Providing insights of wider retail functions, operational reporting is a critical component to maximizing the value of data. With automated operational reporting in real-time, retailers can make informed decisions and respond quickly to rapidly changing retail needs. Retailers that use data analytics and operational reporting have the potential to dramatically improve their customer acquisition and retention. They are up to 23 times more likely to acquire customers and 6 times more likely to retain existing customers.

The True Value of Data in Retail

The importance of data in retail cannot be overstated. In today’s omnichannel world, consumers expect personalized experiences. To meet this demand, retailers must make full use of data. This will enable them to create tailored experiences for customers on all platforms.

Whether to gather information about their customers’ shopping habits, preferences, and demographics or to gain insights related to inventory, store performance, and supply chain, leveraging data in real-time is a must for retailers.

Teamwork Commerce’s Analytics & Reporting tool gives retailers access to valuable insights about their business, customers, and supply chains. These insights are always up to date. This helps them better identify top-selling products, loyal customers, high-performing stores, required stock, and much more.

This further enables retailers to make effective decisions related to procurement, pricing, distributions, and promotions, ensuring that the right products are available at the right time at an appropriate price. Furthermore, with the state-of-the-art solution, retailers can benefit from automated forecasting reports that provide insights into future trends by analyzing sales data and supporting metrics.

What’s more, the advanced tool helps retailers navigate areas for improvement in efficiency and cost reduction by analyzing operational data. This can range from optimizing staffing levels to improving supply chain management, all of which results in a streamlined and cost-effective operation.

Since outdated solutions do not allow retailers to drive the full value of data, retailers that rely on traditional analytics tools can put themselves at risk of being left behind in today’s fast-paced retail climate. 

How Can Retailers Harness Data to its Maximum Potential?

Without context, data is just a bunch of numbers. It is like a puzzle with all the pieces scattered around – retailers must piece them together to see the entire picture. In other words, retailers need a complete retail vision in one place at the click of their fingers.

Retailers today deal with vast amounts of data from various sources. This information can include anything from sales transactions, customer interactions and inventory movements, through to supply chain activities. They require solutions that can be seamlessly integrated with point of sale (POS) and can automate operations across all platforms eliminating the need for manual data entry – which is time-consuming, error-prone, and results in data inconsistencies.

Retailers can benefit from Teamwork Commerce‘s integrated solution – saving time, reducing errors, and ensuring that their data is accurate. The cloud-based solution leverages data in real-time and provides clear visibility across all platforms instantly. Retailers can view every store and channel quickly. They can also use real-time inventory data to access various on-demand reports.

A Tool to Enhance the Value of Data

Teamwork Commerce’s tool helps retailers enhance the value of their data. It does this by providing them with advanced dashboards. These dashboards offer flexible visualization and live KPIs, while the data is presented through charts, graphs, and tables, all on one page. This makes it easy to comprehend the overall performance.

In addition, these dashboards are integrated with Looker’s data dictionary tool which provides retailers with a centralized interface for searching through fields and descriptions, providing retailers with a central interface for searching fields and descriptions.

Leveraging the dashboard, retailers can gain quick real-time updates from any part of the world at any time. What’s more, the solution also allows retailers to set automated reports and provides data on demand. This serves to be a game-changer when it comes to utilizing data to its maximum potential.

The future of retail is omnichannel. Retailers who are able to utilize data to their advantage can remain ahead of the curve.

 Want to get a demo of how the solution can enhance the value of your data? Please get in touch.

Project Manager at Teamwork Commerce

In our new blog series – Five Minutes With a Teamwork Expert – we get to know Brandon Lashley, Project Manager, based in Teamwork’s Tampa office. From MMA in the Marine Corps to self-proclaimed ‘Tech Nerd’ – Brandon has led a highly unique career so far…

What is your role at Teamwork Commerce?

I am a Project Manager and I like to think of what I do as the center of the web. All information, updates, and communication come through (or include) me. I’m not the go-to guy for platform information, but I make sure everything is done on time, so our clients have the best experience with our platform.

Explain your career path. What was your first job and how did you evolve?

 Oh, wow! Where to start? I started my career joining the Marine Corps back in 2008. After serving my time in service in 2012, I shot straight through undergraduate (at a smaller university in Georgia) and graduate school (Virginia Tech) thinking I was going to go into public relations (PR).

Since I’m an extrovert, it seemed like a logical path. After graduating, I moved to Houston, TX and I started working at a global Oil and Gas services company where I did marketing and PR. To be honest, It was fun. I got an opportunity to create and curate marketing content pieces, draft press releases, and even enjoy graphic design. What’s more, I was also involved in project management, conducting training, trade show management, sales and whatnot.

Following significant management and marketing experience, I joined a small marketing firm as a Marketing Project Manager. However, as fate would have it, I was laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. My parents moved from Georgia to Florida and I wanted to be near them again, so I packed my things and moved to Tampa, FL.

