The importance of social media is not lost on retailers – many businesses are on the sites to promote their products and help consumers resolve their service issues.

Many retailers have a presence on social media, at a minimum in an attempt to get the word out about their brands. Some – a few – go the extra mile and parlay their presence into a real relationship with customers, answering questions and offering feedback.

One of the main reasons retailers use social media networks is to reach new customers, According to CustomerThink.com, social media use is pervasive: 75% of all Internet users are on some type of social network. Retailers need to communicate with shoppers through every available channel.

Research has found that once an in-store customer posts on social media about a brand or store, a store representative  has only a very short period of time – say, two to three minutes – to send a response. Is that window closing on your responses? It likely is.

Still, according to a Boston Retail Partners report a whopping 69% of retailers see opportunities to use social media to enhance their customers’ experiences. However, many are likely to be short on time and resources to act on this action item.

Social media monitoring tools are available that can help organize this new chore. They can track online conversations that mention brands and retailer names, which can have very real consequences. However, the Boston Retail Partners study found that a large number of retailers using social media to interact with customers — 81% of respondents — indicate that their processes need improvement.

Participating in social media provides information to the retailer enabling them to understand who customers are, what they want, as well as when and where they want it. Responding to individual’s posts and offering appreciation for their patronage — such as coupons for “liking” a page — aim to improve the customer experience for all their guests.

But what about when posts are not glowing and may even be negative? Retailers can that take the opportunity to respond and get ahead of the situation. By posting a quick response, a retailer demonstrates not only that they are aware of the problem but are eager to fix it. That leaves customers feeling empowered, happy with the outcome, and secure with the knowledge they can return to the store and not face the same problem.

The implementation of social media monitoring tools, lets retailers easily understand their customers’ desires, and tailor their products and services accordingly, a crucial competitive advantage in the current global retail world.

How well do you know your customer?

Get this whitepaper to see how a 360° view of your customer can help you give her the retail experience she wants!

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Wednesday, September 7th, 2016 at 6:26 pm .

Omnichannel retailers struggle with shipping costs: Charge too much, and customers flee, but charge too little and retailers are left with dwindling profits.

Customers who abandon shopping carts online, it often is a signal that your shipping costs are too high. It’s not uncommon: According to Baymard Institute, 67.45% of carts are abandoned. And CPC Strategy found retailers lose $18 billion annually due to shopping cart abandonment.

But lowering shipping costs while providing products at reasonable prices is a difficult balancing act. Solvency depends on making a decent margin on goods, but if prices are perceived as too high (because shipping is built into that figure), then the retailer risks having languishing product.

Customers often want free — not just inexpensive —shipping, delivered within a day or two. Many retailers struggle mightily trying to satisfy those demands. But for smaller chains, who may have less purchasing power with their suppliers, fulfilling that request is often impossible.

However, an omnichannel program with a strong foundation can help retailers identify where products are within their supply chains, and deliver them most efficiently to their customers. Ship-to-store capabilities help companies sell inventory wherever it resides, whether that’s at a store in Sacramento, CA, or Newark, DE.  Once located, retailers can direct the product to a store where it’s needed, or have it shipped directly to a customer. Not only does that “save the sale” but it also nurtures customer loyalty.

A ship-from-store strategy can reduce delivery costs for the customer because the retailer uses its own outlets as fulfillment centers. The closest location takes delivery of the product and ships it to the customer. The retailer must use its supply chain in the most efficient manner possible, and that includes being diligent about inventory visibility. Retailers must have up-to-date inventory count at all locations to reduce delivery costs.

It is a practical solution to the “delivery problem” to fulfill an order from a customer who lives virtually around the corner from a retail store with product from that location rather than have it shipped from a distribution center hundreds of miles away. Being able to take a close look at inventory lets retailers provide customers the delivery they want, without sacrificing good business sense.

Going Omnichannel?

You know it’s critical to create a consistent customer experience across all sales channels – but you can’t afford for your omnichannel efforts to be seen as omni-failures. 

Get this whitepaper to discover how to simplify omnichannel!

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Tuesday, September 6th, 2016 at 6:49 pm .

