Tag: BOPIS

Omni-channel Retailing: Best Practices for Seamless Customer Experience

Posted on by Joaquim Silveira

Omni-channel retailing represents a significant paradigm shift in the retail industry. Unlike multi-channel retailing, which offers multiple separate channels for customers to engage with a brand, omni-channel retailing integrates these channels to provide a cohesive and seamless customer experience. This approach ensures that whether a customer is shopping online from a mobile device, a desktop, or in a brick-and-mortar store, the experience is consistent and interconnected.

By adopting omni-channel strategies, retailers can meet the evolving expectations of consumers who demand flexibility and convenience. This shift is not just about technology but also requires a rethinking of business processes, customer engagement strategies, and data integration.

Key Components of an Effective Omni-channel Strategy

An effective omni-channel strategy hinges on several key components. Firstly, having a unified customer database is crucial. This allows retailers to track customer interactions across various touchpoints and personalize their experience. Secondly, seamless integration of inventory management systems ensures that customers have real-time information on product availability, regardless of the channel they are using.

Additionally, consistent branding and messaging across all channels help in building a cohesive brand image. Implementing robust analytics tools to gather insights from customer data can also drive more informed decision-making. Lastly, training staff to handle omni-channel interactions ensures that the service quality remains high across all platforms.

Leveraging SAAS Platforms for Omni-channel Retailing

SAAS (Software as a Service) platforms play a pivotal role in the success of omni-channel retailing. These platforms offer scalable solutions that can integrate various retail channels, streamline operations, and provide valuable customer insights. By leveraging SAAS platforms, retailers can reduce the complexity of managing multiple systems and focus on enhancing the customer experience.

Features like cloud-based inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM), and point of sale (POS) systems are essential components of a robust SAAS platform. These tools enable real-time data synchronization across channels, ensuring that customers receive accurate and up-to-date information, which is crucial for maintaining a seamless shopping experience.

Best Practices for Creating a Seamless Customer Journey

Here are some best practices for achieving a seamless omni-channel customer experience:

  • Customer-Centric Approach At the heart of any successful omni-channel strategy is a deep understanding of customer behavior. Retailers need to gather data from every interaction—whether it’s browsing online, interacting via mobile apps, or purchasing in-store—to create personalized experiences that resonate with their audience. Analyzing customer data helps identify preferences, anticipate needs, and offer relevant recommendations. Retailers can use this information to tailor marketing campaigns, enhance customer service, and build long-term loyalty.
  • Unified Technology Infrastructure To manage the complexities of an omni-channel approach, retailers must ensure they have a robust and centralized technology infrastructure. Integration of various systems—like Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Point-of-Sale (POS)—is crucial to streamlining operations. This integration enables real-time data sharing across channels, providing a unified view of customer interactions and inventory levels. Investing in scalable and flexible technology solutions ensures the infrastructure can adapt to evolving business needs and market trends.
  • Inventory and Supply Chain Management Effective inventory and supply chain management is critical for omni-channel retail success. Real-time inventory visibility enables retailers to avoid stockouts or excess inventory across channels. Implementing advanced analytics and automation tools can optimize demand forecasting, inventory allocation, and replenishment processes. Efficient order fulfillment processes—like click-and-collect or ship-from-store—can significantly improve customer satisfaction. Additionally, leveraging technologies like RFID and IoT can enhance inventory tracking and management.
  • Mobile Optimization With the increasing use of smartphones for shopping, optimizing mobile experiences is essential. Retailers should ensure their websites and apps are mobile-friendly, providing a seamless browsing and purchasing experience on all devices. Key elements of mobile optimization include responsive design, fast loading times, intuitive navigation, and secure payment options. Incorporating features like mobile wallets, personalized push notifications, and mobile-exclusive promotions can enhance the mobile shopping experience and drive engagement.
  • Social Media Integration Leveraging social media platforms for marketing and customer engagement can enhance the omni-channel experience. Retailers can use social media to promote products, offer personalized recommendations, and interact with customers in real-time. By integrating social media with e-commerce platforms, retailers can enable social shopping features like shoppable posts, live streaming, and user-generated content. Engaging with customers through social media also provides valuable insights into their preferences, behaviors, and sentiments, helping retailers refine their strategies.
  • In-Store Experience While online shopping continues to grow, physical stores remain crucial for building brand connections and offering unique customer experiences. Retailers should focus on creating engaging in-store environments that complement their online presence. Strategies include offering experiential retail, such as interactive displays, product demonstrations, and personalized consultations. Leveraging in-store technologies like digital kiosks, mobile POS systems, and beacons can enhance the shopping experience. Additionally, integrating online and offline channels—such as buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS)—provides customers with convenient options and drives foot traffic.
  • Consistent Branding and Messaging Maintaining consistent branding and messaging across all channels is vital for a cohesive omni-channel experience. Customers should recognize your brand and receive the same level of service, whether they are shopping online or in-store. Developing a unified brand voice and visual identity ensures consistency in marketing communications, product presentations, and customer interactions. Implementing cross-channel marketing campaigns and personalized content strategies reinforces brand recognition and builds trust with customers.

