Customer relationship management is the foundation of retailers meeting the demands of the ever-changing industry. Both customers and relators have been in a state of flux since 2020, and even prior to with rapid advancements in technology in eCommerce capabilities. Many consumers quickly took advantage of heightened convenience when it came to purchasing through online channels. Spending comes with more ease when the options become more convenient, that becomes a tower of packages at your doorstep.

With this increase in online shopping, many retailers responded by investing heavily in digital transformation all along their retail management ecosystem, deploying omnichannel solutions to remain competitive in what would become the new era of retail; a seamless blend between in-store and online sales channels. This required the advancement of a range of areas from mobile point-of-sale (POS), to order management systems, through to reporting analytics and secure CRM (Customer Relationship Management).

People today expect options and personalization. Whether it is a streaming service bumping curated shows to the top of your profile, the ability to have your doctor meet virtually from your couch when they are sick, or your favorite retailer allowing you to shop in the ways that work with your lifestyle. You may want to buy online and pick up in-store, others want to browse and purchase entirely from their mobile phones. Some customers still crave the complete in-store experience and the tactile and social elements of shopping.

Retailers need to cater towards any and all of these preferences. Understanding customer expectations and feedback is important to ensure customer satisfaction. In order to achieve this, retailers need an all-in-one solution that integrates completely and seamlessly with their cloud-based CRM and wider retail management system. POS systems that have in-built CRM solutions can be leveraged by retailers to streamline their operations.

Why CRM Matters

The global CRM software market is projected to grow to $49.6 billion in size by 2025, with a significant increase of almost $4 billion from 2020. By leveraging CRM, retailers can classify a customer in several ways including data led segmentation, customer behavior, purchase frequency, recency, and likelihood of purchase.

CRM plays an indispensable role in managing a retailer’s relationship with consumers. In a new environment where customer expectations continue to grow, it has never been more important for a retailer to be in tune with consumer demands, and more importantly, have the ability to deliver on them. Retailers must ensure that their CRM integrates seamlessly with their wider applications that complete an omnichannel offering, enabling an all-encompassing approach that remains flexible with changing consumer needs. This means, even if your brand has over 30 different websites, you can have the ability to handle orders and returns from any of them through sophisticated omnichannel solutions.

Creating a Holistic Approach

The general aim of a CRM tool is to establish and strengthen the relationships between customers and the retailer. In order to build a successful relationship, a business must know their customers, understand their habits, and respect their values. With all these points combined, retailers should have the necessary information required to understand consumer demands as well as business needs. Customers are more likely to return when they feel that the retailer “gets” them.

Shopping at your favorite store should feel like shopping with your best friend.

The right CRM allows retailers to create a single source of information around every individual customer, enabling consistent visibility of every shopper. A holistic customer view enables retailers to visualize customer purchasing habits across sales channels, allowing them to easily segment customers. The capability to access all customer data in one place gives retailers the ability to build meaningful relationships with shoppers and create customer loyalty.

The appropriate CRM also enables customers to use their earned loyalty benefits or stored value across any channel with customer data & assets centrally visible. In addition, the software should be user-friendly and allow businesses to integrate external applications and tools to maximize efficiency.

Meanwhile, with consumers becoming increasingly conscious about how their data is used, GDPR compliance is now a significant consideration to keep in mind as well.

Importance of a GDPR-compliant CRM

An appropriate CRM should not only fulfill business needs but also ensure the safety and security of both consumers and business. The retail sector has been named one of the top targets for phishing attacks, according to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Retailers without the right technologies can put themselves and their consumers at risk. An advanced CRM system with state-of-the-art security elements should never be overlooked.

For any retailer, customers and their data are the most valuable assets – compromising on the security of these assets can lead to huge fines from regulators. On top of that, retailers can lose consumer trust and business reputation, all due to a lack of the appropriate security measures in place.