Ecommerce alone may not perform as well as omnichannel offerings.

It’s a fact of retail life: Out of stocks can cost retailers not only one sale, but also future sales. Once the customer is disappointed, he or she may never walk through that business’ doors again. The sale is gone, along with any store loyalty. That’s why it’s critical for retailers to implement omnichannel strategies that let customers shop for and take delivery of products in the ways that fit their lifestyles.

According to a new report from AGC Partners, “The Retail Industry Disruptors: Specialty Online Retailers and Marketplaces Take Center Stage,” most shoppers welcome technology that lets them take advantage of retailers’ omnichannel strategies.

A solid omnichannel strategy lets shoppers buy online, buy in-store or do a combination: buy online and pick up in-store (BOPIS), for example. Increasingly, customers are “taking control” of their shopping experiences. They are well researched, both in terms of what products they want to buy, and where they want to purchase. They are “smart shoppers,” who more than ever before are able to dictate how they want to purchase merchandise.

The report notes that now, shoppers are looking for what seems to be the inverse of BOPIS: They want in-store mobile technology that allows them to order a product from a retailer’s e-commerce site, if it is not in stock at the store. 64% of consumers responded that they are more likely to frequent stores that offer such technology, and 73% said that such an offering provides a “superior” customer experience.

Retail is an enormous, $22 trillion market worldwide. Right now, online retail only makes up 7.4% of that total. Retailers that can “rescue” an order that cannot be filled at a physical location by routing it to its e-commerce site, will increase revenue and build customer appreciation. In addition, online sales will grow. A sale is a sale, no matter where it originates or to where it is delivered. As long as a retailer provides the channel, customers have no reason to seek the item elsewhere.

Still, a number of hurdles need to be overcome, according to AGC:

• Only 33% of all U.S. retailers can order out-of-stock products via a mobile device
• Only 26% offer free Wi-Fi
• Only 12% can have customers scan products and have them shipped home

That represents an enormous opportunity for retailers and their technology partners. Increased shopping on mobile devices is likely to drive overall growth in online retail. And many shoppers, particularly millennials, enjoy using smartphones and other mobile devices to shop: Of 2,000 millennials surveyed by Coupofy, 28% reported preferring to shop on their smartphone than on their computers. Therefore, by implementing solutions that allow customers to be flexible in how they shop, where they take delivery – and even make returns – retailers can grow revenue as well as customer satisfaction.

Going omnichannel?

You know it’s critical to create a consistent customer experience across all sales channels – but you can’t afford for your omnichannel efforts to be seen as omni-failures. 

Get this whitepaper to discover how to simplify omnichannel!

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Sunday, August 21st, 2016 at 5:35 pm .

Retail has gone through a major paradigm shift over the past few years. How stores predominantly function, with in-store and digital shopping experiences existing as separate entities, is fast becoming an outdated, inefficient model.

Innovative retailers are finding great value in treating their operations holistically and are busy implementing initiatives that add value for the shopper, improve the customer-to-brand interaction, and make products more readily available.

Now retailers have a turnkey way to build omnichannel fulfillment into their store operations with the Retail Pro retail management software platform – and we’re showing you how!

• See what retailers stand to gain from melding brick and mortar with digital
• Discover achievable, measurable ways to tackle omnichannel
• Find out how the Retail Pro and UniteU partnership can help retailers offer flexible fulfillment options like Buy Online Pickup In-Store

Going omnichannel?

Request a demo to see how you can go omnichannel with Retail Pro® today!

This entry was posted by Ulyana Avetisov on Monday, August 15th, 2016 at 11:56 am .

Get the right product to the right customer at the right time: That’s the retailer’s credo. Every new technology implementation, every piece of marketing is launched with that sentiment in mind. Today, mobile technology is helping retailers attain that trifecta.

Wal-Mart wants customers to use mobile apps.

It’s not only the relatively new, small, specialty retailer that “gets” how to reach today’s customers. Older, much more established players have also seen how mobile technology can boost customer activity. Walmart is a great example of a well known, long established retailer that has successfully embraced technology to increase revenue.