What inspired you to join the retail tech industry?

When I moved to Florida, I retried marketing but realized I loved project management. So I went to work at Ashley Global Retail (the eCommerce side of Ashley Furniture). Where I was progressively given projects that no one else wanted. These challenging projects made me love the complexity and challenges of the industry. Those projects ranged from front-end website improvements through back-end POS, to omnichannel. So, as my time at Ashley closed, I was looking for somewhere that I could go to complement my strengths in those areas.

That’s when I got to know Teamwork Commerce. The more I learned about Teamwork, the more I realized how much it complimented not only my skills, but the culture was 100% what I needed. So, now that I’ve been here for a little while, I’m even more convinced that I made the right decision. Michael’s personality and leadership, along with my direct leadership, keep me inspired to dig into the company and help it be the best in our industry.

What is your favorite thing about working in the retail industry?

 The technology. As a tech nerd, I love to see the technology of any industry move forward to make associates’ and customers’ lives better and easier. From my experience, very few industries are as technologically advanced as IoT.

 What is the best career advice you have ever received?

 The best career advice I’ve ever received was that “People are not efficient.” Because of my military background and personality, early in my career, I would often get frustrated because I wanted things to get done quickly.

I was talking with my manager about ways to get people to do things and she told me that “people are not efficient. Once you understand that you’d better be able to understand how to complete complex projects.” Since that day, when I get frustrated, I remind myself of this maxim and I’m better able to empathize and slow my driving personality down to enjoy the process.

What is your favorite thing about working at Teamwork Commerce?

The people. It’s the one thing that sets Teamwork Commerce apart from any other company I’ve ever worked with. I enjoy that I am surrounded by hard-working intellectuals who are easy to talk with, and not “corporate-y.”

Who are your key role models/inspirations?

I’m about to tell on myself, but I typically find role models or inspirations from people who are disciplined, stoic, and extroverted. These people are close to my personality that have already sharpened the skills and temperament of the person I strive to become. Some examples are Jocko Willink, Simon Sinek and John Maxwell.

Rapid-Fire Round…

• What is your favorite:
  • Book – Extreme Ownership and Dichotomy of Leadership. The first is impactful, and the second is a follow-up on the first.
  • Movie – To this day, very few movies have impacted me like Slumdog Millionaire. It changed the way I think about the world and the events that happen in my life.
  • Album – I have so many great memories from when my friends and I would hang out when I was younger (1999) listening to Blink-182’s Enema of the State when it first came out.

Most people don’t know that I…

I was heavily involved in MMA while in the Marine Corps. I even had a sanctioned amateur fight where I lost because I didn’t throw a punch. This is a funny story because my opponent said he was going to knock me out before we got on the ground (where I excelled). So, I told him I was going to take him to the ground and make him tap. Well, I didn’t make him tap, but he couldn’t beat my super awesome Jiu-Jitsu skills to stand up to knock me out. My trainer was not happy, but I had fun.

In my spare time, I…

Work out, explore, and hang out with my 3-year-old daughter.

As the ever-evolving retail landscape continues to innovate, pushing the boundaries of technology to consistently improve, we have kept our finger on the pulse of the latest industry developments so that you don’t have to.

Read below to find out how the retail industry continued its development during April.

As the ever-evolving retail landscape continues to innovate, pushing the boundaries of technology to consistently improve, we have kept our finger on the pulse of the latest industry developments so that you don’t have to.

Read below to find out how the retail industry continued its development during April.

U.S. Retail Sales Drop-Off Amid Geopolitical Challenges

A CNBC report revealed that US retail sales dropped by 1% in March. High inflation and rising rates were blamed for lower sales figures for autos, electronics, and at-home and garden stores.

The economic downturn continues to impact the retail industry, with consumers lowering their spending over the last few months. However, this shouldn’t result in panic for retail brands.

With the right technology deployed, retailers can begin to harness real-time insights to accurately forecast sales and adjust their strategy accordingly. With Teamwork’s Analytics & Reporting solution, retailers can enhance the value of their data through operational reporting that provides valuable insight into their business, sales and customers.

From here, retailers can create promotions, discounts, or customer loyalty programs. These actions can both lower the overall cost of shopping to customers while still benefiting their own bottom line. Not only does this attract new customers, but it also helps to create loyal ones.

UK Retail Sales Are on the Rise

While US retailers tackle a small drop-off in sales, the sector is booming across the Atlantic ocean, with UK retail sales jumping 5.1% in March, according to the British Retail Consortium. Interestingly, while sales continue to grow, the rate of online sales is slowly declining, with the report finding that non-food items bought online decreased to 38.4% in March 2023, from 40.7% in March 2022.

Experiential retail has been praised as the new form of in-store shopping. After years of increasing eCommerce, it appears that consumers are now opting for physical stores over online, favoring experience over convenience.