The modern CRM should allow retailers to store customer data securely in a separate repository, which is accessed and referenced only when needed by associates, without ever revealing or importing customer data into a local system. This minimizes the risk of a breach – both externally and internally, and makes data security simple, easy and compliant.

An All-Encompassing Solution

It is vital to have a strong POS system that is user-friendly and flexible when it comes to integration. In order to bolster the CRM, retailers should move towards all-in-one integrated retail solutions that cater to business needs in sync with each other. Retailers need a solution that is compatible with the wider retail management system – from POS through to CRM and order management, as well as reporting and analytics. This combination can support retailers’ productivity with increased synchronization, while providing seamless integration and user experience. In retail terms, one size seriously fits all.

Delivering a great user experience is the key to building positive customer relationships. However, in order to achieve this, retailers should be able to utilize the data from the CRM to seamlessly adjust operations across the wider management ecosystem. It also creates a more harmonious experience for associates who only must learn one system, versus two or three to complete their daily tasks. This eliminates a tremendous amount of user error.

Modern POS solutions configured in smartphones and tablets can provide information and access to the entire customer history through customer profiles in the mobile POS app. This can enable retailers to attract and retain customers by providing personalized experiences, which is what most of us are looking for in our tech-driven world. Based on marketing data statistics, 90% of people were drawn to personalized content.

Retailers need to understand that while cloud-based CRM is important, it must be used as part of a wider, all-encompassing retail stack. This can allow retailers to cover all bases in order to remain competitive and flexible to changing consumer demands. Those using an all-in-one solution can gather all information in one place. This can further strengthen their position in an increasingly saturated landscape and provide retailers with an advantage over their competitors.

Being a Savvy Consumer of Customer Data

Retailers can use data from their POS, CRM, and OMS to better understand their customers. Companies can create new designs based on what is selling with their top buyers and create deals targeted to when customers are buying. Imagine learning that 60% of all online orders are being shipped within an hour of Charlotte, North Carolina? It might lead to an exciting new endeavor for your business. Setting up a solid foundation allows ample room for growth. In today’s retail world, that starts with your omnichannel retail solution.

Teamwork Commerce is an omnichannel solution that provides retailers with POS, OMS, Inventory Control, CRM, and Analytics. As a leading partner of Apple, Teamwork is constantly evolving and ensures the use of cutting-edge technology. The world’s leading retailers use Teamwork Commerce to create customer-centric omnichannel and frictionless experiences, and offer exceptional customer service. For more information, visit: https://www.teamworkcommerce.com

Whether you have a small business or a large company, one of the most important decisions for your retail company is to choose the best point of sale software. This decision will determine how your business information flows and how your sales evolve. 

Regardless of whether you have a good ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, a point of sale system is essential to manage a retail company since it helps you to automate payment processing, as well as track sales and relevant data for operating a retail store, such as the availability of your products or items in stores and warehouses, your customer profiles, among many other management features. 

Currently, there are many different options of point of sale software available on the market, so it’s important to find the right POS option for your retail business needs. And we want to help you to do that!

In this article, we will share 5 things you must consider to choose the best Point of Sale software for your retail business, after the COVID 19 pandemic redefined the way retail companies operate. A solution that allows you to be at the forefront of technology while you meet your customer needs.

What is a Point of Sale (POS) System?

Point of sale software is computer software that helps retail companies run their business operations. Talking about the POS hardware, it can be used on desktops, laptops, or even mobile devices such as Android tablets or iPad POS, and it can include management features such as ordering systems, cash registers, inventory control, payment processing, barcode scanners, and point of sale screens where transactions are completed in front of customers.

There are many different types of POS software available on the market today, however, it is important to know how to choose the best, so it can meet the most current requirements that customers are looking for and is both easy to use, as well as a powerful system for your business to empower your sellers.

How to know if a Point of Sale software is good?

