken, hem envanterin akıllıca kullanılması hem de tüm operasyondaki yoğunluğun mümkün olacak en iyi şekilde yönetilmesi sağlanıyor.

Envanter üzerinde tam görünürlük sağlamanın yanı sıra, kanal, hatta SKU bazlı ayarlamalar yapmaya olanak sağlayan Omnichannel Order Hub, siparişin tedarik edilememesi sorununun önüne geçiyor. Bu sayede hem her operasyon için farklı depo yönetme zahmetini ortadan kaldırıyor hem de pazaryerlerine yüklü cezalar ödenmesini engelliyor. Bununla beraber, perakendecilerin en büyük sorunların biri haline gelen iade süreçlerini de kolaylaştırıyor. Greyder müşterileri ürünü satın aldığı kanala bakmaksızın çapraz iade gerçekleştirebilirken, tedarik, sevk ve teslimat uygulaması Operations tüm süreci otomatikleştirerek ve raporlayarak iade süreçlerinin mağaza çalışanları için kabus olmaktan çıkarıyor.

Omnichannel Order Hub, tüm süreçleri optimize ederek verimliliği ve müşteri menuniyetini arttırırken, ciro dahil, satışın en çok hangi kanallardan yapıldığı, en yoğun tedarik merkezlerinden, en çok satılan ürünlere kadar tüm verileri tek bir ekranda topluyor. Bu sayede Greyder yalnızca günlük operasyonlarını verimli yönetmekle kalmıyor, gelecek operasyon planlarını yaparken karar vermesine yardımcı olabilecek gerçek zamanlı verilere anında erişim sağlıyor.

The Role of Real-Time Visibility for Operational Success

admin — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 07:29:01 +0000

Advancements in technology and the pandemic have changed the retail environment dramatically and accelerated the digital transformation. People have become more tech-savvy -especially the generation z- and to keep up with the changing customer habits, retailers have to implement the right technology at the right time.

2021 has proven that retailers need to prioritize the solutions/technologies that their operations need in order to stay competitive in the market, meet customer expectations and increase sales volume.

One of the significant reasons that make retailers come to change how their operations run is the inaccuracy of available products and unbalanced inventory between online and offline stores. Right omnichannel order management technology with a seamless real-time visibility function has become a game-changing move since retailers had to deal with these consequences.

If You Can’t See It, You Can’t Sell It

Retailers expect their ERP systems to fulfill any need related to inventory. However, those systems’ main focus isn’t real-time operation track but inventory receiving, managing the inventory moves. In order to have success in operation, retailers should understand the intended use of each technology.

In order to deliver the perfect order, the internal processes of the operation should be streamlined from gaining real-time visibility of inventory to orders to be fulfilled. The right order management implementation gives the single look at the entire inventory regardless of the channel, helps employees to access the current status of an order, and most importantly enables HQ to manage configurations on the fly based on nodes -fulfillment centers-, stock level. This only gives the right result in operations where minute-to-minute inventory traceability is possible.

However, with an order and inventory management system, the inventory always gets ready for each possible sale, in every location in balance to minimize the lost sales, eliminate overcommitting and out-of-stocking problems and increase the sales volume accordingly.

See Your Way to a More Predictable Future

An order management system not only helps retailers to automatize the order process but also collects all the data from each action taken and turns it into actionable insights on a user-friendly dashboard that includes total revenue, revenue by channel, top products, and top fulfillment centers.

It helps retailers better predict future stocks, more specifically the SKUs that will be purchased accurately by accessing past experiences in a user-friendly dashboard. Also, decision-makers leverage the data to create advanced business strategies to run their operations more efficiently, deliver a superior customer experience and become more competitive in the market by saying “yes” to their customers more often.

Have Cost-effective Operations from Scratch

Starting from the internal operation, an order management system removes much of the decision-making responsibility from employees, puts tasks in order automatically and implements the business rules determined to decide each order’s journey, and most importantly, updates the data periodically. This way, the labor cost needed in the operation can be reduced or be used in the storefront and customer services to strengthen customer relationships and build loyalty.

The system automatically finds the best location to fulfill an order, knows the right amount of stock level that is needed for each channel and allocates the inventory without any friction. This way, shipment, and transfer costs are reduced compared to traditional order processing as the real-time visibility gives the most up-to-date information to the operation and makes these actions accurate.

With Shopi’s Omnichannel Order Hub, gaining these capabilities to operations is accessible than ever! There is no time left to keep up with the retail environment and adopt the latest technologies. Thanks to Shopi’s seamless integration-ready APIs, the existing systems can be integrated within weeks and gives the entire operations a single picture of both order and inventory-related information in real-time. Omnichannel Order Hub once takes the inventory information from existing ERP, then keeps any data that a regular ERP can’t take as damaged item, returned item, etc., and gives the most accurate visibility of the entire inventory. In order to better manage your inventory, and keep your customers happy, meet Shopi!

Why Omnichannel Order Management is Crucial for Decision-Making Processes

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 06:53:31 +0000

“Out of stock” – the three most dreaded words in the retail industry. Interestingly, 43% of customers’ shopping preferences were based on in-stock availability, while 31% expected extended stock visibility. This requires a seamlessly running operation and end-to-end control over inventory. Thus, streamlining order and inventory management and technology adoption is steadily gaining importance.

While retailers prefer spending their time on product improvement and brand building, the “new normal” makes them think more about the operational processes that are as crucial as the brand presence. With the new model, an automated order management system has become the one-stop solution that aids companies to focus on developmental strategies. The order management system and the algorithm that works behind make the operation run in the most efficient way possible, but there is another key aspect to consider which is tracking the data including orders, inventory, and performance accurately. This way, businesses can access elaborate dashboards to prioritize, plan and map out their action items in a well-thought-out manner, have better insights, and better-informed business decisions accordingly.

Visibility of Real-Time Operations

By using the right tool, retailers can drill down into inventory analysis and stock availability based on minute-to-minute data collection in a single pool which minimizes any data loss and error. The real-time performance data is beneficial for the right stocking, synchronized back and front stock level to perform and use the stock right and efficiently. Collecting and accessing the accurate data ensures monitoring business-critical KPIs of revenue, distribution channels, product returns, payment options, and other operational data that can be useful to take the right action. This observability helps judge inventory flow, address bottlenecks, correct errors, aid faster restocking to fulfill delivery periods, and so on. In the long run, with the right omnichannel order management system, by observing data collected over the years, seasonal demand upsurges can be identified based on previous selling seasons which helps to prevent out-of-stock and overstocking problems.

Follow Up Product Life Cycle

A comprehensive order and inventory management system offers a single view of an entire operation. It helps automate the flow of information during the entire journey of a customer order and more specifically the status of where the order is located presently and who is assigned for the task. Further, product requisition information is synced with the order management to provide end-to-end visibility in all channels.

Importantly, a retailer must understand the product stage with its life cycle to optimize warehousing and manage demand. For instance, a retailer may stock products with a good profit margin trend without understanding the product stage. If the product is at its maturity stage, its demand may either stagnate or decline. Without this visibility, companies may incur huge losses on account of obsolete inventory. Hence, omnichannel data management will provide 360-degree visibility to the stock at all times to avoid inventory and order-related errors that may cause loss to operations.

Ideation of Innovative Business Strategies

With the rise in online activity, companies have access to primary customer data. However, merely collecting data would mean wasting a valuable source that would provide actionable insights. The in-built business intelligence in the order and inventory management platform provides detailed reports, aiding companies to make informed business decisions. Further, data points such as top and bottom sellers, profit margins, ready forecasts are beneficial to varied functions such as giving access to detailed channel information; top products, top fulfillment centers, the channels used, etc. Using advanced analytics, retailers can design campaigns and create business strategies by tracking active customers, browsing activity, purchase intent, demand trends, etc.

For instance, the festive season is one of the busiest and profitable periods for retailers and by analyzing the product demand trends beforehand, they can tweak the ongoing strategies or reformulate a robust strategy.

With Shopi’s Order and Inventory Hub, retailers can benefit from the overall order management capabilities and easily integrate with the existing systems with an API-based approach within weeks. Once the entire operation is connected, whether the order comes from an online site or from a physical store, it can be monitored and controlled through a single dashboard. Using the inventory wisely, and locating the order in the right place, thanks to smart routing algorithms, retailers can also make business decisions, forecast future customer demand based on the accuracy of the data collected, and run their operation in the most efficient way possible. To find out how to turn your traditional retail operations into seamlessly running and unified platforms, contact us now!

The Impact of Mobile Technology on Retail Store Operations

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 07:43:27 +0000

Every retailer envisions the ideal shopping experience to end with customer satisfaction. The picture painted is of a smiling customer entering the store, browsing and selecting products, making the payment, and checking out delighted with the purchase. However, this experience is often plagued with crowded stores, stockouts, inadequate or absent store associates, and perpetually long checkout lines.

A lot of customers change or completely abandon their purchase decision owing to these factors. Today’s customers are known to be “always online” and have access to various non-physical stores. If retailers are inept in capturing and retaining the customers throughout the purchase journey, it directly results in lost sales. Hence, the need of the hour is an immersive and innovative customer experience. Digital retailing can achieve this change wherein the gaps between customer & store associates, and the store associates & headquarters are minimized. Let’s see how mobile technologies help achieve this dual-ended objective.

Enabling Store Associates with The Latest Technology

Long waiting times, unavailable sales associates and not being able to find what they came looking for are often the reasons that deter customers from completing their purchases at outlets. However, with the store associates app, associates can rectify the lack of in-store efficiency by providing a smooth shopping experience to customers. With a mobile app for associates’ use help them to browse or scan the product to add to customers basket with a single click and complete checkout right away without making them wait in long lines. This way, sales associates can be available round-the-clock to answer queries and provide immediate product delivery and suggestions without deserting the customer.

Visualizing a mobile point-of-sale in every sales associate becomes a reality with mobile apps that have in-built technology for free-flow communication between store associates and customers, allowing multiple baskets to be handled by a single store associate to best serve in the store.

Personalized Shopping Experience

Today, 86% of buyers are prepared to pay a premium for better customer experiences. Therefore, shoppers differentiate between retailers solely based on their ability to provide immersive experiences.

Typically, mobile apps help bridge the gap between the online and offline landscape. When adopting one to the operation, retailers can add an analytics component that tracks and evaluates the customer shopping behavior with parameters such as past transactions, search history, preferences, etc. Stores can go one step further by fostering relationships with customers by providing discount notifications, asking for feedback, or even remembering them on their special occasions. Hence, connecting with customers through technology-backed methods is a full-proof way to enhance loyalty.

Bridging Employees and Headquarter Relationships

Today, it is not enough that a company achieves customer satisfaction but also aims for employee satisfaction. Communicating seamlessly with employees and creating a culture of inclusion provides employees with an insight into business objectives and helps align their personal goals. Any company that provides employees with the company’s developments & announcements, displays employee success stories, etc., is bound to achieve better employee engagement. From a retailer’s perspective, taking this communication online and providing digital access to real-time performance data, individual duties, shifts & training, etc., would work wonders. This transformation helps build a connected workforce and workspace.

Automation of In-Store Inventory Processes

How can retailers provide customers with the right product at the right time? Is it by building larger stores to accommodate additional product ranges or by better inventory management? With shoppers now accustomed to online shopping, it is pertinent to bring the digital to in-store experiences. Customers spend hours at outlets trying to locate products. While sometimes they are successful, at other times, the tiring search leaves them empty-handed due to stock issues.

For better customer impact, back of store operations is crucial as well as the storefront performance. If the inventory is received at the right time and processed automatically with the help of handheld devices, it meets the store and customer without losing any time. Mobile associates app help employees in the field track the entire process in a single place and take action for multiple tasks- inventory receiving, label printing, cycle counting, etc.

Furthermore, stores can also incorporate an option that allows customers to place orders for unavailable products and get them delivered directly from the warehouse. With real-time availability checks, notifications, and various delivery options, this saves a great deal of time in order fulfillment and delivery activities as well as any potential loss of customers.

Hence, by simply refashioning the shopping experience, retailers can influence a customer’s purchase decision. In-store mobile technologies are set to transform traditional retail shopping. With Shopi, retailers can have digital capabilities to transform customer and sales experience. By achieving dual objectives of employee motivation and customer satisfaction, Shopi’s innovative technology will ensure a twofold benefit of business efficiency and profitability. To learn more about how Shopi optimizes your entire operation, contact us!