Customers that have Walmart’s mobile app spend significantly more and shop in-store two times more than the average shopper, according to the Arkansas retail giant. Part of the reason for that is Walmart has taken the app one step further than other retailers by incorporating a payment system. Walmart Pay requires the cashier to scan a QR code on the phone screen to charge a credit, debit or Walmart gift card that’s linked to the account. That’s significantly different than competing payment platforms such as Apple Pay, which use Near Frequency Communication (NFC) technology.

The advantage for Walmart is that it retains control over the information it gleans from its customer base; it gathers and stores shoppers’ information directly. All the data from the app — including that which would typically go to the credit card company — stays with Walmart to can be used to improve the shopping experience.

Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services at Walmart U.S., told the Detroit News that data from the app will be used to improve the shopping experience, with the customer’s permission. Past shopping behavior can be analyzed, for example, in order to build a personalized shopping list. The customer can then delete or add items manually or by scanning in-store barcodes. In addition, geo-location alerts shoppers to in-store specials and new items.

The retailer has reported that more than half of its shoppers come into the store with a smartphone, which paves the way for allowing Walmart to communicate with consumers in-store. By taking advantage of devices that customers are already comfortable using, Walmart can provide a more personalized shopping experience. And that is resulting in rising revenue.

Going mobile?

Get this whitepaper to see how the retail technologies you select can help you stay ahead of the curve in the Mobile 2.0 retail economy, and request a demo of the natively mobile Retail Pro Prism® today!

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016 at 5:57 pm .

As a retailer in the US, you play a major part in protecting your customers against payment fraud. But you aren’t alone in the fight. The Retail Pro and Cayan team helps you keep customer data safe.

This entry was posted by Ulyana Avetisov on Monday, July 18th, 2016 at 11:24 am .

Retailers have been pushing to extend peak seasons like Christmas to gain more sales, but modern consumers shop on their own schedule and retailers must adapt and cater to their off-season needs.

By Kerry Lemos, CEO, Retail Pro International

Christmas coming earlier every year might be a cliché for most people, but for the retail industry it’s a simple fact.

We’re already seeing retailers prepare for the festive season, identifying the key products that will be this year’s must-haves and gearing up their Christmas campaigns.

This is very much in line with the traditional retail business models built around spikes in activity brought on by peak shopping periods. With stock piled high and temporary recruits boosting numbers on the shop floor, activity can be ramped up for a few weeks before returning to normal levels.

In recent years, however, these peaks have become much less well-defined.

Take Christmas, for instance. The season now covers much more than just a few weeks. It now spans the extended period from the build-up to Thanksgiving through to Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the January sales, where some retailers might hope to do half of their annual business.

This period of retail chaos means retailers are in direct competition for the same limited number of festive shoppers for an increasing amount of time, with both shoppers’ attention and supply chains becoming squeezed.

A new world

At the same time, Christmas is no longer the only peak period retailers need to be aware of.

In the UK, the growth of festivals such as Eid, Diwali and the Chinese New Year has introduced new periods that retailers may need to prepare for. Beyond these major festivals, there are other times of the year that could be seen as a peak period to some, or all, of the population, from the first day of spring to the beginning and end of the summer holidays.

What all of these periods show is that many retailers’ approach to consumers needs to change. Customers cannot be treated as a single mass who all shop at the same time, in the same way, and for the same things.

Focusing attention on a single, defined peak period is a strategy that retailers must move on from: individuals have their own approach to shopping, and as such have developed their own personal peak shopping periods.

Giving the public what they want

The question for retailers then is, how do they support these individual peak periods without losing the ability to maximize the potential of established shopping seasons?

Here are 3 actions retailers can take that will tip the odds in their favor.

Cross channels

We haven’t just seen an evolution in when people shop, but in how they shop. Customers won’t restrict their peak shopping period to simply visiting a select number of brick-and-mortar stores.

On the other hand, few consumers will do a hundred percent of their shopping online, instead welcoming the opportunity to browse for certain items in the flesh. Retailers should ensure these customers have a seamless experience, whether shopping online or in-store, with access to the same information and interactions however they purchase their products.

Ideally, a customer should be able to begin their shop in-store and complete it online, or vice versa, in a consistent, omnichannel exchange.