• It is simple and uncomplicated: The software should be easy to learn and use, especially for new employees.
• It offers Data Tracking: A retail industry needs to be able to track sales, general data, and other important metrics.
• It offers strong security:  POS software should include features that protect against fraud and theft.
• It is customizable: Vendors should offer a wide range of customization options, allowing retail managers to create a system that feels unique to them.
• It has a friendly interface: Good POS solutions allow employees to use them intuitively, without the need for constant training.
• It helps business owners to make real-time decisions: a cloud based POS system will allow immediate updating, synchronization and real time reports, so that the decisions you make are based on the correct information at the correct time.

Sales management, advanced inventory management, and being able to link inventory to sales are also important. Without accurate records of what is in stock and what has been sold, it becomes impossible to manage your finances or track the activity of your customers.

A good retail POS system also allows you to track sales and inventory levels on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, so you can make informed decisions about future product launches and pricing.

In addition, a comprehensive Point of Sale system provides tracking capabilities for your customers. For instance, being able to know who is buying what and when, or which products are flying off the shelves and which are not.

5 Tips to Choose the Best POS Software for Your Retail Company

1. Consider what your business goals are. What will you use the POS system for?

Before choosing a POS software, it’s important to determine your company’s business goals. Like any important decision, the strategy you are considering implementing is a key factor in a world with so much competition, and in which the rules change and are reinvented every day. So it will be very important to ask yourself questions such as:

Do you want to increase sales? Control inventory? Reduce administrative costs? What do you need the software to do? Do you need to track sales and data? Create customer profiles? Do customer management? Do payment processing? Support a Loyalty Program? Serve your customers instore and online, or through multiple channels? Upgrade your system to be omnichannel? 

All these mentioned tasks can be performed with different POS systems. Answering these questions before making any decisions about which POS to implement, will be of great importance in meeting your retail company’s goals.

2. Evaluate the cost-benefit relationship

When choosing a point of sale software for your retail business, it is important to consider the cost-benefit ratio. Point of sale software can improve efficiency and save you time by speeding up transactions, but it’s important to weigh the benefits against the costs. The following five keys can help you calculate the cost-benefit ratio:

• Evaluate how much transaction or payment processing time is wasted due to inefficiencies in your current system. 
• Determine how much money could be saved by eliminating errors and speeding up transactions. How long are you taking to generate reports, and how much does it cost your business.
• Calculate the potential gross margin for each point of sale system in your retail business.
• Calculate how much additional investment you are making in marketing because you do not have a system that allows you to integrate your marketing strategies and contact your customers, or implement customer management strategies. 
• Compare price points and POS features to find the best option for your needs.

And of course, it will be essential to consider your budget. Consider how much you are willing to spend on a POS system, since some of the more popular systems can range in price from $100 to $10,000.

Another factor to determine the cost-benefit ratio is to evaluate the current technological infrastructure of your company. Perhaps a large investment in POS hardware has already been made and the best option is to take the most advantage of it. However, in the cost-benefit ratio, no cost is greater than the need to stay current, satisfy your customer needs, and generate more sales.

Without any doubt, being up to date with an omnichannel point of sale system is one of the best investments that you can make. Far from being an additional cost or a “nice to have” software, your point of sale system will determine the company’s future, since it simplifies the management of your business and increases your sales.

3. Compare different types of POS software: on-premises, cloud based, or hybrid.

POS software comes in three main types: local, cloud based, and hybrid. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages.

Local software is installed on company servers. This means that the company has full control over it and it can easily update it. However, this type of POS software is more expensive to install and maintain than the other two types.

A cloud based software runs on a remote server owned by the company or a third party. This means that the company does not have to invest in hardware or software, but sacrifices some control over how the software is updated and managed. Cloud based systems are easier to use than on-premises systems, and nowadays they offer much better security and performance than on-premises systems.

Hybrid systems combine elements of all three types of software. That is why it will depend on your needs to choose the modality that best suits your retail company.