Omnichannel Order Management: Pain Points and Opportunities Ahead

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 07:08:47 +0000

It’s no surprise that, in the midst of this pandemic, the retail industry is in severe crisis. Retailers’ fortunes have worsened as a result of the global pandemic. Delivering the same customer experience across multiple channels becomes tiresome after a while. As a retailer, half the battle is already won, if the right tools are applied for the right strategy to propel both customers and operation. To stay in the game and to put your best foot forward, analyzing changing customer behavior and learning how to keep up with the industry is where it should be started.

Those brands and companies which can zero down on the cream from the crowd by incorporating the right tactics end up having convenient customers and efficient operations. Then, what lies behind the “new normal” and what to apply?

We’ve witnessed that having full control over the order journey and executing a true omnichannel order management is one such way that can help business owners thrive. Before going ahead, let’s take a glimpse of the challenges that can be a colossal reason for failure in operational efficiency before entering into omnichannel order management.

Unavailability of Accurate Data

What makes retailers lose revenue and customer loyalty is mainly because of the inaccurate data which causes lack of communication and loss of sales. Ended up with out-of-stock, overstock problems, and dissatisfied customers is just what retailers get if they can’t manage their channels, balance their stocks and have full control over their order and inventory in real-time. That’s why retailers need an order management system; to be more aware of what they have, to analyze and transfer their inventory to their top stores to use their inventory more efficiently and less costly, and most importantly to avoid saying “no” to their customers.

Disconnection between Online and Offline

It becomes critical and difficult for most retailers to keep all channels’ data and insight for informed predictions. Managing physical stores, eCommerce sites and marketplaces’ inventory data is now more important than ever since the pandemic hit and changed the balance of the share of channels.

Here is what happens when retailers don’t acquire the right omnichannel strategy. First, keeping up with the stock changes becomes nearly impossible which prevents them from investing in the right channel. Secondly, for the will of stores, tracking customer behavior and developing the right strategy ends up with failure as they can’t access real-time visibility and unified look of inventory.

Adversity in Returns and Exchanges

Gone are the days when customers were satisfied with what was being offered to them. As the saying goes, now, the customer holds the key of the industry; determines which channels to buy from, which technology they’d like to use, etc. They are no longer okay with the conflicts in return and exchange processes as it’s been a big pain point for customers and a determinant while choosing a brand to shop for. Omnichannel return & exchanges offer multiple ways that meet their customer’s demand including requesting return regardless of which channel they made the purchase to benefit from several exchange options.

What Happens as a Result

In a nutshell, the result is complete customer dissatisfaction and operation inefficiency. The number of channels for customer interaction is rapidly increasing as technology advances which makes the control much harder than ever. The more the interaction increases, the more the demand and inventory should be directed in the way that retailers benefit from. As the competition is fierce, retailers prefer not to refuse the customer. However, without real-time data and systematic operations, it’s hard to execute.

How to Achieve Efficiency in Operations

Retailers can better satisfy their customers and avoid all of the challenges to make their customers smile from ear to ear by utilizing integrated technology. Shopi’s Order & Inventory Hub provides the right engine to help retailers manage their channels unified which gives the right order & inventory data and the status of them to track what you have and where they are located presently. It allows retailers to monitor the advanced analytics of both their stores, channels, and more specifically their store associates and it gives the operation a vision for what comes next and has them be prepared for the next step thanks to business intelligence. This way, retailers take advantage of using their inventory in the most efficient way, balance their stock levels according to demand and give access to any channel of the inventory that avoids lost sales. To learn more about Omnichannel Order & Inventory Hub’s capabilities, get in touch with our experts!

Leverage Technology for Improved Inventory Management

admin — Mon, 03 May 2021 06:53:34 +0000

Poor inventory management is one of the biggest reasons for inefficiency, negative customer experience, and the resulting loss. This problem becomes more impactful when you’re selling a wide range of products and have only a limited space to store them all.

In such a case, these can be the consequences of poor inventory management:

You are unable to display your wide range of products
Poor choice of inventory management reduces your sales
Limited choices can be a turn-off for customers
Aggravates to track your inventory and manage them efficiently
Decreases employee productivity as they are constantly searching for products
Can create conflict between customers and employees.

If you are grappling with these problems, the good news is there is an effective solution that can help you to have full control over your inventory and orders as well; that is a well-positioned omnichannel order & inventory management system. You can leverage boosting your operation efficiency, customer experience, and overall productivity with the right strategy and technology behind. Let’s see how acquiring this kind of technology can protect your business from facing basic problems.

Omnichannel Order Management for Better Inventory

Omnichannel inventory technology should unify the entire inventory in a single place and give you real-time visibility, allowing retailers to have the right data over inventory while planning stock or demand according to the analytics. This gives retailers the power to procure what is needed based on customers’ demands. So, the concepts of “overstock” and “stockout” are eliminated as they have a unified look and can access the entire inventory whether it’s located in a warehouse or physical store. It helps retailers stop large items to occupy a ton of space in-store.

Let’s try to dive into this concept with an example. For instance, a customer walks into your store to buy a washing machine. You deal in about three brands and five models of each, for a total of 15 different of them. Imagine how much space it would take to store them and it’s just one product example. In addition to that, they are not fast-moving, so they just sit idle and occupy a large part of your store or maybe occupy the products’ place you can make profit from.

At the same time, when you don’t store these products, it can be a turn-off for your customer, and he/she can walk away to buy it from another store. That is something you surely don’t want. So, how can you strike a balance between these two possible scenarios? The simple answer – omnichannel order and inventory management systems and related devices to let customers monitor the products that aren’t in the store.

Think about a scenario where your customer picks one of your washing machine models; however, it is not in your stock. What will be your move to sell your product without any frustration for both sides? With an omnichannel order & inventory management system, you can immediately check other warehouses or stores with the help of real-time inventory visibility to find the way to sell the product. You can show the product to your customers without leaving their side thanks to the store associates app which enables displaying the entire inventory and related information in real-time. Also, you can let your customers help themselves and use in-store kiosks to display different models of a certain product they are looking for either it’s located in this store or not, and to enable them complete checkout without needing any assistance.

Improving Customer Engagement and Employee Productivity

As a business owner, this is another potential problem that keeps you from satisfying both your customers and employees. However, changing this unpleasant situation is possible with these technologies. When you empower your store associates with the right tools, they can quickly display the relevant products and their details, so they can provide accurate and timely information to customers. Also, they can display more choices instead of the unavailable product. It’s not just about selling the product, it’s also the principle of not saying “no” to customers to build loyalty and increase customer satisfaction. On the other side, the business owner increases the motivation of their employees by giving them what they need -the mobile app- to help them avoid wasting time searching for products and meet customer needs as soon as possible.

As you see, order & inventory management systems and in-store mobile devices, in particular, can be the panacea for all the problems that have been contributing to your loss. So, why not acquiring one to boost operational efficiency? Meet Shopi’s Order & Inventory Hub to have those capabilities to run your business in the most efficient way possible with minimum cost and maximum customer satisfaction.

How To Increase ROI Through Omnichannel

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 09:24:19 +0000

The world of retail has seen some major upheavals over the last few years, thanks to the emergence of the Internet, social media, mobile technologies, and now, the COVID-19 pandemic. As people start coming back to stores, there is an overwhelming understanding that everything will never be the same again.

During this period, people have gotten used to the idea of buying online and when they come back to the store now, they expect the same personal experience that your website has been providing them. As a retailer, understanding what has changed and giving customers what they need is the essential key to your success. And how can you do that? The simple answer – Omnichannel retailing and in-store technologies.

Let’s briefly understand what omnichannel retailing and related technologies are before we understand their importance.

Need of Omnichannel Retailing in Inventory Management

Omnichannel retailing is the process by which you can reach out to your customers through many channels to provide an integrated and streamlined experience. This requires the right tools to bring together your physical and digital retail channels for a connected shopping experience for your customers.

Many companies around the world are embracing this form of retailing simply because it’s the future. As customers become more tech-savvy and have access to different channels, providing this seamless experience across in-store and online channels is becoming a basic building block for your business. Omnichannel retailing not only has a huge impact on the customer experience, but also on inventory management, operational efficiency, real-time visibility into inventory, and employee motivation. Let us now see how this impact works:

Real-time Visibility into Inventory

One of the advantages of omnichannel retailing is that it provides real-time inventory visibility so that retailers do not have dusty stocks piling up in some corners of their store. Rather, you only have those items that are sellable, and your stock moves quickly as well. Such streamlined inventory management can lead to more profits and better use of available space. It also avoids stockouts and overstocks. You have real-time access to your inventory and can easily navigate your fulfillment strategies, creating rule sets for your routing algorithms over your inventory.

Boosts In-store Efficiency

From an operations standpoint, in-store technology will always give you more efficiency. When you use state-of-the-art technology to monitor anything from customer information to product information and stock availability, on a mobile device, employees will avoid scrambling around the store searching for things. All that they have to do is click a button on their mobile device to know where items are and to answer any questions that customers may have regarding the items in the store or regarding their preferences. In turn, store staff will have more time to interact with customers leading to better customer service, improved efficiency, and high levels of employee motivation.

Enhances Customer Experience

With omnichannel retailing, you are in a better position to handle your customers’ requests with speed, efficiency, and high levels of shopping experience boosting the overall customer experience. You’re more likely to stock the things they buy and even if you do not have it in the store, you can deliver the item to their address or you can fulfill it from another store or a warehouse for store pick-up. All these are sure to enhance your customers’ trust in your brand. Omnichannel technologies unify channels and your customers can now do every transaction from the stores even for the items they buy online. They can exchange, return and pick up items in store, even though they complete their purchasing process online from e-stores. This provides huge flexibility for both customers and for retailers, minimizing the cost of logistics.

Increases ROI through Omnichannel

When all of these are taken into consideration, you may wonder how these capabilities will help you in the long run to increase ROI. ROI is related to customer experience and operational efficiency at its core. So the better the operation, the better the efficiency, and according to that the higher ROI.

This is where omnichannel should be considered as a solution. If the strategy is well-executed then the quality of the experience increases. It forces retailers to be more involved and think about their presence on a larger scale. This leads to opening more possibilities and in turn make the retailer more successful and increase ROI.

The health of a business largely depends on how well-received and professional it is. It will become important to be omnichannel, to stay one step ahead of the game. Customers are looking for retailers with whom they can connect and make the customer journey satisfying. When these needs are met, the ROI is increased accordingly. With omnichannel investments, you will be not only increasing your overall customer satisfaction but also increasing your efficiency and minimizing your cost for your operations and logistics.

So, isn’t it high time to acquire an omnichannel order management technology to enhance your operation and to keep up with the era? Meet Shopi’s cloud-based omnichannel and mobile solutions that meet the needs of modern-day retail scenarios. Fulfill all those needs above with an intuitive dashboard and a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to stay on top of your customer engagement while increasing your operational efficiency and return on investment.

What Lessons Learned in 2020

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 06:36:13 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought sweeping changes to the retail world as stores learn to bridge the physical and digital to provide a seamless shopping experience for customers and at the same time, implement some necessary precautions to provide contactless shopping to avoid hygiene concerns.

These changes have been possible because of the use of omnichannel technologies such as order management systems, inventory management systems, in-store mobile devices, and more. Also, more retailers are looking to keep up with the challenges and have been turning to technology for the same. In 2021, retailers are aware of the path they should take to keep the pace of the environment and to survive. The lessons learned from 2020, so let’s check out what to keep and what to avoid to acquire these experiences right.

Why Low Operational Efficiency?

A study by Forrester Consulting shows that 67% of retailers are concerned about low operational efficiency, but only 27% feel in control of it. This gap stems from a lack of understanding of what causes inefficiency and leads to an inability to fix them.

Broadly speaking, low operational efficiency occurs due to,

Outdated inventory practices that cause unwanted items to pile up and leave out the essential and fast-moving items
Disconnect between online and offline systems, so what’s shown as available on the website is not available in the store
Poor understanding of market demands and changing customer preferences
Poor orchestration of the existing systems, especially in an omnichannel environment
High employee turnover

All these reasons can occur in isolation or in tandem to bring down the efficiency and the resulting profits.

Bad Customer Experience

In today’s competitive environment, you simply can’t afford to lose customers because they had a bad experience in your store or website. Some of the possible contributors to bad customer experience are:

Long queues
Customers are unable to find what they want quickly
The disconnection between employees and customers, especially when employees are unable to answer customers’ queries
Social distance in the wake of the pandemic
Lack of a personalized shopping experience

Remember, you have only a couple of minutes to impress your customer, so even a small misstep can be critical.