Why ETP V5 is the Best Solution for Omni-channel Retailing

ETP V5 stands out as an exceptional solution for omni-channel retailing due to its comprehensive and integrated features. It provides end-to-end solutions that cover everything from inventory management and CRM to POS and analytics. The platform is designed to deliver a unified and seamless experience across all retail channels, ensuring that customers have a consistent experience regardless of where they interact with the brand.

One of the key strengths of ETP V5 is its ability to provide real-time data synchronization, which is crucial for accurate inventory management and customer insights. Moreover, the platform’s robust analytics tools enable retailers to make data-driven decisions and personalize the shopping experience effectively. With its scalable and flexible architecture, ETP V5 can adapt to the evolving needs of retailers, making it the best solution for omni-channel retailing.

Creating Engaging Customer Journeys in the Digital Age with ETP Unify

Posted on by Joaquim Silveira

Creating Engaging Customer Journeys in the Digital Age with ETP Unify

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, creating engaging customer journeys is essential for businesses to stay competitive and foster customer loyalty. As a leading unified commerce software solutions company, ETP Group understands the importance of seamless and personalised customer experiences. In this blog, we will explore how to create engaging customer journeys in the digital age and how ETP Unify can help you achieve this goal.

Understanding the Modern Customer

To create an engaging customer journey, it is crucial to understand your audience. Conduct thorough research to identify your target audience’s needs, preferences, and behaviors. Utilise customer relationship management software (CRM) and data analytics to gain insights into their motivations and pain points. By leveraging these insights, businesses can tailor their offerings to meet customer expectations effectively.

Personalisation and Customisation

  • Personalized Customer Experiences: ETP Unify empowers businesses by creating a unified view of each customer. By merging data from various channels, businesses get a complete picture of customer preferences, purchase history, and behavior. This allows for more effective marketing campaigns, targeted promotions, and relevant product recommendations, ultimately boosting sales and fostering customer loyalty. With a deep understanding of each customer’s needs, retailers can offer personalized service and support across all platforms, resulting in enhanced customer satisfaction and higher conversion rates.
  • Personalized Experiences: ETP Unify aggregates customer data from all touchpoints such as websites, apps, social media, and physical stores into a single profile. It utilizes this data to provide personalized product recommendations and offers, increasing customer engagement and driving sales. Additionally, it enables targeted marketing efforts like customized email campaigns and promotions tailored to customer preferences and behaviors.

Omni-channel Experience

In the digital age, it’s essential for customers to experience seamless transitions across multiple channels, be it websites, social media, mobile apps, or physical stores. ETP Unify’s unified commerce platform provides a real-time, unified view of inventory across all channels (online, in-store, and warehouse), which prevents out-of-stocks and allows for flexible fulfillment options like BOPIS and curbside pickup. This ensures accurate and consistent information regardless of where the customer interacts with the brand. Moreover, ETP Unify offers consistent pricing and promotions across all channels, helping avoid confusion and build customer trust.