4. Make sure the POS is Omnichannel 

Omnichannel POS refers to the use of multiple channels (internet, smartphone, mobile applications, e-commerce) to interact with customers and manage sales transactions. Leveraging these channels, companies can improve customer loyalty and service, and increase revenue by eliminating the need for customers to visit multiple locations or make multiple phone calls.

There are several factors to consider when selecting an omnichannel POS platform: the digital and distribution channels that businesses use most often, how much customization is desired, for example, pricing, scalability, integrations, and partnerships available, among others. 

Advantages of having an Omnichannel POS

The first benefit of an omnichannel POS is that a company can increase its sales in a short period of time. Omnichannel POS software enables the retailer to track customer behavior and preferences across all channels, enabling the business to provide a more customized shopping experience. This means that customers are more likely to purchase items they have been interested in, and are not as influenced by advertisements or other promotional materials. Additionally, if an item is out of stock in one channel but available in another, the retailer can automatically order it from the out-of-stock channel, saving time for the customers. 

Retailers who adopt an omnichannel point of sale (POS) software can obtain several important benefits.

• Omnichannel POS terminals enable retailers to handle transactions in a more efficient and customer-friendly way. 
• Using omnichannel POS systems allows retailers to track sales, inventory, and data in a more effective way.
• Using omnichannel POS systems can help drive customer loyalty by making it easy for them to shop across a retailer’s store network.
• Omnichannel POS systems can help retailers reduce costs associated with traditional retail operations, such as labor and overhead.
• Adopting an omnichannel retail POS can position you as a leading provider of consumer services across all channels.
• An Omnichannel POS system provides a better service, helping reduce customer complaints.

5. Make sure it will help improve Customer Experience

Retailers who want to improve customer experience and increase customer loyalty, should choose the point of sale (POS) software that meets the needs of their business. The right POS software can help ensure accurate sales transactions and save you time, while it also offers reduced wait times for customers.

Clients increasingly demand great customer experiences in all aspects of their lives, specially the ones they got while shopping. This has led to a demand for POS systems that provide an excellent customer experience. Retail companies need to consider how they can best meet this demand and keep costs down.

There are different ways to improve customer experience with POS systems. Some popular techniques include providing friendly and helpful staff, user-friendly menus and kiosks, and layouts that are pleasing to the eye. It is important for retail managers to choose the right POS software for their needs, as not all systems will offer all of these POS features.

Retailers can also benefit from using retail POS systems that provide real time reports and daily analytics. This can help them understand how their customers are using the system and what areas could be improved in the future.

What’s next?

The retail industry has a wide range of POS software to choose from, each with its own set of pros and cons. The right POS option will depend on the specific needs of your retail company.

With so many options available, it’s important to do your research and find the right software for your business needs. There are many factors to consider when choosing a point of sale system for a retail business, however, business owners can find the system that allows them to be at the forefront of technology and be part of the businesses that thrive in the new post-COVID19 reality.

Are you ready to choose your Point of Sale (POS) software?

Teamwork Commerce is an omnichannel solution that provides retailers with POS, OMS, Inventory Control, CRM, and Analytics. As a leading partner of Apple, Teamwork is constantly evolving and ensures the use of cutting-edge technology. The world’s leading retailers use Teamwork Commerce to create a customer-centric omnichannel experience and be frictionless. For more information, visit www.teamworkcommerce.com

The global POS system market is projected to grow from $75.5 billion in 2020 to $138.1 billion in 2026, a 10.3% CAGR (compound annual growth rate), according to a late 2021 report by Global Industry Analysts. Mobile POS software terminals specifically are predicted to experience a slightly greater growth – 10.4% CAGR – within the next 7 years, adds the report.

Part of this can be attributed to the massive growth some retail markets are experiencing locally in different parts of the world. Another part will be accelerated as retailers spread their assets further and further across the world, diversifying both their business risks and growth opportunities.