Silver Lining – A Digital Transformation

Though bad customer experience and low operational efficiency can sound like a double whammy, it’s not all so bad because you can address both the issues with the right digital transformation and technology.

The right technology that you choose must

Facilitate quick checkouts
Provide a personalized shopping experience where the store associates can suggest the right products based on past buying patterns.
Inventory is up-to-date and at a place where it’s easy to find
Employees can answer questions accurately based on updated information available on their handheld devices
The digital and physical stores are streamlined to provide a user-friendly experience for customers
All the different digital channels and devices are connected to ensure that the complexity of managing them doesn’t overwhelm your resources
Has a short learning curve for employees, so they can get on the job right away.

Now, if you’re wondering whether such in-store technologies even exist, Shopi’s solutions are the best fit for you. With Shopi’s Assist, your store associates are guided with smart mobile devices that consist of what they need from customer information to product detail. It also enables mobile checkout from anywhere in-store without having to ask your customers to wait in long lines. Store managers and the HQ can easily track the performance of both stores and specifically the employees if the given goal is reached. For customers who’d like to experience self-shopping due to hygiene concerns, can easily use Shopi’s Sign, in-store kiosks, to complete the shopping process by choosing the product they like and complete checkout without any guidance.

Moreover, Shopi provides full control over the stock of your online and offline stores with its Order & Inventory Hub solution. The entire inventory of your operation is first centralized and then thanks to the smart routing algorithm, finds its place in the most cost-effective and optimal way possible that meet your customers’ need This way, out-of-stock problems are diminished by having full control over your stock in real-time, and customer satisfactory level increases as they never have to face the answer “no”. To learn more about our solutions to overcome these times of crisis and be beyond traditional retail operations, contact us now!

Why In-Store Technologies Hold the Key to Survival

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 07:18:40 +0000

Change is the name of the game for fast-fashion retailers as they thrive in an ever-changing world of fashion and preferences. These retailers are constantly challenged to maintain high product turnover rates and to cater to their customers in a highly saturated market.

These preferences have taken on a whole new meaning as consumers come back to retail stores post-pandemic to experience the sensual pleasure of look and feel. Besides, the physical shopping experience is often seen as a form of entertainment that provides a sense of gratification for shoppers.

As consumers head back to stores, shop owners have to adapt their businesses to meet the health concerns, without compromising on the shopping experience. Given this scenario, it’s no doubt that in-store technologies and mobile solutions are the way forward as these retailers strive to maintain leverage their inventory with their customers. Below are some ways by which these technologies are powering fast-fashion retailers.

Inventory Control

Imagine a customer walks in, finds an empty shelf, and asks one of the sales associates about the availability of the desired product. How convenient and professional it would be if the sales associate could quickly check on a mobile device and give the accurate product detail and stock availability in other stores? Imagine how the customer experience and the customer loyalty would go up if that customer could still purchase the product right there and have it shipped home, even if the product she’s looking for is not available at that very store, at that very moment.

This also helps the sales associate since there is greater confidence and certainty in communication, and the business benefits as a whole with better control and flexibility over inventory with more motivated sales associates, and of course more satisfied customers. A win-win situation for everyone involved…

Such experiences and such flexibility can only be possible with the right solution that will approach the inventory from a holistic point of view. ERP approach to the inventory, displaying only limited attributes is simply not enough to provide the ultimate omnichannel experience in the store. A detailed catalog combined with deep inventory info will bring an enormous shift to the in-store experience.

Easy Checkout

One of the biggest problems of shopping is the long checkout lines. These are annoying for customers, put enormous pressure on store associates, and create an overall bad experience. In fact, research shows that long checkout lines cost retailers about $37 billion in potential sales each year.

A better option would be to use mobile checkouts and automated kiosks that would make the checkout process easy and convenient for customers so that they keep coming back to the store for more purchases. With reduced hours and the latest concern for space among shoppers, cash lines have become a more severe problem for retailers. The ability to complete check-out without lining up in front of a register is a must-have rather than a nice-to-have these days.

Predicting Customer Behavior

Another important asset to have in-store is capturing and accessing customer information. predicting customer behavior can be a game-changer as it allows retailers to stay ahead of the curve. Providing shoppers customized offers can be powered by AI and complex algorithms that leverage the power of mobile and cloud technologies that can analyze a customer’s demographics, preferences as well as past behavior and predict their expectations.

Addressing Operational Issues

Fast fashion retailers face a unique set of issues when it comes to managing operational processes manually. The complex process starts with accepting an order and after that, there are multiple phases to pass some of which are manual and inefficient until the product is received by the customer. And if in order to fulfill the order, there are returns and exchanges or product transfers involved, the process can be even more complex and manpower-consuming. Yet, efficiency and speed are a matter of extreme importance in the “new normal” environment. Unavailable stocks or delays in delivery and returns will cause problems both for the operation and customer experience. Stores should have a platform that can support and automatize their operational processes while providing real-time data to accept the order as soon as the request is in its place and balance the inventory in real-time to manage the stock availability.

Shopi’s cloud-based in-store solutions are the best fit for such conditions that cause both operational inefficiencies and dissatisfied customers. A convenient shopping experience is only possible when you are able to provide a good service from the first minute they come to your store. As the direct contact to your customers are store associates, Shopi’s Assist turns your associates into knowledgeable guides that meet any answer your customers’ need from product information to stock availability in seconds. It also provides a cashier-free checkout process anywhere in the store as long lines are always a pain in the neck that affects the brand’s presence and customer experience. For customers who’d like to experience self-shopping are allowed to search for the product that they’ll purchase and complete the checkout without needing any guidance thanks to Shopi’s self checkout solutions. In-store and warehouse operations can be handled by Shopi’s operation solutions. If you are willing to have the most accurate data regarding your operation, from product information to inventory availability and you also want to build customer loyalty by noticing your customer’s needs, contact us now and never miss a sales opportunity in your stores.

Returns Got You Down? Meet Omnichannel Return Technologies

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 22:03:07 +0000

Ecommerce saw significant growth in sales estimated at 39% in the last quarter of 2020. Experts claim it’s the highest growth seen in the last 13 years. The drastic change obviously causes a struggle for retailers who don’t have any online presence or a strong organizational structure to support an online operation. Lack of the above caused approx 1000 manufacturers to cancel orders worth 1.5 billion due to the pandemic, according to Bloomberg. This dramatic situation has been the inevitable result of not only insufficient stock levels but also the fact that the inventories were not managed across channels. At this point, most of the retailers have taken measures to adopt omnichannel technologies for their organizations. The ultimate goal is of course to have full and unified control over inventories so that the inventories can become accessible across all channels.

Omnichannel technologies can solve problems at different points of the shopping process. One example is that while customers are headed to online shopping, the return rates keep increasing as they are not able to try, feel and see the product as they do in a physical store. Standard return rates of physical stores ranging from 8% to 10% have risen to approximately 20% for e-commerce, according to CBRE. That means optimizing the return process now is actually as important as optimizing the shopping process. Returning purchases is a complex logistic process that can cause stock errors, delays, and extra logistic costs as well as customer complaints. The good news is that with technology that enables omnichannel return capabilities, the pressure on retailers can be lifted. Let us see how.

Omnichannel Returns Accommodate Customer and Store Needs

Customers have many options when it comes to buying, such as buy-online-pick up-in-store (BOPIS) or reserve-online-pick up in-store (ROPIS). In that respect, the omnichannel algorithm fulfills their expectations but they also need to have the flexibility of returning their products to experience a convenient end-to-end shopping process.

With a centralized omnichannel order hub, the returns can be tracked and managed as well as the entire inventory from a single point. Return processes should be part of a true order hub as the life of an order can continue after fulfillment. Such a system also should give retailers the power of monitoring their operation in real-time helping them minimize any errors. Return processes are usually divided into several manual phases which are followed and managed tediously by employees which usually creates a lot of effort on the operational staff.

However, an operation that has a comprehensive OMS or centralized order hub in place will automatize and conveniently minimize the effort needed to run the operation. The efficiency gained will result in many positive ways, such the staff concentrating on their customers or product information. Also, the impact of adopting an omnichannel approach will certainly be realized by customers as they will have the power of flexible delivery and return options. Now the retailer can sit back and enjoy both having the most optimal fulfillment algorithm fitting to business needs and an increase in customer satisfaction level.

With Shopi’s Omnichannel Order & Inventory Hub, you can have all these capabilities in one platform. It will provide you full control of your inventory. You will be able to display order status as well as return processes in real-time. Check out the benefits of having an Omnichannel Order Management System in detail from the related blog article (https://shopihq.store/how-omnichannel-strategy-accelerates-the-entire-operation-in-retail/) and contact us to meet your needs for a better operation.

The Era of Merged Omnichannel Store and E-commerce

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 07:26:51 +0000

The shift of consumer spend towards e-commerce has been the major retail headline in 2020, and one of the main implications of this shift is the enhanced role omnichannel has come to play for retailers. In the 2020 timeframe, online retail traffic grew 207% over 2019, Queue-it shows us. However, this data doesn’t mean there is one channel for retailers to focus on. Quite the contrary of this saying, with the new customer habit, retailers should find a way to use all their channels, both online and offline, effectively. By now all players in the retail industry must know that this can only be achieved through integrated technologies.

So are retailers ready for this early rise of e-commerce? It seems that they are still providing not-so-integrated offerings in-store, on the website, and on mobile. This lack of integration is leaving customers disappointed and causing retailers loss of revenue, however, retailers are now also realizing -faster than ever- the real advantages of going omnichannel and leveraging this technology to maximize their efficiency and provide the best service possible to their customers.

How Technology is Changing the Retail Experience?

For a retailer to be able to provide an omnichannel experience to the customer is essential nowadays for the purposes of increasing satisfaction and efficiency. They must rely on real-time data supported by automation that can analyze information to develop the customer profile, and to keep track of store delivery and returns, also, track in-store inventory, store performance, and order fulfillment. Monitoring and controlling the lifecycle of an order is also critical in order to bring the omnichannel experience into life.

The omnichannel experience also involves the store associates offering better services such as enabling store customers to buy from all inventories, (including e-commerce) or to have them easily pick up their e-commerce orders from stores or to return online purchased items easily from the most convenient store. All these scenarios sound easy to implement, however they involve quite complex operational processes for retailers and can only be made possible with the help of omnichannel technologies.

Omnichannel Order Management Helps Retail Stay Relevant

New generation shoppers are considered a force with significant buying power. They are tech-savvy and always checking their smartphones to find the things they need and want to get. As much as this generation is considered very digital, they still preferred going to the store before the Covid pandemic and buying their products in person while also favoring interacting with the brand online. This has created an opportunity for store owners to leverage the omnichannel strategy.

To appeal to these generations and stay relevant, retailers have been looking to embrace innovative solutions. Nowadays physical stores are not preferred as they used to be and retailers will have to find other ways to leverage stores in order to maximize their potential capacity and turn them to profit centers.

Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, stores are not exactly the places people would like to go and spend ample time as the precautions have been stricken. These stores, however, could be positioned as mini distribution, delivery & return centers with the help of omnichannel technologies. This scenario will require a merged display of all inventories including warehouses, marketplaces, offline and online stores. When implemented properly, omnichannel order and inventory management systems will most efficiently optimize fulfillment and will help retailers maximize store capacity which has been dramatically reduced since the beginning of the pandemic.

If retailers can accomplish the implementation of an order and inventory management platform where the inventory is centralized and the order can be monitored and controlled throughout its lifecycle, it will lead to a point where the customer can order from anywhere without facing an out-of-stock warning and retailers can fulfill the order from every inventory they own. With the help of such a system, customers can easily process their online purchased items from a nearby store. The flexibility of delivery and return services such as BOPIS, BORIS, etc. is more critical than ever as touching and seeing the product still matters. What is required to survive for the retailer is the ability and agility to use the resources effectively. With Shopi’s Order & Inventory Hub, whether your online store is popular or not, you will always be on the safe side while managing your inventory and omnichannel order processes and controlling your operation 360 degrees in real-time. To learn more about how Shopi’s Order & Inventory Hub works, feel free to contact us any time!