Teamwork Commerce’s all-encompassing approach to retail technology enables all in-store solutions to seamlessly communicate in real-time. With technologies such as Mobile Point of Sale facilitating transactions from anywhere in-store, and Secure CRM creating highly tailored, personalized approaches to customers, retailers can deliver the ultimate shop floor customer experience.

Retailers Turn to RFID for Next-Generation Self-Checkout

This month, Wall Street Journal reported that Uniqlo’s parent company, Fast Retailing, has started investing in the next generation of self-checkout solutions, powered by RFID. The technology allows customers to instantly scan all items and reduce checkout times, making in-store experiences hassle-free.

While self-checkout has continued to evolve at a rapid pace over the past decade, frustrations still remain for customers and retailers alike. RFID-powered self-checkout creates a completely seamless experience for customers, who can checkout at their own pace. Meanwhile, retailers can minimize losses with enhanced checkout security delivered by RFID tags, and in-store associates are also afforded the time to focus on customer service.

This month, we also launched our own RFID-powered self-checkout solution. This is part of our strive to help our customers deliver a top-tier in-store experience.

Resilience is Vital

Through the highs and lows of economic uncertainty and fluctuating consumer spending, the retail wheels keep turning. Investing in the right technology can help retailers stay responsive to changing consumer needs and geopolitical pressures. This can lead to long-term sustainability and business success.

Find out more about how Teamwork Commerce’s solutions can help your retail business deliver the ultimate customer experience. Get in touch today!

Originally posted on: Supply Chain Brain 

By Amber Hovious, VP of Marketing & Partnerships, Teamwork Commerce and SCB Contributor

The retail industry has changed dramatically in recent few years, in line with evolving consumer habits, advances in technology and growing competition. Consumers today expect the ultimate convenience when they take advantage of modern retail offerings such as buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) and buy online, return in store (BORIS). To attract and retain customers in today’s commercial environment, retailers must be able to cater to consumer demands across all sales channels, and ensure that every touchpoint is seamless.

To achieve this, they need to deploy advanced omnichannel applications. Such tools provide a panoramic view of operations, from stock levels and customer purchase history all the way through to returns. In the process, they simplify key functions for retailer and customer alike.

Retailers today need to develop a unique selling point. One way to achieve this is through creation of a strong omnichannel strategy, involving access to real-time information about consumer shopping preferences, purchase history and frequency of purchases, both offline and online. A unified omnichannel system provides these valuable insights about customers, and enables retailers to tailor the customer experience.

As more businesses recognize the need for a consistent customer experience across platforms, adoption will increase. The majority of retailers believe that an omnichannel strategy is important. And the more brands that offer it, the more consumers will come to expect it.

An optimized omnichannel strategy increases customer loyalty. According to a recent survey from PwC, even if shoppers love a brand, 59% will leave after several bad experiences, and 17% will leave after just one. With the right omnichannel approach, retailers can boost customer satisfaction in a variety of ways, such as providing loyalty rewards that can be redeemed online or in-store.

For retailers, it can be difficult to determine which application is the best. The most common mistake is viewing their omnichannel strategy as an add-on, and not an integral piece of the operation. This can result in a disconnect between channels, and cause unnecessary complexities due to the need to manage multiple ecosystems.

Yet another factor to consider is integration of back-end systems, including finance, merchandising, order management, inventory, analytics and point of sale (POS). It’s critical to understand the cost and implications of integrating existing systems, to ensure that the retailer is able to meet demand of the moment. When Black Friday arrives, can it handle the spike in volume, and keep track of inventory in real time? It’s crucial to select the right technology partner with experience across systems and technologies.

An all-encompassing system provides a single, comprehensive view of all retail operations, and can be accessed remotely from anywhere in the world. It should be able to provide personalized recommendations based on data and performance, be scalable, and be open to future updates and integration.

Retailers must recognize that their digital and physical sales channels don’t exist in silos. Most fail to personalize the offline journey of customers, with data collected only at point of sale, rather than throughout the customer journey. This is a missed opportunity, especially since 76% of consumers have changed stores, brands or the way they shop as a result of the pandemic, and consumer loyalty has been shaken.

To sustain long-term growth, retailers must connect their online presence with their physical stores. Despite growing customer demand for a digital experience, physical stores won’t be going away anytime soon. On the contrary, they’ll take on new responsibilities to better support an omnichannel retail strategy.

These factors, along with increased personalization and access to massive amounts of customer data, make omnichannel strategies critical for survival in the new retail era. While the process is complex, it can be greatly simplified with the right automation and technological applications. The days of a successful brand being driven solely by one channel are over. Everything retailers do today requires strong coordination of cross-functional teams, from online to in-store operations. And everything begins with a clear understanding of consumer expectations.

Amber Hovious is vice president of marketing and partnerships at Teamwork Commerce.