Efficient Logistics and Supply Chain Management

  • Seamless Logistics and Supply Chain Management: ETP Unify offers a streamlined approach to managing logistics and supply chains, ensuring timely and accurate deliveries that enhance customer satisfaction and build trust. With ETP Unify’s Logistics Integration module, businesses can optimize their logistics processes through seamless connections with leading providers like DHL, FedEx, and Ninjavan. This integration enables the downloading of essential logistics documents such as invoices, shipping manifests, and shipping labels.
  • Integrated Logistics Providers: ETP Unify is pre-integrated with over 60 different shipping carriers across multiple continents, facilitating smooth transitions between your operations and consumers. It also supports the creation of non-integrated shipping carriers.
  • Effortless Order Management: From picking and packing to labeling and shipping, ETP Unify allows businesses to manage all logistics operations from a single platform. Once products are packed, the logistics provider is promptly notified of the upcoming delivery.
  • Efficient Document Management: Businesses can effortlessly download shipping labels and manifests directly from ETP Unify without needing to manually retrieve them from carriers or channels.
  • Real-Time Order Tracking: ETP Unify provides real-time updates on the status of orders, from picking to packing to shipping. It enables businesses to track multiple orders across different marketplaces and carriers simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery of products at all times.

Retail Store Inventory Management 

  • Real-Time Inventory Management: Effective inventory and POS system management is crucial for a seamless customer journey. ETP Unify offers real-time inventory visibility across all locations, including stores, warehouses, and online channels. This unified view helps prevent stockouts and overstocking, enabling efficient order fulfillment which maximizes sales and minimizes losses.
  • Optimized Inventory Allocation: ETP Unify allows retailers to strategically allocate inventory based on demand and location. This ensures that products are available where and when customers need them, enhancing sales and reducing inventory holding costs.

Creating engaging customer journeys in the digital age requires a deep understanding of your audience, personalised experiences, seamless omni-channel integration, efficient logistics, and continuous improvement. ETP Unify, with its comprehensive suite of unified commerce retail solutions, empowers businesses to deliver exceptional customer experiences at every touchpoint. By leveraging ETP Unify’s capabilities, businesses can build lasting customer relationships, drive loyalty, and achieve sustainable growth in the digital age.

Incorporating ETP Unify into your customer journey strategy ensures that you stay ahead in the competitive landscape, providing customers with the best client relationship management software and a seamless, engaging experience. Let’s embrace the digital age and create unforgettable customer journeys together.



3 Important Differentiators for Retail Brands to Stay Ahead of the Competition

Posted on by Omprasad Devadiga

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The retail markets across the globe are becoming increasingly competitive for 2 major reasons. On the one hand technology has disrupted the industry in multiple ways and on the other hand customers shopping behaviors have changed dramatically. Additionally, both these factors are influencing each other to further pose more challenges and create opportunities for retail businesses. In this intensely competitive scenario, retail brands need to differentiate themselves so that they emerge winners.

Below are 3 important factors that can help retail brands differentiate themselves:

Supply chain –

Simply put, getting the customer what they want and where they want it is a serious concerns for most retailers as the complexity of processes and operations increase with the different channels and random ways the customer goes about shopping and ordering products. New omni-channel fulfillment options such as click and collect or BOPIS, endless aisles, reserve online and pick-up in-store, and a few other combinations have emerged over the last couple of years. Moreover, same day delivery, drone delivery, collection from preferred location, anywhere returns, and so on, have also come to the fore lately. Offering these fulfillment options requires retailers to have a solid supply chain system that can reduce the chances of stock-outs, damages and other potential risks. Thus it is important for retailers to focus on the supply chain and use technology to optimize it so that there is a smooth flow of the product from manufacturing to the consumer.

Customer relationship –

As stated earlier, technology has influenced the shopper. Customers today are more informed and demanding than about a decade ago. In addition to that, they are spoilt for choice thanks to the variety in products, different channels of shopping, payment methods and accessibility to information. The customers are on the driving seats and retail brands need to be ready to fulfill the demands of the customer on their terms. This will be possible only if companies keep their customers at the focal point in the business. They will have to build deep and long lasting relationships with the customer and take appropriate efforts to understand and know their customers’ preferences. Using technology to capture and analyze customer related data and with proper customer segmentation and profiling, retailers will be able to design and create tailored offerings to the customers in terms of products and related services.

Marketing and branding –

It is a no brainer that if retailers are not able to get their marketing right, they won’t be able to click. Retail companies are pumping in huge investments and efforts into their marketing and branding strategies and execution. But with so much noise around it is difficult to get noticed. In order to stand out, retail brands must adopt for a unity in diversity approach. Firstly have uniform branding and messaging, secondly identify platforms where their customers are most likely to be and thirdly promoting the brand message across these platforms will help retailers reach the desired audience with higher chance of conversions. Taking this to the next level by designing and creating offers and promotions that are hyper personalized, localized and unique will have customers wanting for more. As customer attention spans are small, retailers need to get their act together and render the maximum impact in a short time.