How to Thrive in the New Retail Reality

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 21:58:24 +0000

At the end of 2020, we’ve learned that the most important thing retailers need to acquire is digital transformation. This requirement made retailers take quick actions to adapt to the changing environment in these challenging times. In today’s new retail reality, multiple delivery and fulfillment options have become valuable assets for retailers and consumers alike. How do you answer the call of adopting fulfillment capabilities, consumers’ new shopping preferences, and the need to maximize current inventory? The answer lies in order management capabilities, data, and personalization.

Understanding the process of order management

Basically, order management is a process of picking, packing, and shipping the items whenever an order is placed. It runs an algorithm that helps retailers keep track of the order and the steps to fulfill them. It may sound easy to adapt. However, imagine you are running tens or hundreds of stores with multiple warehouses serving background. At this point, you have to determine what your priorities and capabilities are and plus how an omnichannel order management system should be placed within your operation even before building one.

Redefining the order fulfillment

There is a system that all retail operations use internally to manage their order processes somehow, but the statistics show that they still need an omnichannel order management system to thrive on. Let’s check out what makes this system necessary and distinguishes it from other simple systems.

The entire inventory of both online and offline stores can be monitored and managed from a single point in real-time.
Smart routing algorithm finds the best location either a store or a distribution center to fulfill an item.
Cross channel delivery and return options (BOPIS, BORIS, ROPIS) can be offered to have loyal customers.
The single view of the operation lets you follow the order status (picked, packed, shipped) easily.
Needed reports are accessible in seconds to have better insights about the store or the entire operation.

The changing customer behavior increases the need of having an omnichannel technology that provides a faster, error-free, and more personalized shopping experience as it’s mentioned above. According to Pwc, The number of companies investing in the omnichannel experience has jumped from 20% to more than 80% in 2020. Today’s retailers have to take action quicker than before to keep up with these changes.

With Shopi’s Omnichannel Cloud, building the strategy your operation has to acquire is easier than ever. You can determine the business rules for each of your stores differently according to your needs and let the algorithm run to fulfill the item without friction. Also, your entire inventory will serve your entire operation to avoid stockouts and overstock. Isn’t this amazing?

To better serve your customers, you can reach the order status to find out if the order is picked or packed or is ready for shipping or which shipping method was used for delivery, and where it is at?

What makes omnichannel order management unique is, of course, giving the ability to retailers to monitor the entire operation in real-time. From order status to performance tracking, what retailers need to run a store in the most efficient way is possible with real-time data. Imagine you can are free of operational errors since you can manage the inventory from a single hub as it’s connected to all of your channels as well as monitoring them in real-time. It sounds great, right? Also, all these benefits your operation is looking for is just a click away with a chance of easy integration of your ERP and CRM systems. Contacts us to find out more about Shopi’s Omnichannel Cloud.

Personalizing the Shopping Experience Through Clienteling

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 11:08:58 +0000

Not so long ago, when you walked into a store, you were greeted by your first name and the shopkeeper knew the things you used and the brands you preferred. So, he gave you just what you want and at a discounted rate because you visited the shop often.

The result? You came out of the store smiling because you got a personalized experience and felt happy with the interaction with your shopkeeper.

Fast forward a few years. You walked into a huge retail store where no one knew you or spoke to you. No smiles, no greetings! You silently looked at all that was displayed, picked the items you wanted, and walked out of the store. While this was not a bad experience, you obviously didn’t feel great while shopping or walking out!

What is the future like? A digital world that is devoid of personalized experience where users shop on a website instead of a store, with no connection to your brand or your offering?

Not necessarily! You can use technology to bring in personalization to the shop floor and to be more specific you can use a technology that addresses both sales staff and customers to bring back the old way of doing business but in a digital world. Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Clienteling.

What is Clienteling?

Clienteling is a strategy used by stores to provide a personalized customer experience by gathering customer data including purchasing history, browsing history, and other related actions done on the website or app. This way, the store associates will know your name and your preferences.

This is a powerful strategy that gives the best of both worlds – a digital interface and a personalized experience. This is sure to bring the smile back on your customers’ faces and helps you to leverage the multitude of benefits that come from it.

Let’s take a brief look at what clienteling can do to your business.

Helps to provide a targeted service for your customers
Boosts loyalty and more customers are likely to come back.
More consumers, leading to more sales and revenue.
Promotes up-selling and cross-selling, so your customers actually end up buying more
Happy customers who can relate to your offerings
Great brand image
Instant data
Use of advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and predictive analysis to make appropriate recommendations to your customers
Establishing a long-term relationship with customers
Enhancing professionalism among store associates
Superior customer service, as employees will be in a better position to answer all the customers’ queries, leading to improved customer experience.
Make the best offers to the right consumers

While this is not an exhaustive list, it is sure to give you an idea of the huge potential of clienteling and the big difference it can make for your business.

But the key to enjoying these benefits is to choose the right clienteling tool, as you want the tool to have an intuitive user experience, provide the right data, create a personalized experience for your customers, support mobile checkout, track purchase history, analyze customer data, and more.

With Shopi’s Clienteling solution, you can display your customers’ past purchases, personal preferences, shopping habits, open baskets with a user-friendly interface of customers list. The store associates who have the power of controlling the store and customers provide satisfied service that gives you up-selling and cross-selling opportunities.

Also, you can easily classify your VIP customers in the black book for a close up look and inform them about online and in-store campaigns that suit their needs the best.

Long story short, in today’s retail stores providing a personalized experience to customers, is almost impossible without an assisted sales technology. Now with, Shopi Assist, Shopi’s Mpos, and clienteling solution, stores will become online-connected and technology-driven channels where customers can experience fast, easy and seamless new generation shopping with utmost customer satisfaction

To learn more about how Shopi’s solutions work, contacts us!

What Retail Transformation Requires

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 06:46:50 +0000

Nearly a year after the pandemic has started, the new normal has been established and some aspects of it may very well be here to stay even when it ends completely. While it was wildly popular pre-pandemic as well, omnichannel retail has become the obvious thing to do. With the change in customer shopping habits due to hygiene concerns, the ease of online shopping, and the lockdown restrictions, the retail industry’s operation had to keep up with new challenges. These changes made retailers rethink and reprocess their operations. While some stores opened their online channels, some of them tried the latest integrated technologies to merge online and offline stores.

The new understanding of using channels connected, omnichannel, brings productivity in every corner of the operation. Now the stock availability of any stores can be displayed from store associates which improve customer satisfaction and also the needed product can be fulfilled from other stores available according to the determined business rules. On the other hand, smart order routing activities, product status, online and offline stock balance can be monitored in real-time from a single point to provide better performance tracking of the entire operation. However, while these challenges and innovations that the retail industry and customers face improve the stores to keep up with the new retail era, it also addresses another significant aspect of the shopping experience; the deficiency of delivery, and return processes. Omnichannel management systems also help retailers to adopt the buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) and the buy online, return in-store (BORIS) models to cope with delivery and return processes allowing customers to purchase and return anywhere they want with utmost efficiency and customer satisfaction in these times when customers have the concern of doing safe and quick shopping.

When it comes to BOPIS, customers can choose where to pick up the product and to be sure that the item they’d like to purchase isn’t out-of-stock, so that they don’t waste time coming to the store for an out-of-stock item. This ensures giving shoppers a more seamless experience that allows them to easily purchase products and pick up on the same day at their convenience. This will go a long way in creating lasting customer loyalty and from the retailers’ side, it drives in-store traffic.

While retailers provide customers the flexibility of returning the product, they are also fretting about the loss of revenue. BORIS creates an easy process to improve customer satisfaction and also creates opportunities to upsell. Driving the customer traffic to the store may direct them to discover new products they may not have thought about purchasing before.

With BOPIS and BORIS omnichannel fulfillment solutions, retailers have the ability to offer consumers multiple ways to fulfill orders, driving in-store traffic, and increasing revenue. In an age where customers are not willing to spend more time in-store due to health concerns and prefer completing purchases without waiting for delivery to address, Shopi’s Omnichannel Cloud solutions can reshape the traditional retail operation and replace a system that meets both retailers and customers need.

References

https://www.mytotalretail.com/article/retailers-and-shoppers-are-all-about-bopis-and-boris/

How Omnichannel Strategy Accelerates the Entire Operation in Retail

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 08:46:46 +0000

The traditional structure where a retailer uses one strategy for inventory management and another for store efficiency is becoming outdated.

Imagine you wanted to buy a pair of slick black trainers. You visit your favorite online store, and you see the out-of-stock tag. Then you visit the physical store hoping for a different outcome. The store associate tells you they have it, but not in this outlet. This is how a retail store loses an eager customer.

Day by day, we’re witnessing the line between online store and retail is being erased especially with the rise of omnichannel strategies such as omnichannel order fulfillment, buy online pickup in-store (BOPIS), buy online return in-store (BORIS), ship-from-store (SFS), and many more. What’s the pushing power behind these strategies?

So, What’s Pushing Retailers to Adopt Omnichannel Strategies?

The digitalization age produced a new type of customers with higher expectations. The need to meet customer expectations is a force pushing retailers to find solutions. And the omnichannel order management system is proven to be the right answer. Using all channels both online and offline as a unique unit meets retailers’ and customers’ needs of keeping up with the latest trends and using their time and money efficiently. In a scenario that both sides win, let’s get deeper and understand what actually an omnichannel retail technology is.

Advance Tech Improves Store Efficiency

According to the research of Salesforce, 84% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Retail store difficulties as stock errors, inefficient communication, return and refund processes cause bad customer experiences but now it can be easily eliminated with an omnichannel understanding. For example, imagine you’re managing several stores. And you have data that can predict which store needs more inventory allocation based on sales history. Wouldn’t that make your job easier?

In a traditional store only in-store inventory can be tracked and whether it works in real-time is suspicious. However, integrating all channels and managing entire inventory from a single point avoid overstock and out of stock problems, and redress a balance across channels. Thus the operations run in real-time, organizations can easily track inventory and make plans for the future accurately.

Building a store communication and synchronization between channels also enables providing a vast of omnichannel delivery options. A customer can easily buy a product online and return it to the physical store as well as buying it online and picking up in-store etc. Providing these options to customers allows them to receive a satisfactory shopping experience.

At the heart of every omnichannel strategy, you will find the customer, and retailers should consider that while making a decision on their stores and operations. A recent study by Harvard Business Review suggests, 73% of customers prefer a mix of online and offline experience. This new type of experience guides retailers who aware that running an efficient store comes with satisfied customers to adopt an omnichannel strategy.

Centralized and coordinated data help you to reach customers through many channels and that can be called the key to keep up with the future of retail. With Shopi’s Omnichannel Cloud, You can easily integrate your channels both online and offline, and easily manage them from a single system as if you have only one store. The out-of-stock issue is a concern of traditional retailers! With Shopi’s smart order routing technology, find the most optimum store to fulfill an item and deliver the item wherever your customer wants; either to a store to pick up the items or to their doorsteps. In the era of providing solutions with developing technology, never let your customer walk out of the store without purchasing anymore.

References

https://www.salesforce.com/blog/customer-engagement-trends/

The Future of Retail After COVID-19

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 06:00:00 +0000

For the past few years retailers were intuitively aware that acquiring and integrating new technologies were the most critical steps to take in order to be aligned with the future of retail. However, the decision making processes were long as the digitalization of retail was still a vague concept and the expected return on those technological investments were still not concrete. This notion of vagueness and the time taken to make the investments have dramatically changed when COVID-19 crisis starting at the beginning of 2020 hit the retailers with drastic consequences. The impact of the pandemic caused major shifts that drove retailers to adapt to new solutions faster than usual and the acceleration became a “survival of the fittest” issue.

In traditional physical shopping, customers are expected to wait at each step of the entire shopping experience due to inefficient processes in operation. However in March 2020, shoppers stopped going to stores and during the minimum visits they made to the stores, all they wanted was to purchase and go. The need for efficiency suddenly became a must have, rather than a nice to have.

Bridging the gap between customers and store associates

Having loyal and satisfied customers requires meeting their needs in the best way possible but inefficiencies and difficulty of accessing the needed data causes losing customers. To avoid wasting customers’ time as they are waiting for store associates to find their product or to disappoint them not finding it, retailers had to find new solutions that provide efficient store operations. These solutions had to ease access to product and inventory information, and enable mobile checkout in seconds without leaving the customer’s side.

