The busiest time of the retail year is fast approaching with Black Friday, the curtain-raiser of the festive season, on the horizon. Summer is gone and fall has well and truly arrived. While retailers have already kicked off their preparations for the Cyber Weekend chaos, they are also keeping an eye on longer-term technological advancements that can help them in the new year.

As we gear up for a hectic end to 2023, the last couple of months have been a time of preparation for the retail industry. We unveil these retail news in our latest Retail in Review blog…   

Retailers Gear Up For The Busy Shopping Period

Every year, the festive shopping period brings numerous exciting sales opportunities for retailers. This year should be no different. According to the Mastercard SpendingPulse report, US retail sales are set to rise 3.7% year-over-year (YOY) during the 2023 holiday season.

Meanwhile, Celigo’s 2023 Holiday Shopping Trends Report has found that 69% of shoppers expect retailers to provide more personalized offers during the festive period. Technology can play a pivotal role in fulfilling this consumer appetite for personalization. Equipped with the right retail solutions, retail brands can gather real-time insights from across their entire retail stack, and leverage information to provide meaningful, tailored interactions. Combining technologies such as customer relationship management (CRM), inventory and order management, and clienteling, retailers can deliver personalized experiences across all sales channels, leaving shoppers feeling valued.

To capitalize on the upcoming buzz of the festive period, retailers have already started preparing. Target recently announced that it would recruit nearly 100,000 employees for the holiday season, and has started offering holiday season discounts already. Meanwhile, Superdrug plans to hire an additional 1,000 sales assistants for the festive season, as the retailer gears up for increased footfall around Black Friday, Advent and Christmas.

This recruitment drive from leading retail companies shows retailers’ efforts to handle the anticipated in-store chaos of the season, aiming to deliver extraordinary customer service. However, while retailers plan to hire staff for the upcoming holiday period, they must also shape themselves based on evolving consumer demands.

Shoppers Lean Toward Eco-Friendly Purchases

Sustainability continues to prove to be a hot topic when it comes to consumer demands. Today, most Americans, regardless of their income, gender or age, want to purchase sustainable products.

In fact, not only are sustainability-marketed items growing twice as fast as conventionally marketed products, but they are also selling at a premium of 28%, on average, according to recent research at NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB).

Retail brands across the globe have started to align themselves with this shift in consumer expectations. Amazon has announced its first automated U.S. fulfillment center to eliminate plastic delivery packaging as part of its effort to convert U.S. fulfillment centers to paper, which will allow many customers to recycle at home. Meanwhile, eBay has launched the Circular Change Council alongside major retailers to promote circularity and reduce furniture waste.

Generative AI Is Creating the Buzz 

While short-term demands around Black Friday and sustainable processes are front of mind for retailers, long-term priorities still remain across the industry, and AI remains a key disruptor. According to the PYMNTS Intelligence Report, more than half of Americans want AI-powered shopping experiences. Meanwhile, Lucidworks’ State of Generative AI in Global Business report found that 92% of US retailers plan to ramp up their investments in generative AI.

The most forward-thinking retailers are already looking to push industry boundaries by leveraging the potential of AI. One such example comes from Walmart, which is exploring new ways to utilize generative AI to make shopping experiences easier and more convenient for its customers. Meanwhile, Mango has launched its own conversational generative AI platform to enable staff to improve the development of its collections and its after-sales service.

Generative AI has been involved in a significant amount of discourse – across all industries – in 2023. Retail is no exception. Recently, Teamwork Commerce partnered with Google to develop new generative AI features in its industry-leading Mobile POS and Order Management System (OMS). As developments in retail technologies grow, retailers must continue to proactively invest in their future by consistently developing their technology capabilities on an ongoing basis.

Ending the Year in Style

The next couple of months are crucial for retailers, not only to drive sales but also to build new customer relationships and nurture existing ones. Retailers, who can provide top-tier shopping experiences and drive customer loyalty, can better position themselves to capitalize on new opportunities in the long term.

Searching for the right retail solution for your business ahead of Black Friday? Get in touch today!

Originally posted in Forbes

Sergey Kozhevnikov, VP of Product Development, Teamwork Commerce.