Also Read: What Retailers Need To Understand About The Omni-Channel Customer Experience

How Click-and-collect can help boost your retail business (video)

Posted on by admin

Omni channel retailing enables retail brands to expand their presence as it removes the dependence on a single channel and allows the use of multiple channels to interact with their customers as well as sell products. ‘Click-and-collect’ or ‘Buy online pick up in store (BOPIS)’ is a powerful omni-channel fulfillment option that is gaining popularity, globally. The below video illuminates some of its important benefits.

ETP Omni-channel Retail Software Solutions provide you with features such as ‘Click and collect’ enabling you to deliver a unified brand-customer relationship across all channels.

What’s on retailers’ minds for 2018?

Posted on by admin

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At the NRF Big Show 2018, retail executives and leaders share the areas they are going to focus on this year. Here are a few things they are working on:

1) Retailers will continue to strive for providing more personalized digital experiences.

When asked for views, executives from Macy’s, Neiman Marcus Group and The Children’s Place clearly stated that personalization would be a big focus for them in 2018. Macy’s is continuing to focus on personalization according to an executive, “The whole concept of personalization is simply on steroids right now. It’s all about the consumer in that one moment in time. We’re doing anything we can do to connect directly with consumers and make shopping convenient for them.”

Retailers have worked on improving personalization for many years but it all boils down to customer experience. As such, providing great customer experiences in 2018 will be the result of blending technology with a more personalized touch.

2) Connecting online and offline store experiences will remain a major focus.

Leading retailers such as Macy’s and The Children’s Place are still fervent on ‘omni-channel retail’. Macy’s is continuing to see serious growth in the area of “buy online, pick up in store” (BOPIS). Macy’s executive stated that “physical stores are not going away. Customers will always want the option of coming into the store to try on jeans instead of buying three different sizes online.”

The Children’s Place is also striving towards making it big in digital and using a lot of the omni-channel use cases like BOPIS and ‘Save the Sale’. ‘Save the Sale’ needs store associates to be able to access real-time inventory across the store network. This enables the store associates to address the situation of stock-out and lost sales by helping customers to find their desired item online or at another store location with ease.

3) More retailers will look to leverage voice assistants.

Global Chief eCommerce Officer at Samsonite feels that voice assistants will start taking off in certain categories like consumables. However, categories like fashion may have a harder time to leverage voice. 1-800-Flowers.com having been one of the first retailers to launch an Alexa skill, the CEO & President believes that bots and AI capabilities will enable 1-800-Flowers.com to amplify its personalized experience. He envisions the possibilities, “With voice as the main interface emerging, I think it will bring us back to the retail experience of our first flower shop where we delivered a true 1-to-1 relationship. Voice enables us to have a 1-to-1 relationship with customers on a massive scale.”

4) As artificial intelligence (AI) matures, AI-powered retail applications are gaining adoption.

According to the Global Chief eCommerce Officer at Samsonite, 2018 will be the year that artificial intelligence will have its breakthrough moment. Retailers will start using it to power various parts of the retail and eCommerce experience. 1-800-Flowers.com uses AI to power conversational interfaces like Alexa, Google Assistant and Facebook Messenger, many of which need no human touch at all.

Using AI and its applications in various aspects of retail, retailers are looking to boost their businesses and enhance customer experiences.

5) Personalization, social media and Amazon Marketing Services will be used as acquisition marketing strategies.

The Children’s Place highlighted the importance of personalized marketing strategies. Its personalization strategy began in 2017 when the company hired a data scientist to clean up the customer database. Now that The Children’s Place can connect customer purchases online and in-store, the executive believes that it will aid in making acquisition, engagement and retention strategies more personal,.

Social media also seems to be one of the top marketing priorities for the CEO of Petco. On the flip side, Global Chief eCommerce Officer at Samsonite believes, “Amazon Marketing is going to become as critical to a brand’s marketing strategy as Google and Facebook. Today, Amazon has the return on investment potential of Google Paid Search in 2005 and display ads in 2002.”