Providing efficient self shopping experience

As the major lockdown eased, brick and mortar stores reopened under the condition of providing hygiene and social distancing. Not just retailers, but also customers were affected due to the restrictions, social distancing, queuing up for entry in retail stores, maintaining personal hygiene, and other preventive measures and these concerns made them lean to brands that provide better services while taking care of their safety. This accelerated the demand for transformation more than ever. To meet the need of having safety shopping and to complete shopping the fastest way possible, some stores located kiosks to allow customers shop without any interaction. What store associates were offering in the store, can now be done by customers from reaching the product and inventory info to purchasing.

Equipping sales associates with the necessary tools to maximize efficiency as well as sales has become inevitable. Decision making processes that enabled the penetration of such technologies to the stores has become of critical importance.

Integrating online and offline stores

Probably the most transforming experience of the retail domain took place in online shopping. We have witnessed the slow but steady rise of ecommerce in recent years, however the upward graphic has never been this steep as it was in the past few months. It is clearly understood that retailers who adopted omnichannel strategies and unified commerce systems adapted to unexpected market forces way more solidly. An omnichannel infrastructure facilitated an ease of operation in managing the inventory, in monitoring accurate and real time data and avoiding stock outs. The ability to support ecommerce transactions with store inventories made all the difference when the demand for online shopping has dramatically increased and created different challenges for retailers.

Even if some of the precautions taken for the pandemic are nearly subsided, some shopping habits haven’t been brought back and have changed permanently. As a result, the brands that have been already blending physical and online channels by experiencing digital transformation didn’t get as much affected as the ones that had no second plan. The future of retail seems so much more integrated than ever before. The integration of online and offline will determine the survival record for the post-covid era.

As we find out from the new normal so far that retailers have much ground to cover, and time is of the essence. Seeing all channels as an entire operation is crucial to enable the business work as a whole, successful, and efficient unit. What shouldn’t be seen apart from the customer experience is how the entire operation works and now bringing them into balance is just possible with smart integrated technologies. The new normal is still taking shape and is in process to become better everyday while customer expectations are still shifting. Retailers who respond to these needs with agile and innovative solutions will strengthen their ties with customers and operate their stores much more efficiently.

References

(1) https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/adapting-to-the-next-normal-in-retail-the-customer-experience-imperative

(2) https://www.mytotalretail.com/article/the-future-of-retail-after-covid-19

Understanding Shoppers across the Generations

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 04:36:43 +0000

They say you can’t please all the people all the time.

In a world that changes technologically and, socially and politically almost every day, these words could appear to be obviously true.

In recent years more focus has been put on researching the demographics that form society – who people really are – than ever before. Retailers are benefitting from insights gained regardingthe key four generations that make up the global customer base.

Generation Z
Millennials
Generation X
Baby Boomers

While each consumer group behaves in different manners, statistics show that it is possible to please all the consumers all the time. How? By employing an effective omnichannel retail strategy that meets their retail expectations.

Who are the generations and what are their expectations?

Generation Z:

Generation Z’ers are 18-21 and are the kings and queens of social media. They have never known a world without it. They consult, research, feedback and contribute to social media more than any other generation.

For retailers whose target audience is made up even partly of Gen Z’ers, a fluid online and offline experience is truly valuable. 67% of Gen Z’ers say that they make purchases in a store. This is almost three times the number that shop primarily online – 22% (19.

They expect omnichannel technologies, such asinstore touchpoints, that allow them to browse and purchase electronically whilst in store.

Millennials:

Millennials are the famous, or infamous, generation that are 22-37 years old. The millennial generation grew up in the last 30 years, they saw the explosion of computer usage, followed by smartphone usage. They are connected to the internet 24/7.

From this you could be forgiven for assuming they have left the brick-and-mortar store and migrated completely to online retail? Actually no. Interestingly according to research, while older millennials are more likely shop online, younger millennials have made a sharp return to brick-and-mortar store shopping (5).

While about a third of millennials make purchases from their desktop computer (2). 45% do the research from their computer and then purchase instore (3). Catering for the expectations for millennials instore is as important as an effective online presence.

Generation X:

An often-unaddressed generation, Generation X are 38-53 and grew up in a world in transition between pen and paper and computers. In particular the cross-over between online and offline retail is very important to Generation X’ers.

They are heavy users of digital channels to studiously research products and will not proceed topurchase until they have thoroughly read-up online regarding the quality and longevity of an item.

40% of Generation X’ers state that the ability to touch and inspect an item before purchase is the reason they choose brick-and-mortar over any other channel for making their final purchase (4).

Baby Boomers:

Baby boomers are 54-72, and often have cash to splash. Many are retired or close to and have made larger purchases, such as their home, earlier in life. They are fluent users of ecommerce, however statistics tell us that they tend to stick with basic forms of social media, such as Facebook.

Boomers in general do not shop for fun. They expect an expedited shopping experience with a high level of customer service by equipped shop assistants, and this is a crucial factor in their preference for brick-and-mortar stores over online retail.

The only way to please all the people all the time? A slick, well planned omnichannel strategy using retail technologies that meet the expectations of customers across the generations. Thesesolutions are available from international retail technology providers at shopihq.shop. Why not check out how they can revolutionize your retail strategy and broaden your appeal across all generations.

Three Keys to Omnichannel Utopia

admin — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 04:33:44 +0000

If you have ever made a purchase after browsing on your smartphone only to learn that the store you are standing in does not stock that item, you will relate to how frustrating a non-omnichannel retail experience can be

In 2019, while 73% of customers use multiple channels during their shopping journey, only 7% shopped exclusively online and only 20% shopped exclusively in store (2). People are using more channels than ever when shopping.

These same people are expecting a close correlation, if not symmetry, between retail channels. In 2019 a non-omnichannel experience is frustrating, a smooth omnichannel experience is expected.

Despite the growth in the number and complexity of channels available, it is possible to meet customer expectations and provide an omnichannel approach regardless of the scale of the enterprise.

Below are three keys to this unified retail utopia that customers expect.

Key one – Single Core Data Management System

Everything that the customer sees, regardless of channel, originates in a central location of stored data. Good management and organization of this data adds crucial effectiveness to retail campaigns.

Data is never static. Robust and flexible data management software can incorporate real-time data from sources such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Product information management (PIM), Customer relationship management (CRM), Media Servers, and arrange it into a single data lake. It is then availablein statistical form providing key information to decision makers.

Step two – The Unified Use of Data via All Channels

Unified data storage is the foundation of a truly utopic omnichannel retail strategy. However, this is only effective if it truly reaches the customer through the channels they use. Customers who shopped after browsing three or more channels bought 250% more frequently than customers who only engaged with only one channel (1).

This is not only a case of channel usage. This is only true where a unified omnichannel approach was taken across the channels. A genuine omnichannel experience provides consistent branding, product recommendations, and relevant advertising campaigns across the channels.

A case in point is sports giant Nike. The Nike Runners Club mobile application (originally marketed as Nike+) boasts over 100,000 users. Members, who constitute a target audience, are often daily users of the app, see consistent message and branding whether in fabulously designed brick and mortar stores, social media or website. This has contributed in Nike achieving top spot in the running shoe market (3).

Step three – Learn, Learn, Learn

An effective retail strategy requires the repeated efforts of marketers working closely to develop close synergy with the target audience over sometimes an extended period of time. In other terms, it is not easy to get retail strategies right immediately.

Data inflow must be carefully analysed to interpret the success of current campaigns and lessons learned must be applied to future endeavours. This requires more than storage. It requires a complete array of analytical tools and a display that is easily understood and readable by decision makers.

Conclusion – CTA

A house is only as stable as the foundation it is laid upon. A successful omnichannel strategy is likewise built upon a solid data infrastructure.

Omnichannel cloud data management middleware that is both robust and flexible such as Cloud, as developed by Shopi can provide such as basis. Harness the power of omnichannel and provide the unified front that your customers expect.

Reference:

(1) https://www.clickz.com/onmichannel-marketing-automation-statistics-for-2019/231381-2/231381/

(2) https://www.veeqo.com/blog/omnichannel-statistics-infographic

(3) http://www.gamification.co/2015/08/03/nike-building-community-and-competitive-advantage-with-gamification/

Key Omnichannel Solutions for success in 2019

admin — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 04:31:25 +0000

Industry leaders state that currently an impressive 86% of retail sales in the US take place in brick and mortar store (1). The consumer of 2019 is more technologically enabled than ever before. 53 % of these sales are digitally influenced (1). This means that the average consumer is shopping with mobile device in hand. Perhaps they are weighing-up whether the benefit of physically trying-on clothing outweighs the wait at the check-out line, or whether the product is in stock since when purchasing online the item is always in stock.

Retailers are levelling the playing-field by matching the advantages of e-commerce in a brick-and-mortar location. They are employing omnichannel solutions to meet the expectations of consumers. Check out our list of 2019 consumer expectations and see how retailers can meet them.

Well-equipped store assistance

Statistics indicate what many are already assuming, that each new generation of consumers has a lower tolerance for traditional store delays and an expectation of service similar to that experienced in the online world. Customer fears regarding stock levels, long queues before payment, even delays in answering queries influence purchase decisions more than ever before. Technologies such as Assist. by Shopi are the solutions to these concerns. Electronic endless product aisles, mobile payment technology (mPOS), slick communication between staff, even fulfilment from other stock locations, is made possible by this simple application loaded to a smart device in the hands of a store assistant.

Customer freedom

Major retailers are recognizing the advantage in providing an autonomous shopping experience for consumers. Providing the opportunity for customers to enter, browse and purchase without human interaction does have advantages and has obvious parallels to the online shopping experience. Providing access to the entire range of products on HD screens with attractive, branded, real-time data is the foundation of this. Add to this the provision of self-checkout and you have the smooth purchase experience that Gen Z are expecting. Sign. by Shopi provides all this with integration to cloud data management technologies that mean that retailers benefit from each touch and transaction customers make.

Frictionless omnichannel

The smooth consumer omnichannel experience is becoming more absolute each year. The key to providing the seamless experience that the customer expects is technology that unifies all retail technologies in a company. Middleware that is robust and communicates with other technologies will allow the retailer instant access to key data and the absolute ability to deploy this data at enterprise scale. Historically speaking, data from E-commerce, CRM and even physical stores has been siloed and managed separately. Now, however, technologies such as cloud. by Shopi unify this data and allow the retailer to centralize and deploy it. Data accrued from everything from purchases to returns are unified, regardless of the channel it was received from, providing the perfect omnichannel experience.

Unified approach

Gen Z shoppers are more interested in experiences and environments than any other generation. Key decision-makers are educated by data acquired by in-store touch points and e-commerce transactions. They are then in the best position to make top-down decisions regarding everything from store layout to the roll-out of new technology to provide these experiences.
Connect. by Shopi is a smart data and content dashboard, especially designed for marketing and business teams at decision making level. It uses data gathered by products such as sign. and cloud. to provide key insights to the behavior of both retail locations, and customer behavior. The same data is available for utilization with software’s proprietary task management functionality. This keep marketing and sales teams up-to-date and gives them the ability to direct content decisions, manage branding and communicate instantly across the company.

It’s clear that the future of retail is close cooperation between the physical and the online. Rather than resist the inevitable, embracing the technological expectations of consumers gives retailers key advantages. It allows them to consistently and accurately learn who their consumers are and how to build the most mutually beneficial relationship possible with them. The range of omnichannel solutions available at
shopihq.shop/services is second to none in meeting the expectation of customers entering stores, regardless of their generation.

Reference:

(1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasongoldberg/2018/11/26/the-future-of-brick-and-mortar-retail-is-mobile/#101a8a5246ba

Learnings of NRF 2019

admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 04:29:25 +0000

Three things we learned from the biggest retailers in the world at NRF;
When the CEOs of Target, Macy’s and leaders of Ali Baba come together to discuss the retil world it is worth paying
attention. Welcome to National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show held in New York City this past month.
The NRF annual expo brings together some of the greatest success stories in retail. It gives a forum for large
established corporations and rising-talent alike to share their views of the future of retail. Particularly
interesting are their predictions regarding the next 12 months of the retail world.
What are three things that we learned from the NRF 2019 Big Show?

“Retail is not back…It never went away”

Giving customers the most convenient and frictionless service has long been a goal of the retail world. Many
incorrectly predicted that this would mean a shift to predominantly online transactions. This was once again proven
to be wrong – very wrong – at NRF this year. Whilst an online presence is important as part of an overall strategy,
“retail consumers spend $100 more than online consumers on their first purchase” (1). This emphasizes the need for
retailers to create a physical environment where customers can grasp the full potential of the products on sale.
Providing a compelling online connected commerce online as a complement to a physical retail location is key.
Equipping stores with touchpoints and omnichannel purchase and return options is the goal of brick and mortar
retailers in 2019.

