Fulfilling the demands of cross-channel operations is the biggest challenge for retail businesses. According to a recent study that involved 400 retail CEOs across the globe, failing to meet omni-channel demand and being unable to sustain ‘brick and mortar’ sales was the most significant business impediment, cited by 42 per cent of respondents.
The cost of fulfilling orders across channels has increased for 67 per cent of retailer business.
Fulfilling customer returns from orders in-store and online was the biggest challenge, 76 per cent, with 71 per cent of retailers citing it as the most expensive aspect of fulfilling orders.
The research also showed that only 29 per cent retailers consider themselves to be multi-channel, while 26 per cent say having shipping options was very important to meeting customer expectations.
Globally, meeting omni-channel expectations of customers was the biggest priority for the future. It was also the biggest challenge, with 35 per cent citing failing to meet the demands as the biggest concern, and 84 per cent saying they could not currently fulfil omni-channel demand profitably.
The cost of fulfilment, especially returns, was cited as the most expensive aspect of omni-channel operations.
Chief executives surveyed are investing an average of 29 per cent of capital expenditure this year on improving omni-channel fulfilment capabilities.
Globally, CEOs are more upbeat about long-term growth as opposed to growth in the near-term, with most expressing rising confidence in revenue growth over the next 12 months compared to last year.
Retail store staff that have the right customer facing skills can prove to be an important asset for the retail business as they are the ones dealing with the customers’ directly, Hence, they need to be the face of the retail business as well as brand ambassadors of the retail brand so that they are able to influence the customers and drive them to making purchases, thus generating sales for the business.
At the end of the day, the aim for a retail store staff is to achieve high sales. However, selling does not mean they have to be ‘salesy’ and pushy. Effective selling is all about their ability to help the customers with the necessary information which they may be seeking, helping them find the desired product, and ensuring that the customers are genuinely happy with their purchase.
To achieve this, retail businesses need to ensure that their store staff are equipped with 2 important aspects – knowledge and technology:
• Knowledge – Retail store staff need to be armed with thorough and complete information regarding the products. In fact, it would be of additional value if they possess the information about the competition as well. Importantly, every store staff should know their customers so that they can tackle them accordingly. Hence, it is necessary to have recent and relevant customer data. The store staff also need to be trained and groomed in order to imbibe the values of the business so that the brand attitude may be reflected through the interactions they have with the customers. Also, providing proper training for obvious factors like communication skills and other soft skills will go a long way in the overall grooming of the staff. Having substantial knowledge of the business, its products, customers and also, the competition will allow the store staff to face the customers confidently and deliver the service effectively.
• Technology – Along with knowledge, it is also essential to equip the store staff with the right softwares and tools. Having the right technology at their disposal will allow them to go about their daily chores efficiently. For example, a POS software at the check-out counter that is able to not only capture customer data but also reflect it during billing will allow the staff to provide the customer with the right offers at the time of purchase. Also, providing store staff with mobile POS devices will help them assist customers during peak hours, thus negating the chances of a walk-out. Having a powerful order management tool that can manage inventory real time will enable the staff to handle situations accordingly, if the desired products are not available at the store.
Certainly, the utilization of a good retail solution will ensure that the retail business as a whole, can reap the benefits through improved performance and profitability. To sum up, the right knowledge and the right technology will help retailers and their store staff to get it right in retail.
The New Consumer is a values-aspirational, practical purchaser. He or she aspire to purchase with a purpose but is unwilling to make practical trade-offs, especially in a tough economy. By and large the New Consumer represents a younger, female, educated demographic.
The Retail industry is suffering. Most retailers are struggling to maintain any growth; profitability is compromised, and the future looks gloomy. As I travel across the many countries we work in, I hear the same story. And I also hear the same questions: Is this because of eCommerce? Is this because of the economy? Is this because of geo-political strife?
So let’s break it down. In Asia Pacific, India and The Middle East (we call it the AIM market), eCommerce has between 2 % and 10 % market share. Is this enough to cause the stress in the retail industry? Maybe, and we can do something about it.
Are the economies really doing so badly? Yes, some of the more developed ones like Japan, Singapore, HK, etc. are finding growth difficult. China is slowing down. But some economies like Thailand, Indonesia, India, Philippines, etc. are coming through. Is the geo-political tension between the powers that be, hurting customer sentiment? Maybe. But what can private enterprise do about it?
The key question to ask is which brands are performing and which are not and why? We have many customers and friends in the retail industry who carry scores of brands. And they would do well to examine their brand portfolio. Customer tastes have shifted; all the above factors have driven a changed customer who is willing to spend a lot of money on holidays and mobile phones but will look for value while buying lifestyle items. Value being defined as a great price for a good quality product that is a trend setter. Gone are the days of such products demanding a premium, today that’s the baseline for the customer.