As your company takes advantage of global opportunities, you need a POS system that will support your expansion. A POS system that already understands the global marketplace, regulations, payment processors, and more.

How Global POS Terminals Support International Expansions

International expansions require tools that can make the new stage of operations smoother, especially when you look to navigate credit card and customer data processing alongside customer sentiment and trends. A good global POS system is more than simply translated into the native language. It needs to help you meet local fiscal regulations, integrate with local payment providers, and keep your customer’s data secure around the globe.

Law & Regulation Compliance

A POS system is more than a way to track inventory and make sales in a new country. Behind the scenes, it means you’re navigating through local data management, privacy, credit card processing, tax and cybersecurity laws and regulations, to name a few. Not complying could lead to fines, reputation damage, lawsuits, or even a ban on doing business in a given state, region or country.

Therefore, when you set out to choose a global POS system for a specific market, it’s critical to choose one that’s already done the legwork, and integrated all the local laws and regulations into its devices and software products. If you plan on expanding to multiple locations, it’s best to go with a global POS system that’s immersed in as many of them as possible, and has the experts and processes in place to adapt to additional markets.

Software Localization

The first thing many people think about when it comes to localization might be translation. After all, it’s the basic step toward communication in a new country. However, true localization goes beyond that.

It means understanding a market’s unique communication etiquette, the way customers discover products, the type of products they relish most, which sales strategies are acceptable, what they consider a great customer experience, what’s their standard for customer service, what they expect if they need to return a product, cultural phenomena and political climate, among others.

When it comes to customer relationships and transactions, you need a global POS solution that’s as tailored as possible to each market’s needs. It will help you minimize friction at crucial interaction points. Moreover, it will make the final step of purchasing feel like it was created just for your new customers, because when you work with localized global POS terminals, that’s pretty much what happens.

Global Security

A global POS system makes protecting customer data and complying with local security regulations across the globe simple. For example, stay GDPR compliant through tokenization, which allows you to secure customer data in a central location, and access it locally without ever importing it – or storing it – on the local system. 

This enables a secure, compliant omnichannel retail experience for your customers, no matter where in the world they’re shopping.

Set Your Company to Success with a Global POS System that Knows How to Grow with You

Helping retailers grow their companies and improve customer experiences around the globe is why we founded Teamwork Commerce. We believe in the power of localized operations, and embedded our software in the local preferences, regulations and laws of over 20 countries, with more on the horizon. Our POS is fully localized in twelve languages, and will keep you compliant by meeting fiscal regulations in countries like China, Brazil, and France.

Along the way, we’ve also developed teams and processes to support our global customers. We have offices in North and South America, Mexico, Europe, Australia and Asia. 

Chinese consumers are loving luxury retail. In 2020, as countries closed their doors to travelers, Chinese consumers used their international tourism budgets for luxury retail therapy. In 2021, that habit accelerated by 36% to $73.6 billion, according to CNBC. While the spending did slow down later in the year to pre-pandemic numbers, the country is still on track to become the world’s retail luxury leader by 2025, surpassing the US, adds CNBC.

One of the reasons? The population that’s doing the shopping.

Who’s Shopping for Luxury Retail in China

China Sends Mixed Messages to International Brands

Entering the Chinese market on your own can be very confusing. Let’s explore some of the considerations you need to take into account, then look at what could help you succeed.

That Time China Caused European Luxury Stocks to Drop

As more citizens grow their income, the Chinese government announced plans to step in, increase taxes for high incomes and high purchases, and redistribute this wealth for better economic equality. While it sounds good, the results weren’t great for European luxury brands. Together, their stocks lost $120 billion within two days of that announcement in 2021.

This potential tax challenge is just one of the uphill battles for international brands hoping to rely on the Chinese market for their own growth. There’s also a question of whether Chinese consumers would buy from them at all.