We consider our stores our single biggest competitive advantage

Why does a $17.8 billon-turnover (2) retail powerhouse Target continue to invest enthusiastically in brick and mortar
retail locations? CEO Brian Cornell fielded the question. He stated that their physical stores are “service and
fulfilment hubs” and crucially “incredible showrooms for inspiration,”(3). Target has drawn praise for the
relationships it creates with customers instore. It first encourages click-and-collect culture. But then maximises
this opportunity by building relationships with clients when they enter stores. This is resulting in a boom for the
retail giant. In fact, it is said that “three out of every four digital Target orders are fulfilled by a store”(3).

“Our brand is not about any product we sell, it’s about the relationships that are created.”

Building meaningful and long-lasting relationships was a major theme of NRF 2019. Why? Because in a world of
changing technologies it can be easy to take the focus away from the client. Yet the latest in retail technologies
make it easier than ever to continue relationships with customers long after they have left the store. It allows
the retailer to build a clearer picture of the customers needs and shopping desires. This information is then used
to create a shopping experience that is built with the client in clear view. As they indicate to the retailer their
preferences, they contribute to a bespoke and more enjoyable visit. In short as one keynote speaker put it you
“invite the customer to be a producer and a consumer”.
NRF emphasizes that retail in physical stores is booming and that it is important for retailers not to miss this
wave of opportunity. Technology is more specifically aligned than ever before to provide the inspiring and,
importantly, personal experience that the consumer of 2019 is looking for. Check out how you can use this technology
to your advantage by browsing the selection found at www.shopihq.shop

Reference:

(1) https://stores.org/2019/01/15/digital-natives-get-physical/

(2) https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2018/12/05/a-closer-look-at-targets-valuation/#1c4f49975a91

(3) https://digiday.com/retail/retailers-rethink-physical-stores-click-collect-catches/

What will 2019 mean for retailers?

admin — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 04:26:49 +0000

Brick and Mortar stores continue to hold their own in the retail world. Statistics indicate that far from abandoning physical retail stores, they are seen as complimentary to other channels. 2019 will be a year of competition, not between retail channels, but between retailers using these channels.

Retailers who can think digital-first and employ digital solutions effectively in physical locations will be crowned champions. When it comes to keeping ahead of the competition with technology, what will be the key areas for retailers?

“Retail is not back… It never went away”

2017-18 was the period in which retailers linked together channels to create a unified approach to retail. What will consumer expectations be in 2019? They will expect a mature and seamless omnichannel experience.

Although retail options in the form of social media will continue to grow, the main channels will become more and more established, with yes, brick and mortar stores playing a seemingly irremovable role.

This is seen by the younger demographic of 18-21 year olds (known often as Generation-Z) using multiple channels in purchase and returns. One major 2018 omni-channel retail report noted (1) that when making returns 21% of 18-21 year olds prefer to return an item to an offline physical location, even when the original purchase was made from a heavily online-oriented retailer such as Amazon.

In fact, 30% of all ages surveyed stated that they will take items to a physical location to make the return and then take the opportunity to browse further items in that physical location.

Omnichannel technologies will make purchase, collection and return simple and easy for the consumer. Online purchases collected in a physical store expected to play a major role as consumers take advantage of shorter shipping times.

Stock availability will also be a key area. The concept of stock unavailability in a retail store or the words “we don’t carry that here” should no longer be heard in retailers thanks to digital cataloguing. Omnichannel technologies give the consumer access to the entire range of products.

Simply put, consumers of 2019 are expecting seamless purchase and fulfilment regardless of the channels they choose to use.

Experiences count, not things

Retailers are gaining experience with hardware and internet-connected technologies to provide far more than a sales shelf. The buzz word of “experiences” is expected to take center-stage in 2019. Although the employment of technologies such as augmented reality may not be installed in every store, improved personal interactions with customers in store will be realized.

Retailers are expected to improve in providing a context or background story for the items they provide. Retailers will employ quality hardware and excellent cloud data management to gather the data regarding customer preferences and lifestyles and then paint an appealing picture with the results.

Customers may fall into demographics, but individuals do not fit into boxes. The experience that appeals to a city office worker will not appeal to a person working in the education sector or a parent caring for children – even though they may be shopping in the same retail outlet.

Clientelling tools that provide a personal electronic interface and bespoke follow-up will provide a distinct narrative for each person and thus an experience that will appeal to each individual.

Consumers are more empowered than ever in using multiple channels when making retail and return choices. It is a salient point that the responsibility is on retailers to provide the most efficient and appealing service possible through each of these channels.

Unified data management via cloud software, robust middleware software to employ that data, and clientelling tools to maximize the relationship with the client are some of the tools available from shopihq.shop to keep you ahead of the competition in 2019.

Reference:

(1) https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/omni-channel-retail/#the-brick-and-mortar-benefit-returns

(2) https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/omni-channel-retail/#why-us-consumers-shop-where-they-shop

Is your store ready for holiday shopping?

admin — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 04:24:02 +0000

The tinsel has been hanging and holiday music playing for some weeks now. However, retailers everywhere are continuing to benefit from a bumper winter holiday shopping season. The US based National Retail Federation reports that sales will be up almost 5% over 2017. When taking into consideration the same increase seen last year, this totals an impressive 10% increase in holiday spending in just 2 years (1). That is a significant boost despite an unstable world economy.

Brick and mortar retailers who employ an omnichannel strategy are again the prime beneficiaries of the boom. So just how can savvy retailers get their stores ready for holiday shoppers?

Buy in one channel – return in another

Selecting gifts is a notoriously difficult job. The NRF calculates that one out of three gift recipients returned at least one item during the holiday season (2). The returns process has been historically tedious for all involved. However, omnichannel strategies come to the rescue and provide a gorgeous opportunity for consumers. Just as products can be purchased via any channel, they can also be returned via any channel.

For example, a purchase may have been made though a website. In the omnichannel world the receiver of the gift can simply return it to the nearest brick and mortar store. The store that accepts the returned item then logs the return transaction in its cloud database and all records are updated in real-time. A painless return for both retailer and consumer.

However, consider what the retailer stands to learn from this transaction. The customer has returned an item purchased via another channel. Does the customer cite a reason for the return? Is this item frequently returned? What channel was used for the purchase? Could there be a lack of clarity in the product description used in that specific channel?

Omnichannel technologies allow the retailer to connect the dots regardless of the channel used for the purchase and return.

Further, statistics show that many people returning an item to a brick and mortar store will purchase an item in the same store. It is well worth investing in the technology to make multi-channel returns possible.

Click and collect culture

NRF estimates that 1 in every 2 consumers will choose to pick up their purchase in store after purchasing online (3). The reason often given for this is the opportunity to avoid shipping costs. Savvy omnichannel retailers look to reap the benefits of this.

Evidence shows that shoppers who come to collect their items from a physical store often also choose to benefit from attachments sales. Retail technologies that enable order management and fulfillment make it possible to provide click and collect services regardless of the channel the consumer chose to click on.

Further, collection from a store means that the consumer will not be subject to anxieties regarding the arrival of items via the postal service, with delays reported in many countries this year because of disputes.

Conclusions

The NRF report calculates that the average expected spending per person during these winter holidays will be more than $1000 (4). Retailers that have chosen to invest in the digitalization of their merchandizing processes will have more satisfied customers before and after the gifts have been given. Shopi retail cloud will help you digitalize processes, orchestrate your orders and make sure you fulfill orders from all channels with the same experience and satisfy return processes from everywhere. Don’t lose time, get your business ready for the next holiday season.

Reference:

(1) https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-forecasts-holiday-sales-will-increase-between-43-and-48-percent

(2) https://nrf.com/blog/omnichannels-pervasiveness-requires-efficient-strategy-processing-returns

(3) https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/retailers-very-digital-holiday-season-according-nrf-survey

(4) https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/consumers-will-spend-41-percent-more-last-year-during-winter-holidays

5 Tips to Increase Store Efficiency

admin — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 04:20:40 +0000

It’s official, physical stores are here to stay! 2018 statistics confirm that 72% of consumers say that even though they browse online they prefer to make their purchase in physical stores (0). In an omni-channel age there are ways to ensure retailers can provide a pleasant retail experience as consumers look to glide efficiently from the online to offline retail world. While it might seem like a tall order for retailers to meet the expectations of the retail-educated and multiple-technology-using millennial demographic, cloud-technology can enable retailers to employ connected commerce infrastructure and satisfy their customers. Consider the following 5 tips for increasing store efficiency and keeping customers happy.

Revolutionize Payment Processes
The sight of a long queue before payment is literally causing consumers to drop their purchases items and leave the store. Slow payment journeys cost retailers £3.400.000.000 in the UK alone (1) and many more millions globally. Described as “critical” by Deloitte (2), customer care that includes a point of sale that comes to the customer is the easiest way to speed up the transaction process and meet customer expectations. For maximum efficiency, give consumers the opportunity to perform the purchase transaction independently.

Digitize Catalog
Cloud technology removes boundaries between the consumer and the purchase item. Digital cataloging means that consumers are no longer limited by the limited physical size of the store since they have unlimited access to the entire inventory via in-store screens. Thanks to the connecting aspect of the retail cloud, digital catalogs can display the entire stock (store, e-commerce, warehouse) and consumers can purchase items from any stock location available.

Enhance Sales Support
Educated and armed with in-store retail technologies, sales assistants are key to an efficient purchase. The equipped assistant of today provides both the human element expected by the consumer but also can have instant access to the entire inventory, product reviews and up and cross-sales suggestions via a handheld device. With the help of a connecting cloud, the sales assistant can access the customers purchase history and provide a more personalized set of recommendations. Equipping the sales staff with assisted sales technologies makes the shopping experience a more personal and certainly more efficient one.

Make Customer Relationship Management Stand Out
What could be more efficient than a store that already knows the shopping history and personal preferences when the customer enters the store. Building a relationship creates efficiency for both the retailer and the consumer. Relationships pay off as loyal customers are statistically worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase (5). Every time that a customer registers on a website, browses the retailer’s site, makes a purchase or interacts with touchpoints in-store they are contributing valuable information to that relationship. Rather than allowing this information to remain in separate information silos that provide limited use, a connected Customer Relationship Management system with appropriate clienteling tools that can receive, process, unify and instantly employ this information from all channels is a prime factor in building a retailer-customer relationship and an efficient shopping experience.

Perfect Communication
64% of people think that customer experience is more important than price in their choice of a brand (4). This places the responsibility on the retailer to provide an organized front in both their on and offline store. Cataloging that reflects accurate stock levels and location, fulfillment of orders according to customer expectation and purchase methods that work primarily in the interests of the customer require communication in both the shop floor and back-room, but are ultimately the key ingredients of an efficient customer experience. This of course is required to take place frictionlessly in both the on and offline world. Efficient stores utilize a cloud-based data management system that can provide smooth communications and an environment that meets consumer expectation on a consistent basis.

With the technologies available to meet the evolving expectations of consumers available, why should retailers miss out?

Reference:

(1) http://retailnext.net/blog/brick-and-mortar-vs-online-retail/

(2) https://www.qudini.com/queues-service-retail-stores-cost-uk-economy-3-4-billion/

(3) https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/se/Documents/technology/Omni-channel-2015.pdf

(4) http://blog.neosperience.com/10-useful-customer-experience-statistics-for-your-2015-strategy

(5) https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/38-powerful-customer-experience-stats-2015-christine-james

How to survive the Amazon Effect

admin — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 09:12:00 +0000

What is the Amazon effect?
Since its entry to the lives of billions of people in 1994, the Amazon has changed the way that retail functions. Consumers have been empowered by the speed of purchase and the information available during the decision-making process thanks to digital commerce. Their online empowerment has changed their offline expectations. The transition between online and offline retail is far from over, however if brick and mortar stores are to survive the Amazon effect they must evolve into something greater to meet these new expectations. In fact, rather than raising the white flag, a crucial paradigm shift is being experienced by many as they see how their stores stand to benefit from the world of omni-channel and connected commerce. Say what? Brick and mortar stores can apply lessons learned in the online retail world? Absolutely!