Map the landscape

With “peak” periods becoming more of a constant presence, it’s important that retailers understand exactly when these periods happen.

For instance, the Christmas period now begins in November and ends in January; but within this, there are individual days which show still-increased activity or relative slowdowns.

Not only this, but retailers must decide how they switch to peak periods; does activity accelerate overnight, or is there a slow build-up and deceleration to ensure they can attract shoppers who are operating on a slightly different timetable?

Build profiles

While predicting and supporting the shopping habits of every single individual is beyond the reach of retailers, they should still ensure they have categorised how their customers behave in peak periods and act accordingly.

For example, what proportion of shoppers do their holiday shopping early, and which wait until the last minute? How many spread their shopping across the whole period, and how many spend everything on one or two occasions? And when exactly do their customers flock to the store?

Using this information, retailers can build profiles of their customers and anticipate their needs throughout the year as appropriate.

By offering an omnichannel experience, mapping out the peak calendar and ensuring they have profiled their customers, retailers can ensure that they are supporting peak shopping for all their customers; whether it happens at Christmas or Candlemas.

Building your omnichannel strategy?

Discover how to simplify omnichannel with these 3 critical tips in our whitepaper!

This entry was posted by Ulyana Avetisov on Monday, July 18th, 2016 at 9:10 am .

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that a security researcher was claiming to have hacked an Amazon server and dumped the information of tens of thousands of users online. (So far, Amazon has dismissed the incident as nonsense.) And fast-food chain Wendy’s is also grappling with a very real breach affecting more than 1,000 outlets nationwide. Those reports underscore just how prevalent security breaches are and how devastating they can be.

Biometrics predicted to become more widespread at POS systems.

Sure, credit card companies are now issuing chip cards, which are more secure than those old magnetic-stripe types. But they aren’t as secure as chip-and-pin, which is standard in Europe. Those cards are equipped with a chip that generates a unique code for each transaction, which makes it more difficult to churn out fake cards for future fraudulent purchases. However, biometrics provide even more security.

Biometrics include technology such as fingerprint systems, facial recognition, iris scanning and voice identification. Biometrics Research Group predicts the global biometrics market to soar to $15 billion this year, up from an estimated $7 million just three years ago. And, technology consulting firm Frost & Sullivan predicts that nearly a half-billion people will be using a smartphone equipped with biometric technology by 2017.

Can You Prove Who You Are?

One of the big benefits biometrics could offer the retail industry is PoS payment authentication. Just as facial recognition can help airports and arenas scan crowds for fugitives, biometrics can help retailers verify shoppers’ identities — even online stores. For example, Amazon has filed a patent application for biometric technology that could be used for identity verification.

Amazon’s technology works like this: The person attempting to sign in or complete a purchase is prompted to “perform an action in view of a camera or sensor.” After completing a sequence of checks, the program identifies the shopper and verifies the person is a living human rather than simply a photograph. The customer might be asked to wave or make another type of gesture, for instance. Once the user is authenticated the transaction can be completed.

Right now, fingerprint recognition is the easiest, most accessible way retailers can bring the security of biometrics into their operations without too much investment. Debuting on Sept. 10, 2013, the iPhone 5s was the first phone to feature such biometric technology. Today, brick and mortar businesses — in particular, cafeterias at schools and nursing facilities — are using fingerprint solutions to allow patrons to quickly access accounts without having to remember passwords or swipe cards.

Moving beyond alphanumeric passwords is critical for continued retail growth. Biometric security technologies can be integrated into just about everything — for retailers both online and off.

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Wednesday, July 13th, 2016 at 11:16 am .

Much like their marketing strategies, sales procedures and product development efforts, retailers must put time into creating the ideal customer experience.

It’s one thing for a retailer to announce it wants to create a more experiential experience for customers, and quite another to do it.

Talk of creating a compelling retail experience has been around for several years, driven in large part by the competition to brick and mortars by e-commerce. In a day and age in which shoppers can shop quickly and efficiently online, retailers need to offer customers a compelling reason to step foot inside a real building.