China Encourages Citizens to Buy from Local Brands

In addition to redistributing wealth, China is also doing its best to create a culture that keeps money, and the financial power it provides, within its borders. In other words, it’s encouraging citizens – starting at a young age – to buy from local brands and prioritize products that emphasize China’s uniqueness.

It’s working. The population seems to prioritize local brands. However, international brands still have hope, because when the borders are open and Chinese consumers travel abroad, they love shopping at internationally recognized brand name stores… and that’s something the government isn’t ignoring, either.

China Also Provides Business Benefits for International Brands Opening Shop in the Country

This is where it gets confusing. The same country that is now talking about charging extra taxes, and causing European luxury retail stocks to drop, is also the country that’s been providing business benefits, including tax reductions, to international brands that open shop in China, in a desire to get more of them to do so.

To help you become one of those brands, let’s look at three international brands that focus on this market and see what they’re doing.

3 Examples of International Brands that Succeed in the Chinese Market Anyway

Succeeding in China might not be easy, but these brands prove it’s possible.

Burberry Understands it Takes a Village

When Burberry first entered China, it knew it didn’t understand the Chinese market enough to serve it well. Therefore, it let locals lead the way – in big part, by franchising the brand to local businesses.

Once it gained better insights and the brand name gained local trust, the company upped the work it was doing in-house to strengthen relationships with Chinese customers, among others, via local social media platforms and brand-owned stores.

BMW Creates Long Term, Local Partnerships

In 2003, BMW created a partnership with a Chinese organization, which helped the company manufacture BMW cars in China and establish the brand as one of the leading luxury car brands in the country. Over the years, BMW’s share of the partnership has grown. It now holds 75% of the shares, but its commitment to the partnership is still strong. In early 2022, BMW announced the extension of the partnership for 18 more years, while also indicating it will continue collaborating with the provincial government, as it has done until now.

Pampers Succeeds When it Understands Chinese Customers’ Needs

While Pampers isn’t a luxury brand, its success story represents a vital element of succeeding in China. Way back in the 1990s, Pampers tried selling diapers in China without understanding how Chinese parents potty train their kids, and how that impacted their dislike of Western diapers. When sales weren’t great, the company reduced prices, but Chinese customers still didn’t trust it.

Only in 2006, when the messaging shifted to a research-based claim that diapers equal better sleep, and better sleep could drive better cognitive development, sales skyrocketed. Why? Because Pampers finally understood what actually mattered to Chinese parents.

Want to Succeed in China too? Pay Attention to Cultural Differences When Strategizing Your Marketing

As the Pampers example proves, brands can’t assume that what worked in the west will work in China. Even if a campaign worked well somewhere in Asia, it might not work well in China. Simultaneously, brands can’t just make a few tweaks and think they’re ready to go. Instead, they must customize messages to Chinese needs, and maybe even create them from scratch, just for local customers.

When you do that, you need to take the cultural, historical and political landscape, as well as its heritage and the heritage’s impact on this landscape, into consideration. This, of course, doesn’t mean adding some traditional Chinese motifs, like dragons, to your branding and calling it a day. That won’t necessarily speak to contemporary customers. You need to develop a deep understanding of local customers’ motivations and needs.
For example, men buy makeup in China, just as some men buy makeup in the US. But in China, it’s not about gender fluidity – it’s just another way to improve yourself, like building muscles or getting a degree. The messaging needs to be totally different to speak to local customers.

But differences can be more invisible sometimes – say, when what’s considered a “small” or “medium” size is different in China, or when hand gestures can have completely different historical contexts than they do in the west.

That’s why it’s important not to do it alone. Partner with local organizations, or companies that have experience successfully localizing in China, and keep open communication lines with your local audience.

Importantly, keep the respect and embrace of this rich, unique culture front and center even when you market elsewhere in the world. The internet has made the world a small space, and staying culturally sensitive to this significant market even in faraway geographical areas will go a long way in building trust with your Chinese audience.