To keep up with changing times, retailers need to embrace this shift by incorporating the following:

Reimagine your store role
Many retailers are realizing that the online and offline worlds are not actually two retail spaces but actually one in which both sides complement each other. As an example, 80% of American smartphone users are browsing the online site of a retailer via smartphone whilst physically present in the offline store. Hence, thanks to retail technologies, retailers can blend the two seamlessly by means of in-store digital catalogues and connected commerce solutions to benefit from both worlds. They can now display their existing data in-store with endless aisle and assisted selling solutions. They can exhibit their entire inventory with digital catalogues, complete sales quickly and make the customer relationship permanent and more personal by means of clienteling through an effective in-store usage of CRM insights. All these activities are necessary to compete with the Amazon effect.

Roll out technology
The online trading revolution effectively removed friction and waiting from the shopping experience. It allows to consumers to browse and purchase without the limitations of and old-fashioned mom and pop store – after all when was the last time you had to get in line before buying online or shout for an online sales assistant to help you?

The modern brick and mortar store can provide this same experience.

Products can be researched and found nearly instantly by means of effective in-store information points. Sales assistants can be empowered with smart devices to answer questions, locate stock (even globally) and, crucially, action the sale whilst conversing with the customer using mobile technologies. 73% of customers are said to favor retailers that use mobile technologies over those that do not.(1)

Analyze your customer behavior
In the online world, it is obvious that customers can be approached in an incredibly personalized manner, with product suggestions, up-sales etc tailored for their every need. In the past this did not apply to the offline world. Customer analytics were exclusively gained from clicks and browsing online history. The modern retailer knows that this is only part of the potential of analytics. Every interaction online and off, can be a source of information about your client base and a valuable source of feedback regarding your store which can be compiled in cloud computing and employed almost instantly. Sales assistants empowered with portable technology, interactive screens or other interactive sales tools recording customer queries and conducting personalized follow-up via email and social media constitute an incredible added value to the retailer’s brand.

The time is now!
The next 2 years will be crucial for retailers. Those who evolve and adopt the advantages in their physical stores will reap the benefits of increased sales, customer traffic and happy customers. The time is now to apply lessons learned from the online world. Retailers interested in evolving store and processes should know that Shopi is providing retailers with technologies that will future proof their brick and mortar stores. They can survive the Amazon effect with Shopi’s extensive Retail Platform and its easy-to-use products, namely, Shopisign, Shopisassist and Shopiconnect.

Reference:

(1) https://marketingland.com/reports-digital-especially-mobile-driving-trillions-offline-retail-spending-207037

The Evolution of Store Assistance

admin — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 04:16:00 +0000

94% of all retail transactions are still taking place in brick and mortar stores. Yes, instead of replacing the brick and mortar store, the recent technological landscape changes are not leaving the high street behind. Inclusion of technology on the shop floor is more than just an aesthetic face lift – it is the technological improvement and advancement of all aspects of the physical store.

A prime example is the human element. Store associates can provide human soft skills but naturally lack the ability to recall and deploy data at the rate or volume of cloud supported retail technologies. Hence the introduction of retail store apps and devices, portable devices that are a portal to the resources of the company in the palm of the smiling sales associate. Let us think of profound ways that equipping staff with retail technology can give them this advantage:

Product knowledge

In the past the sales associate was the king or queen of the shop floor. However, with smartphones in their hands, the moment a customer is interested in a product, she now has access to potentially vast amounts of data including product specifications, pricing and even customer reviews. It is imperative that retailers empower sales associates with the necessary tools to access this data in store, fast and seamless. Empowering the sales assistant with devices and store applications means that they will now have access to accurate data from the retailer at all times regarding everything from the range of items available to the materials the product is made from.

Keeping constant track of the stock

The words “Let me go check on that” can be described as the last dying words of the sale. This crucial break in dialogue and contact leaves the customer killing time in the store and many cases kills their interest. The solution is to avoid this break in dialogue and contact by ensuring that all stock data is available to the sales associate at all times, everywhere. The sales person who knows the store stock, can access warehouse stock and can even check stock in other stores without breaking conversation is given far greater chance of completing sales and retaining customers.

Large stock ranges require sales associates to be constantly re-educated regarding not only stock availability but also the connection between stock items. It is likely incalculable how many sales opportunities are lost due to sales assistant’s lack of awareness of items that are closely connected to the purchased item that consumers would snap up if informed of them. The level of training and education required to give sales associates this edge would be inutile even in the context of a retailer with a small range. Assisted sales technology provides this data instantly and can even suggest, basic on customer data, which up or cross-sale items should be introduced to the consumer based on availability information.

Personalized Offers

One thing that is more than valuable than anything for the retailer is the customer data. Store associates who have access to customer data such as previous purchases, preferences and loyalty info can also provide personalized offers to those customers who are willing to get that kind of service. Being able to get personalized offers is one of the top things that the customers nowadays are expecting from their favorite brands.

The true benefit of empowering sales associates lies in their instant access to this vast information.

Reports indicate that the equipping of sales associates with mobile tools is seen as amongst the three most necessary innovations by retailers in 2018 with 51% stating its vitality.

Let not be deceived, this is not a slow movement to staff-less stores. Technology is not replacing the store associates, but empowering them. Instant messaging empowers them to remain in the store interfacing with consumers without the need to physically consult other sources, stock data means they do not have to physically check a stock room, product knowledge means that they can confidentially relate all details of the purchase item as if they own it themselves. All without interrupting their friendly conversation.

Here at Shopi we are the designer and supplier of such retail solutions for retail touch points including point of sale. You may wish to take time to look at Shopiassist that is empowering sales associates with its easy to use interface and many modular functions.

Reference:

(1) https://www.nchannel.com/blog/retail-data-ecommerce-statistics/

(2) https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/topics/omnichannel-cross-channel-strategies/survey-81-of-retailers-will-deploy-unified-commerce-platforms-by-2020

Digitization, Digitalization and Digital Transformation – what they are and how they can save you

admin — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 04:12:37 +0000

Whether it is an intuitive website or a retailer who can electronically showcase its entire product range over a range of in-store digital devices, the race is on for retailers who truly want to harness the power of digital services on and off-line sales. It is now seen as crucial that companies transform themselves digitally with USA retail giant Target reportedly budgeting $1,000,000,000 to meet their digital transformation goals (1). How does a single business achieve this degree of digital maturity?

The three basic recognized steps are digitization, digitalization and digital transformation.

What are the shades of meaning between these terms?

What is digitization?

Transitioning from analogue to digital.

Digitization is the conversion process from a record that a computer cannot utilize (such as a physical or analogue record) to one that it can.

This could mean anything from the utilization of a database rather than a physical record or the scanning and cataloguing of physical photographs.

Digitization is purely the conversion process, it does not involve any employment of the digitized data. It further does not obligate destruction of the original non-digitized record. Some businesses (i.e. for accounting purposes) may be obligated to maintain parallel digitized and non-digitized records. Digitizing may seem to be an arduous process for some, however it lays an incredibly valuable foundation for the next step: Digitalization.

What is digitalization?

Making digitized information work for you.

Digitalization most often refers to the usage of digitized records to enable new workflows, systems or activities with a specific benefit in mind.

In simple English it means seeing digitized information as your employee and putting it to work. Think of a company that has digitized its entire inventory, product listing, pricing, stock levels and image catalogue. This information in database form is then made available to store assistants nationwide or even internationally. The data has been employed for the benefit of the company in a way that would not have been possible in its pre-digitized state.

Digitalization is dependent on the first step, digitization, being thoroughly and accurately accomplished. After all, data processes are only as accurate as the information that they are based on.

What is digital transformation?

Take advantage of digitalization to create ground-breaking new concepts.

Digital business transformation is the employment of digital services, generally at an enterprise level, to create profound progress for your company and to reach your digital goals.

It may include, but not be limited to, the adoption of cloud-based data management systems, CRM systems and electronic warehousing. And due to its high level of connectivity it can open the possibility to employ other retail technologies such as roving point of sale devices as one example.

Digital transformation is not a single project-based initiative or the implementation of a new single technology. It is a decision to benefit from the connectivity and expedited workflows that the latest retail technology can provide. The most effective method for this is to use a single cloud-based solution, where all retail systems are feeding information to a central data source and simultaneously receiving real-time data from this same source. This can then be rolled out to stores and to individual sales personnel who can then provide efficient and accurate information and services to clients and customers. All stores are connected and all personnel are connected. A profound change.

Let’s not forget that these steps are sequential. They depend on the accurate implementation of the previous step. However, the result can be prodigious and mean salvation for some businesses. According to some statistics, 85% of enterprise decision makers surveyed feel they have a timeframe of just two years to make significant inroads on their digital transformation before suffering financially and/or falling behind their competitors (2).

Shopi is setting a new standard for digital transformation and have an impressive array of digital tools. You can learn more about how we can help businesses avoid falling behind or suffering financially because of digital immaturity at shopihq.shop

Reference:

(1) https://www.cio.com/article/3045802/digital-transformation/target-cio-adds-custom-apps-fresh-talent-to-fortify-supply-chain.html

(2) https://www.business2community.com/big-data/17-statistics-showcasing-role-data-digital-transformation-01970571

1200 Seconds: Use them wisely

admin — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 04:09:32 +0000

Twelve-hundred seconds. The estimated face to face window of opportunity available for store assistants to assist consumers. From the moment a customer arrives, the grains of sand in the hourglass begin to fall. Enter Troy, our eager shop assistant: Every second Troy uses well will mean that the customer will feel cared for, appreciate product suggestions and return. Every second Troy spends in unsurety over whether an item is in stock or fumbling for a shoebox decreases it.

According to studies, the average customer spends about 20 minutes, or 1200 seconds, in a store providing a return of $75. How can Troy maximize his sales time or even generate more? Whilst conventional wisdom may indicate that lengthening the time that the customer spends in the store may be the solution, likely it is not. Customer satisfaction is generally based on the quality of the time they choose to spend in a store rather than the quantity of time they are forced to spend in a store. Retailers are in a de-facto state of needing to count and evaluate how each of those 1200 seconds are spent.

Statistics tell us that it is five times more expensive to locate a new customer than to retain an existing one. Therefore, the key to Troy maximizing these seconds is in clientelling, in using his time to build a continuing relationship with the client, in his retaining customers with the long-term in view. But how can Troy be empowered to manage this?

Assisted selling
Consider a client who wanders in the store looking for an appealing additional purchase. Troy has in his hand-held device real-time data including appealing alternative items in HD quality, the stock level of every item in store, its location in the store, the stock level of this item in each neighbouring store. If the customer has shopped there before then this data from the CRM is available and Troy can suggest items complementary to their previous purchases. Empowered with this, Troy can provide smart, bespoke recommendations to the individual customer. Every second he saves he can spent in up or cross-sales. And this is only the beginning…

This customer is retained. Their visits to the store engender familiarity between customer and retailer. The retained customer provides further data, improving store assistance and accuracy of recommendations. During further visits all this data is in the hands of Troy when he approaches the customer. More seconds are saved, and further sales are generated.

Assisted selling programs and applications make relevant data available that mean that shop assistants, such as Troy, does not lose the attention of the customer for even a second. They complete the shop assistance role.

Shopiassist provides all assisted selling data and put it into the hand of the sales assistant. With minimum training it can provide end-to-end personalized assistance to shop-assistants, instant communication between staff and branch locations and ensure that like Troy they also do not waste any of their 1200 seconds.

Reference:

(1) https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140807162720-258558574-time-is-money-the-impact-of-customer-dwell-time-on-retail-sales

Digitalize Your Transactions: End queuing forever because it is hurting your business more than you realize

admin — Thu, 31 May 2018 04:06:39 +0000

So the story goes that in the years during the skyscraper construction boom in New York, USA, People were struggling to adjust to climbing to higher floors than ever before. Interestingly, the distance was not the problem. The wave of complaints centered around either the delay encountered before entering the elevator or the time taken when traveling in the elevator was too much. The solution? Building managers all over New York installed large mirrors in and around the elevators. The hope was that the travelers would be momentarily distracted enough by their own, or others, appearance. And that by the time they recovered from this distraction, the elevator would have arrived. It worked. However, this story illustrates in principle the two-fold problem faced by retailers globally.

1: People hate waiting in line.

2: Time spent waiting in line is perceived to pass more slowly, and torturously, than the times when we are active, and our minds are employed.

The sum of the two points above is very real scenario for retailers. One survey indicated that almost 40% of people have abandoned items they intended to purchase in store because of despair in perceived long queues. How long is perceived to be long?

Approximately 25% of people stated that 5 minutes is their personal maximum waiting time.