The irony is that experiential shopping isn’t new, rather, it harkens back to a golden age. Back in the 1950s and 60s, shopping was an event. Stores provided hair salons and restaurants for “ladies who lunch,” for example. While clientele has changed greatly in the past 60+ years, the lesson to be learned is that shoppers enjoy being catered to. Retailers that build memorable experiences will be rewarded with larger shopping carts and loyal customers.

Case in point: Ulta, a purveyor of beauty products, has found it very profitable to provide customers an entire spectrum of items, some costing pocket change and others the price of a fancy dinner for two. The reason Ulta has become a destination, explained a Wall Street Journal reporter to NPR recently, is that it took the bold step of including such a wide array of products. Typically, manufacturers are loath to share floor space with brands that are elsewhere on the value chain, i.e., luxury and bargain brands don’t mix. But at Ulta, they do. And customers are thrilled.

Ulta management theorized that women who use a $8 mascara might want to come in and buy that product — and perhaps also indulge in something new or “special.” Combining that idea with free services such as mini-makeovers, and they had a winning formula. As a result, revenue rose nearly 24-percent last quarter, and a total of 970 stores are planned by the end of the year.

The strategy not only exemplifies how destination shopping can improve the bottom line, but it also speaks to the importance of promoting complementary purchases. In essence, Ulta counted on customers making at least one “impulse” buy while they were at the store: that mascara could use eyeliner; this foundation might benefit from concealer, etc.

In addition, the personal touch is not forced, rather, it is sought after by the customer. Associates greet each guest, and they offer to apply products and make suggestions — all at the request of the shopper. The customer is enjoying herself, doesn’t feel harassed and feels in control.

And that is a beautiful retail experience.

Rethinking your customer experience?

Discover how to improve your brand’s CX with these 4 clienteling tips!

This entry was posted by Jennifer Bosavage on Tuesday, July 12th, 2016 at 3:52 pm .

Free shipping is a big perk for online shoppers, but fast shipping may be equally as appealing.

When your business can’t afford to offer free shipping, consider offering affordable fast shipping instead.

While it’s true that free shipping not only attracts customers but also makes them more likely to buy (and remain loyal), it’s a strategy that doesn’t work for every retailer. It adds cost to the bottom line, and not all businesses can add it to the cost of goods and pass it along to customers while still remaining competitive.

So, how to compete against behemoths that have the resources to absorb shipping costs?

The option, like many things in retail, is to offer a benefit to an alternative that is desirable to customers, but which may not initially be their first choice. So, say a shopper’s inclination is to save some money by not paying for shipping. If that’s not offered, he or she may well look elsewhere to make a purchase. Right at that point where the purchasing decision is being made, the retailer must provide an attractive alternative.

Fast shipping addresses purchasers’ need for immediate gratification. Receiving an order quickly also delights the consumer in a way that could encourage purchasing and loyalty. That is particularly true for luxury items where a purchaser may be more interested in getting the item with immediacy: While free shipping is cost effective, it is often slow.

It’s possible to position fast shipping to be as alluring as free shipping.

How?

Offer ship to store
Retailers are learning that shoppers are increasingly taking advantage of click and collect, or ship to store programs. The convenience of shopping at home and ordering lets shoppers first locate and then “lock in” purchases. Some stores let customers pick up merchandise within a few hours, others will send email notifications when the product is ready. The strategy is appealing to busy customers who may not have time to physically browse stores’ inventories. Ordering can be done any time of day, and receipt of merchandise revolves around their schedules. Retailers can reap the benefits of added on, spur-of-the-moment purchases when the customer arrives to gather the order. Click and collect requires substantial investment by retailers to provide up-to-date, accurate inventory that is highly visible to shoppers.

Partner with UPS and…7-Eleven?
This strategy is similar to what Amazon has done with lockers. Stores partner with UPS, which locates Access Point lockers (usually) outside and accessible 24 hours a day at convenience stores and similar locations. E-tailers can incorporate the locker delivery addresses into their checkout processes to give consumers a local delivery location. The benefit for the convenience stores is an increase in foot traffic, and potentially Slurpee sales.

Oh, thank heaven.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, July 6th, 2016 at 6:20 pm .