The king is dead, long live the new king, the customer! Sounds obvious? It’s not, with the retailers’ primary focus being location and brand, there has not been much focus on the individual customer. The recognition and acceptance of this will be the change that will drive success and growth in retail and eCommerce. Though I must admit, eCommerce companies have done a better job at personalizing their relationship with customers in a short time.
In the new omni-channel commerce paradigm, the customer is planted firmly in the center of the lens, serviced by any channel that she chooses to interact with, when she chooses, and where she chooses and at the best value. The customer wants hassle free experiences interacting with the brand, recognition, rewards, and superior post sales service.
At ETP, as we work with retailers across 22 countries and over 25,000 stores and 500 brands, here’s what we’ve observed: a tremendous depth in their skills in Merchandising, Brand Management, Sales and Supply Chain Management, their understanding of diverse customers and employees, their ability to manage cycles and seasons and still produce a profit, their infrastructure management, their cash management, among other things.
In the last one year, we are now seeing these giants waking up to the need to focus on the individual customer both in retail and in the eCommerce space. With all their powerful management and execution capability they could be the game changers of this new “Omni-channel” retail world. Like all large organisations with a legacy and systems & processes in place, they may not be as nimble as the pure play eCommerce players, however they seem to have got it now, and are ramping up their organization’s technology, culture and capability to play the eCommerce game. At the same time the eCommerce players have grown and are struggling with the lack of the same competencies that the larger retailers have. You will see many of them opening stores, to better service their customers.
It’s a fascinating new battle front and the next couple of years will tell all. My guess is that the winners will be the ones who leverage the core competencies of retail and deploy the technology savviness of eCommerce companies. Somewhere in the middle, focused on customer service, the successful companies will emerge, after all, isn’t retail a service industry?
This article has been written by:
Naresh Ahuja, Chairman and CEO, ETP Group
Naresh as the Founder, Chairman and CEO of the ETP Group leads the company with a clear focus on bringing enduring value to customers through best practices mirrored in software applications. Spanning 25 years of focus on retail domain expertise and IP development, ETP today, has a strong customer base of market leaders in more than 20 countries across Asia Pacific, India and the Middle East, and is on its way to becoming a global leader in Retail Software Solutions.
For every retail business, it is very important to know their omni-channel shopper in order to be able to provide the right customer experience they desire across all channels. The above video highlights the importance of mobile devices used by shoppers to research for inventory availability from their home, on the way to the store and even while in the store.
Retail, as a business, is highly customer-centric. Every process or operation in the retail business has to be carried out with the customer in mind. And when the focus is the customers, there are some important aspects related to them such as experience, satisfaction, branding, and loyalty. All these can be addressed by the retailers through ‘service’ which is the essence of retailing. Customer service in retail does not just start and end with the transaction, but it initiates much before that and goes even further beyond the purchase.
One of the traditional methods of doing retail business is through brick-and-mortar stores. Latest trends in technology such as e-commerce and m-commerce have added new dimensions to retailing. They offer customers the convenience of researching for products, buying and having them delivered at their doorstep with convenient and secure payment methods in just a few clicks, from their homes or offices. Yet, the brick-and-mortar store based retailing still prevails and will continue to do so.
94% of total Retail Sales are still generated in brick & mortar stores.Many consumers still look at shopping centers, malls and stores as their preferred location for shopping, so that they can not only see the products but also touch and feel them, try them out, and compare them live. That is not all; another important factor for such shoppers is the human interaction they get to experience by communicating in-person with the store staff regarding various aspects related to shopping.
The store staff have the opportunity to influence and inspire customers and peers, thus being the difference between a sale and a no sale situation. Although their primary objective is to achieve higher sales by driving the customers to make a purchase, their role in the store should not be restricted to merely that. They must also act as an assist to the customer by providing the right information and helping them select the product that best fits their needs and aspirations. Further, store staff should also build a relationship with the customers in a way that would encourage customers to visit the store again.
Thus, store staff that are equipped with the right customer facing skills can prove to be an important asset for the retail business.
The retail arena is getting immensely competitive and increasingly dynamic. The need to have a solid system in place that can give retail business owners a view of their sales, inventory, customers and employees, can’t be overlooked in today’s day and age. The right point-of-sale (POS) software brings with itself a lot of benefits which retailers need to make use of for enhancing the productivity of their business.
Below are 4 important benefits that a POS software solution should offer to retailers to address the needs of the modern day retail business:
• Automation of processes: An efficient POS solution will facilitate automation of various processes including tedious admin tasks such as keeping track of sales, inventory and staff. If it is integrated with other modules, retailers can have a better view of their customer data at the POS, which will enable them to build and sustain customer loyalty. POS solutions will automate the process of cross channel inventory look-up to help in cross-selling and up-selling.
• Business modernization: Undertaking in-store activities manually can be detrimental in terms of enhancing retail business operations. In this digital era, retailers have no choice but to upgrade from their traditionally followed processes and inadequacies, and modernize their business to optimize operations. POS software that allows automation will definitely serve this purpose.