Make no mistake, shoppers do take this opportunity to vote with their feet. In Britain, where queuing is loved and applied with military precision, it is said that excessive queuing leads to 20.65 million missed sales opportunities every year. Customers are all too happy to gamble that high street competitors will have a shorter waiting time or that researching the item online is preferred to an oppressive in-store queuing experience.

Since the mirror mounting craze of the 1950’s that we discussed earlier, many solutions have been suggested for managing expectations of waiting customers. These imperfect approaches can be broadly split into three categories:

Staff-power
The theory that more personnel and cash registers mean faster customer processing time. Correct! However, during non-peak times it results in salaried staff that are generally under-employed. This is by far the most expensive solution and one that leaves staff feeling somewhat purposeless in during hours of low trade.

Engagement
The theory that more personnel and cash registers mean faster customer processing time. Correct! However, during non-peak times it results in salaried staff that are generally under-employed. This is by far the most expensive solution and one that leaves staff feeling somewhat purposeless in during hours of low trade.

Deceit
Not as evil as it sounds. This is widely employed by larger retailers such as Disney. They are very happy to exaggerate waiting times, meaning that customers wait for less time than expected and are pleased by the moments that they appear to have saved. Yet this method relies on the customer accepting a longer exaggerated queuing time from the beginning.

The most innovative solution, and perhaps the only one which truly addresses the problem of queuing is the digitalization of customer processing. The transferral of most POSs from the cash register to the customer itself.

Consider a customer who enters a clothing store. She finds an item to purchase, consults with a store assistant. She then groans at the thought of queuing for a perceived eternity. She is then informed that the store assistant whom she consulted with, and who is standing in front of her, can process the transaction instantly. The customer than uses the time saved to browse other items, safely assured that she can purchase them just as easily and quickly.

It should not surprise us that the biggest and most successful retail corporation in the world is already championing this approach. Boasting a $50 billion-dollar turnover, Apple has indeed become the master of que-cutting by utilizing roving transactions within its stores. However, interestingly, more than just expedited transactions and happier customers result. Apple also reports better use of floor space in-store due to the removal of high-footprint cash registers, and better customer relations, since the store-assistants are not hidden behind registers but free to approach customers.

The next level of roving transaction technology is currently being marketed: Shopiassist – the mobile application that instantly processes customer transactions. Shopisign: the in-store digital catalogue with functionality that allows for purchases instantly or later via an SMS with your mobile device.

Abandoned carts and hellish queuing experienced are a thing of the past with roving transactions and empowered store assistants.

Reference:

(Skyscraper boom) http://www.slate.com/articles/business/operations/2012/06/queueing_theory_what_people_hate_most_about_waiting_in_line_.html?via=gdpr-consent

(Apple roving transactions) http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-point-of-sale-2012-11

(Queueing) https://www.ipsos-retailperformance.com/resources/blog/why-queuing-is-the-new-battleground-for-retailers/

Cloud Managed Retail Data: Why happy customers are your greatest sources of learning

admin — Mon, 07 May 2018 09:43:03 +0000

“How can I help you?” Ah yes, the yesteryear introduction made by shop assistants in retail outlets for generations.
However, in today’s world the thought of cold-approaching customers in this way should cause hairs to stand on end.
This time has gone. The customer of 2018 requires, quite rightly, a bespoke experience.

An approach by retailers that has already taken into account not only their purchasing and browsing history but
that meets their related needs in the weeks and months following their last venture into the company’s waters.
Thanks to Connected Commerce approach and omni-channel capabilities enabled by itself, customers no longer have
to enter a strange environment with salespersons skilled at guesswork.

The customer of 2018 is now met, either online or offline, by a marketplace that is laid out according to their
needs and preferences. These needs are considered, weighed and quality products that meet them placed conveniently
for their consideration. This is not the realms of fantasy, reports tell us that 54% of consumers would
consider ending their relationship with a retailer if they are not given tailor-made, relevant content and offers
(1). This is a very real expectation of the current consumer. Companies that can provide this by employing cloud supported,
connected-commerce solutions, are drawing away from the their traditional, quaint, contemporaries.

Connected Commerce lets you gather data and organize this into various relevant information in smooth interfaces
and enables a continuity between different sales channels ensuring enriched customer experience and high levels
of customer satisfaction.

Much as the independence of limbs and a nervous system allow functionality for the human body yet require a single
command centre to manage them, a brain is required to manage and translate the terabyte of information that
regularly turnover in the average retail company into meaningful output.

What is the brain?

Shopicloud provides the solution for this by integrating all of the retail systems into one simple package. It is a
cloud-based unified commerce platform that meets consumer expectation by receiving and managing incoming and
constantly changing retail data and shaping this data to provide a custom shopper experience. It further provides
a single point of contact for retail management and key decision makers to access information regarding sales,
orders, favorite products and retail trends.

Shopicloud can receive data from sources such as eCom, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Product information
management (PIM), Customer relationship management (CRM), Media Server and Point of Sale (POS) through it’s unique
integration capabilities. Products such as Shopisign and Shopiconnect communicate with the cloud and display
beautifully illustrated real-time information regarding products, stocks and services, in-store insights and
analytics that relate to the both retailers’ and customers’ real needs and expectations.

What do customers think?

The impact of customer satisfaction by their experience cannot be underestimated. It has been reported that up to
89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following an unsatisfactory customer experience (2).
Shopicloud enables retailers meet their customers’
expectations. Further it avoids a less than optimal experience for the customer since interfaces such as
Shopisign communicate directly with the Shopicloud rather
than with an online website. Pristine images and video streamed from this cloud location display in high
resolution. Meaning that the customer experience is not impaired by external factors such as internet speed,
compression of images or other limitations.

Shopicloud provides an opportunity to access previously untapped data and crucial information regarding what
consumers like or dislike in your physical store and then lets you respond appropriately. Happier customers,
greater profits. Using the analytics tools that Shopicloud provides, you identify the holes to fill in your
processes and expedite the onboarding of the solution. Loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much
as their first purchase – learn what drives this loyalty by understanding the customer journey from their
first browse to their purchase. (2)

As Bill Gates included in his customer relations policies that

“your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning…”

These words served well the business that once amassed $93.580.000.000 billion in a single year. His words
timeless. Once. The time has changed. learly, with good data management unhappy customers are no longer the best
source of learning. All customers are the best source of learning. And by using connected commerce methods to
mould their shopping experience into one that is truly relevant, they need not be unhappy. There is no need for
customers to reach unhappiness regarding choice or experience. Cloud-based solutions such as Shopicloud
can adjust seamlessly and in real-time around them to provide the bespoke shopping experience they expect.

Reference:

(1) https://digiday.com/marketing/13-alarming-stats-about-retail-in-digital/

(2) https://www.nchannel.com/blog/retail-data-ecommerce-statistics/

Shopping, a Mix of Emotions and Expectations

admin — Mon, 07 May 2018 08:39:55 +0000

We do miss “mom and pop” stores for sure. We miss the emotions they triggered, we miss the experience, we miss the fact that there were once places that knew who we were, what we liked, what kind of ice cream flavor we preferred.

The times have changed, so have the stores and so have we; the humans, the shoppers.

Yet shopping today is still an emotional issue although in the given industrial ecosystem, it might, from time to time, seem that it has lost anything to do with feelings. Brands tend to think about feelings when it comes to advertising and when they try getting the shopper in the store. But what about once the shopper steps in the store? What then? Are we able to provide her with any kind of emotional experience. Unless, the store the shopper steps in is of the “premium” kind, the experience she is going to get is pretty straight forward; a concise interaction with the sales associate. If the interaction is a positive one, the odds are such that it will turn into a purchase.

However, new shoppers are extremely talented in terms of their search and comparison capabilities, therefore when they interact with a sales associate, they want more than a mere yes/no interaction. They want to see that the associate is also as talented. They want to encounter both the emotional satisfaction of interaction with a human being and the technical capabilities that a digital shopping experience enables.

In today’s highly volatile and competitive economic environment, it is critical that brands are equipped with tools to give the best of both realms, the emotional aspect of the physical and the technological superiority of the digital. It’s almost imperative for brands to address the emotions and expectations of the next generation shoppers. The question is how they are going to do this.

Shopi integrates physical retail world to digital experiences, however the emphasis of experience in all its products is such that it centralizes interaction between the customer and the brand that may occur in various forms. This emphasis stems from the very fact that emotions still constitute the core of shopping activity.

Interaction between the customer and the sales associate or the product or the store in general is an important one to be developed.

It’s that moment when a shopper goes into a store, likes a product but can’t find the right size and it’s that moment when she asks if what she wants is available in the right color and the sales associate has to disappear for a while to go the storage to see if it’s actually in stocks or not?

It is also that moment when a shopper goes into the store to get the newest phone possible and the only thorough information she can get is online and not in the store and that moment when a long register line seems too much to handle or that heavy stroller that she really likes is too heavy to carry.

Those moments of disappointment and deciding not to purchase are exactly what we should be thinking of eliminating as technology partners. Those feelings that occur during those inadequate experience are the ones to be replaced with new and positive ones and the good news is that we are working hard to achieve that.

How Connected Commerce Solutions Conquer a Divided Retail World

admin — Mon, 07 May 2018 07:23:44 +0000

“The end is nigh” …”The writing is on the wall”…Major companies facing “chapter 11” scenarios…How many idioms have you encountered regarding the fate of brick and mortar retail stores?

It seemed inevitable that the last two years would see the decline of physical stores snowball with Armageddon like consequences for the high street. Interestingly this particular prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. Consider: In the USA, the country that practically single handedly funded the online warehousing retailing behemoth amazon.com, 2017 statistics show that 94% of total retail sales are still generated in brick & mortar stores (1).

Could it be that the line drawn in the sand between the old and the new, brick and mortar store commerce and online retail, is not quite as clearly defined as they say? Even if one day the promised move from traipsing the high street to the complete home shopping experience does come to fruition, the latest figures tell us that, at least for now, we are not as close as we are led to believe. We are at best in a transition that has yet to indicate signs of completion. So, what will you choose? A 100% brick and mortar solution and miss the online retail revolution? Or a purely e-commerce based approach and live with the anxiety that you may have entered this world too soon or that your customers value the tangibility of your product more than you predicted.

Hail “connected commerce” retailing as the saviour of retail owners in this particular limbo.

Connected Commerce is the ultimate way to conduct omnichannel marketing which gives the customer a single experience by providing a seamless transition between the physical store and the online equivalent. Two thirds of in-store shoppers will check prices on their phone before making a purchase (2). They are literally looking for an online experience in a physical location? How can you better facilitate the shopper who wants to be in both worlds at once? By unifying your data and providing your customer a wholesome experience at all and many touch points.

For retailers searching to unify their commerce units and bringing digital transformation in a physical store, Shopi provides all the simple, connected, seamless, fast and digital experience for an undecided world. From a retailer’s point of view, it’s all the data from ERP, media server, PIM, E-commerce and what not elegantly orchestrated and organized into talented user interfaces. From a shopper’s point of view it is all the benefits of an online store and an offline store merged together…

Shopisign, Shopi’s endless aisle solution, create unique opportunities for stores of various sizes or chain stores. Consider a store with limited floor space but a large product selection. Even stores with a budget footprint can instantly create endless digital aisles. Thus the potential product scope can be substantially increased. Customers can literally choose to peruse the online location in the brick and mortar store. They can shop in an online store whilst enjoying the ease of an electronic basket and checkout experience. This simple idea belies further benefits. The browsing data provided by Shopi tools provide invaluable insight into customer behaviour in each store. More stores…more data, further Shopi tools provide data per store.

Perhaps you are thinking that “omnichannel” or even “connected commerce” is a current buzzword, a temporary fix, and that a purely online solution is the only worthy investment for the future. Think again.

The online startup Amazon.com that we discussed earlier, who posted profits of $60.5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2017 (3)…has opened 13 brick and mortar stores in the last 28 months (3), with a further four planned. These are figures that are hard to argue with. Brick and mortar shopping is not dying, it’s beautifully and digitally transforming.

Reference:

(1) Retail’s Main Event: Brick & Mortar vs. Online, Ray Hartjen – http://retailnext.net/blog/brick-and-mortar-vs-online-retail/

(2) The future of e-commerce: bricks and mortar – https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/30/future-of-e-commerce-bricks-and-mortar

(3) Amazon shares jump after earnings, Eugene Kim – https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/01/amazon-earnings-q4-2017.html