The retail industry is controlled by the customer. With the ability to simply stop shopping a brand in favor of a competitor in an instant, the consumer holds all the cards in the retail sector. Although competitive pricing and high-quality products play an important role in attracting customers, the overall experience they receive is the key to repeat business.

According to HubSpot researchers, in 2020, 93% of customer experience leaders claimed that customer expectations had increased to an all-time high. Consumer demands continue to grow and evolve, and today’s customer wants convenience and personalization in their interactions with brands and expects a frictionless shopping experience. Although many might scoff at those three buzzwords, the reality is that convenience, personalization and seamlessness haven’t only proven to be highly important aspects of the customer journey, they’re all achievable for retailers—and can go a long way to retaining customers.

What’s Convenience?

People crave convenience in all walks of life. They want to be able to proceed with something—an activity, task or journey—without difficulty. The same goes for shopping. But in the context of retail, understanding convenience is as simple as recognizing the customers’ need for two key things: speed and options. With those two mastered, retailers can deliver convenient experiences more easily.

Fast service is essential in today’s retail environment. Customers don’t want to wait around for help from a store associate, stand in lines or even wait for a page to load online. They want to arrive at the store, find the items they need and check out seamlessly. As far as many customers are concerned, the less time spent on the shop floor, the better.

Meanwhile, access to options is equally important. Customers want to shop in their own ways, and retailers need to cater to their unique needs. They might want to shop completely online, exclusively in-store or blend the two channels together. The more options they have, the more convenient the journey becomes for the customer. By finding a way to create speed while also offering a number of fulfillment options, retailers can deliver convenient shopping experiences for their customer base.

Delivering Speed And Options

The math here is simple: The more customers that retailers can get into their stores and complete transactions, the more likely they are to increase revenue and, ultimately, profits. Speed is important both for a business and for their customers, so finding solutions to deliver it should be a priority.

The biggest pain points for customers in terms of slowed processes lie in waiting around for assistance on the shop floor and in line to check out. The solution, therefore, should be straightforward: Improve checkout speeds as well as staff ability to assist customers.

Technology is vital in this aspect. The industry has invested heavily in improving checkout processes for the very purpose of increasing speed. From self-checkout solutions to mobile point of sale (POS) systems that enable transactions from anywhere in the store to avoid lines, the latest POS technologies and immediate access to real-time information on stock levels and orders can quickly increase speed. If a team member can approach a customer armed with a tablet that provides up-to-date data on inventory, promotions and pre-arranged orders, they can quickly help shoppers with any query and get them on their way to the next step of their customer journey.

With inventory and order management software deployed, retailers can drive speed and create options as well. The two technologies can combine to create a number of omnichannel fulfillment capabilities, such as buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) and buy online, return in-store (BORIS).

From here, retailers can facilitate convenient experiences for customers who expect a high-quality in-store experience. And this is driven predominantly by improved operational speeds and a wide range of options that allow customers to shop how they want.

The Demand For Personalization

Research undertaken by Sitecore analysts found that “70% of Americans crave deeper, more personal connections with brands.” Convenience is one aspect of a high-quality customer experience, but receiving a bespoke, personalized interaction with a retailer leaves customers feeling valued. The challenge lies in being able to deliver a personal touch.

Again, here, technology can play a vital role. With access to a customer relationship management (CRM) solution and clienteling technology, in-store associates can draw on previous interactions with the customers to make recommendations, provide bespoke promotions and build reward programs that drive loyalty.

With immediate access to the right data, associates can greet customers, plug in a few details and begin personalizing their experiences right away. In this way, customers feel valued and important to the business. In a fiercely competitive industry, personal interactions can become the difference maker for customers.

Tech Isn’t Everything

It’s important to note that although technology can provide the tools that allow retailers to deliver convenience and personalization, neither can work effectively without a friendly face helping customers through their journey. Staff need the right training to truly deliver these experiences. They need to know who to greet and engage with and who to leave to shop on their own. They need to know how to provide friendly service with emotional intelligence and ensure that customers feel the sincerity of personalized interactions. The technology provides the tools to facilitate great experiences, but the staff are the ones who deliver it.