• Speed up operations: A point-of-sale solution that has the ability to enhance retail operations by modernizing processes and automating functions would not only help save time on various tasks but also facilitate in increasing the speed of operations. Important customer facing processes like billing can be completed in a few seconds with the help of a solid POS technology.
• Save costs: Retail POS solutions that can automate time consuming tasks, thereby increasing the speed of operations and enhancing the business through modernization will essentially save operational costs and allow retailers to channelize the budgets elsewhere, thus making it possible to optimize commercials. An effective POS software solution will therefore help save more than it costs in the long-run.
Retailers need to take cognizance of the above benefits and look for them whenever they are planning to invest in a new POS technology or enhance their existing systems to gain that competitive edge over their peers.
ETP’s value proposition is its unique ability to create innovative retail software solutions. ETP delivers domain expertise through it’s best practices, knowledge base and a team of consultants adding up to 1800 man years of retail experience in various retail verticals such as apparel, footwear, electronics, mobile phones and accessories, furniture and home furnishings, luggage and handbags, books and stationery, jewelry, timepieces, sports goods, health and beauty and convenience stores. ETP helps its customers get it right in retail.
Mono-channel retail and the digital shopper are yesteryear. Today’s consumer is a 360° omni-shopper who researches for and makes her purchases from all angles, as she considers an quickening set of content, payment methods and offers.
Retailers and manufacturers alike must cease to focus on an exclusive channel. In fact, their target must not be the channel, but the master of multiple channels: the omni-shopper. The retailer who does so intelligently will know where to place the next bait. Because the consumer is already looking around and in all probability, is already a step ahead.
[Image courtesy: Bain & Company] Ever since I’ve been spending my “pocket money” I’ve been a collector of retail stories and experiences. There’s only 2 primary experiences that stick in the memory… Both involve a WOW
WOW, that was awesome, I’m so happy!! … and I want to go back and experience that again and share it with my friends, orWOW, that was horrible and can’t believe I wasted my time and money!!! … and I never want to ever experience that again and I don’t want anyone else to have to experience it either.
What MEMORIES are being CREATED?
I remember going into my favourite sports store as a kid and being welcomed by the owner like his buddy. He knew what sports I played, always had a new racquet to show me and would give me the “secret” details of why this was the one to have. He made it his business to know me and what I liked. That was over 40 years ago and I still remember those special days when I got to visit his store of sporting treasures with my savings to happily buy my next racquet. He knew the value of caring enough and making a connection.10 years ago I visited the Louis Vuitton store in Paris with some friends. What a WOW experience. We were given a guided tour and a lot of attention while our group browsed and tried on shoes. We were made to feel special in a store designed to evoke a feeling of WOW.
[Image courtesy: highsnobiety.com]
I walked out of there with a new pair shoes, not the best value for money shoes I’ve bought but definitely the most memorable pair.
So did I buy just a pair of shoes OR did I buy an experience wrapped into a pair of shoes? Even after 10 years when I put on those shoes on I still get reminded of my time in Paris and that LV store experience. Buying is an emotional experience.
We all have horror stories and memories from bad retail purchases and store experiences.
These experiences are the antithesis of building customer loyalty and have a negative impact on a retailers profitability, particularly in today’s connected world of social media where stories and experiences are shared instantly.
I believe a retailers return policy experience is usually a good insight into how they value our loyalty. They can choose to make a WOW experience that has us coming back for more or saying “never again!”. There is no excuse using today’s technology for this to be a negative experience.
All these WOW experiences and the mediocrity in between are the result of people. When leaders are engaged at all levels of a retail business, magic can happen.
The article highlights “Winners adapt their store labor model to what matters most to customers, they zero-base their operations instead of relying on what worked for them in the past, and they are systematic in mobilizing store labor for the required changes in behaviors, activities and processes.”
They include 8 useful starter questions to help a retailer explore whether they are empowering their store operations.
Are Store Staff Enabled and Empowered?
When I go into a store I’m always interested to see who is more informed about the products… the store staff or me. The irony is that most store staff have the technology skills and often the devices to be well informed and educated so they can add value to the customer experience however its not the norm. Often store staff are distracted on their smart phones or the POS browser and the customer isn’t their focus.
The essence of retailing hasn’t changed. Give a customer a positive WOW experience and they will reciprocate with their loyalty and cash! Online retailers have used technology to set new benchmarks in customer experience. Taking what is that essence, putting the customer at the center of their business and making it the best, most seamless buying experience possible.
Nothing new other than the enabling technology.
The right technology solution with training can turn stores into
productive, profitable WOW experiences.
This article has been written by:
Ross Stokes, Regional Director, ASEAN-ANZ, ETP Group
Ross brings a diverse corporate and personal set of experiences to his role of Regional Director, Asia Pacific, for ETP. His business experience aids in understanding the various challenges retail owners and executives experience while growing their business and successfully supporting their desire to improve retail management processes and systems to achieve optimal profitability.
Naresh Ahuja, Chairman and CEO, ETP Group