Unifying the customer experience during this festive shopping season

Posted on by admin

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With Black Friday and Cyber Monday – presumably, the biggest days for shopping right around the corner, it is one of the best times of the year for two main reasons – the festive season is very near and the festive shopping gets going in full swing. Retail companies looking to ring in higher festive shopping sales this year need to get a few basic things right for the festive shopping such as their display, merchandise, promotions and so on. Having said that, it is the age of omni-channel retailing and as such, brands must also look to leap ahead in their game, in order to deliver the unified omni-channel customer experience that shoppers would be expecting during this festive shopping season.

‘Click and Collect’ or ‘Buy Online Pick up In-store (BOPIS)’ is one of the revolutionary omni-channel retailing techniques that retail businesses can adopt into their strategies and operations to cater to  festive shoppers’ expectations. As the name ‘Click and Collect’ suggests, the concept is that shoppers can make their purchases online and then opt to collect the products at their desired ‘brick and mortar’ stores. This way, shoppers can use both online and offline channels at their convenience to shop and to receive gratification of their purchases. As per a recent survey, 58% of shoppers will use a buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) fulfillment option for their holiday shopping this year. The benefits are multifold. For shoppers, it is the ease and convenience of shopping so that they may avoid the need to look for products at the stores during the festive rush and eliminating the wait time due to shipping. For retailers, it is the enhancement of their brand presence both online and offline, and the opportunity to ‘cross sell’ and ‘up sell’. This could be both online through suggestions and offers, and offline when the shoppers come to collect their products at the store. ‘Click and collect’ or ‘BOPIS’ can therefore enable retailers to offer a seamless omni-channel customer experience during their festive shopping.

Another technique or strategy that retail businesses can employ this festive season to increase sales and boost customer loyalty across channels is ‘endless aisle’. An omni-channel concept, ‘endless aisle’ fundamentally enables shoppers to shop online for products that are not available at that brick and mortar retail store, with the help of handheld devices or kiosks that populate additional product assortments/options through e-commerce sites. The best part is, this can be done right from the store. So a shopper looking to buy a particular product but unable to locate it at the store, can still buy that product from the online portal at the store. This helps eliminate the risk of lost sales for retailers and the frustration for shoppers during out of stock situations. Moreover, it saves shoppers the effort to look for the product elsewhere and thus enhances their experience and trust in the retail brand, cementing the brand-customer relationship. Like ‘Click and Collect’, even ‘endless aisle’ involves both offline and online channels thus empowering retailers to deliver a unified customer experience across channels.

Why should retailers consider ‘Click-and-Collect’?

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ETP Blog Click and Collect

Shopping online or through a mobile phone these days is very common and every day more and more consumers engage with retail brands through these channels during their shopping journey. Having an omni-channel driven retail business is therefore essential.

Omni-channel retail entails a combination of channels used by the shoppers to research, buy and return products. And while there are multiple permutations of these channels that shoppers can choose from, ‘Click-and-collect’ or ‘Buy online, pickup in store’ is one combination that retailers need to take advantage of and here’s why.

To start with, ‘click-and-collect’ is a customer-centric approach which allows convenience of shopping. It makes it easy to browse and purchase products, and gets rid of the waiting time for shipping and delivery of the order.

‘Click-and-collect’ marries the advantages of online/app based shopping with the advantages of the brick-and-mortar stores. It allows a shopper to purchase a product online quickly and conveniently and allows them to touch and feel the product live at the store. For retailers, this translates to getting traffic and conversions on their online sites or mobile apps as well as increasing footfalls in the store.

‘Click-and-collect’ also presents opportunities for retailers to cross-sell and up-sell, thus driving higher sales. According to ICSC, 69 percent of customers who went to pick up their orders in-store ended up buying additional items. Thus, retailers can take advantage of this technique by persuading shoppers to buy more while they are at the store to pick up their order; especially during the shopping seasons or when impulse shoppers visit the store.

Since ‘Click-and-collect’ requires both online/mobile and brick-and-mortar stores to complement each other, it provides an edge for such retailers over those who are purely e-commerce players. Retailers must not miss out on this opportunity which will ensure more share of the customers’ attention time and eventually more share of the consumers’ wallets.

As shoppers these days are savvy and demanding, they expect the best experience. ‘Buy online pickup in-store’ is one way retailers with the right omni-channel retail solutions can provide a seamless and superior cross-channel shopping experience, which customers will cherish and come back for more.