A Seamless Journey

As the industry continues to evolve, a loyal customer base can provide stability to retailers that are navigating the uncertainty of the sector. Customer experience is everything in today’s world, and as retailers deliver convenience and personalization, they must also provide the seamlessness that their customers expect. In turn, their efforts are likely to be well rewarded with long-lasting relationships that create long-term business growth.

Originally posted in Forbes

Sergey Kozhevnikov, VP of Product Development, Teamwork Commerce.

Today’s retail brands are continuously searching for tools and solutions that will enable them to excel ahead of others. One key factor that has quickly become a key determiner in helping retailers achieve this differentiation is customer experience—more specifically, the ability to deliver streamlined, personalized customer service.

In order to create these tailored experiences, retailers must be able to use two key factors: customer data and technology. First, they need to be able to accurately gather desired customer information, but they must also be able to leverage technology that can keep the consumer data secure and present it in a way that allows them to make meaningful recommendations, customize their approaches to shoppers and ultimately deliver a high-quality, highly personalized experience.

Understanding The Threat Of Personalization

In an ideal world, the process of gathering consumer information and using it to create high-quality customer experiences works flawlessly. However, we don’t live in an ideal world.

In reality, this highly sensitive customer data is extremely valuable. In the wrong hands, it can be used to extort companies—and, sometimes, even the consumers whose information has been stolen. External hackers are capable of breaching technology systems and gaining access to this data, and they will if it’s not protected carefully.

Since the introduction of security legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2020, consumers have become much more data-conscious than ever before. However, cybercrime continues to rise.

According to research undertaken by Check Point, there was a 38% increase in global attacks in 2022 compared to 2021, with the global volume of cyberattacks reaching an all-time high in Q4 2022. What’s more, with the introduction of breakthrough technologies such as generative AI, the number of attacks is predicted to only grow.

In an industry where an abundance of valuable customer data such as delivery addresses, contact information and financial information is processed on a daily basis, the retail sector is a profitable target for hackers. In fact, IBM finds that the average cost of a data breach within retail currently sits at approximately $3.28 million.

With the increasing threat of cyberattacks and a higher focus online on consensual data collection, consumers have become much more aware of what information they’re giving away. Retailers need to keep in mind that while a personalized service is important for creating high-quality experiences, it should never come at the expense of security.

Finding Reliability And The Role Of Tokenization

As mentioned, the key to personalization lies in the consensual and secure collection of consumer data as well as properly processing and presenting this information so that retailers can easily tailor their approach to in-store visitors.

A secure customer relationship management (CRM) system can help retailers to achieve both of these objectives. From a security perspective, I believe retailers should, at the very least, work with partners that are accredited to safeguard customer data.

Providers with security credentials such as System and Organization Controls (SOC) have had their company’s policies, procedures and safeguards in relation to data security, availability and confidentiality comprehensively evaluated and tested. This isn’t to say that any business without these credentials does not provide a secure solution, but in the case of customer data, I believe it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Whatever technology is being deployed, if it’s handling sensitive data, look to ensure that tokenization is helping to secure it. Tokenization replaces a sensitive data element with a non-sensitive element with no exploitable value. Instead, the token acts as a reference that maps back to the original data through a tokenization system. If intercepted, the data will hold no value to any external threat.

From here, with customer data located centrally, retailers can ensure their data security remains simple, easy and compliant. Stored securely in a separate repository and referenced as needed by in-store associates, devices or integrations, customer data is never revealed or imported into a local system.

Don’t Forget The Human Aspect

A retailer can deploy the most secure technology available, but a business is only as safe as its weakest link. In many instances, the weakest link is the employee. According to research undertaken by Fortra, there were more phishing attacks in the first quarter of 2023 than in any other period in history.

Phishing has become a significant threat vector for cybercriminals, as they target untrained or undiligent employees and deceive them into giving up sensitive data. This can happen in any organization, not just retail. Retail businesses (from headquarters to shop stores to warehouses) must provide adequate cybersecurity training to their staff in order for their technology deployments to remain effective.

From organizing cybersecurity best practices sessions to teaching basic skills to help spot and deal with phishing attempts, retailers must continue to empower their staff in addition to deploying any advanced technology.

Reaping The Benefits Of Security

A secure foundation not only protects retailers from the threat of ransom attacks and hefty fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), but it also instills trust in customers. According to Statista, 39% of customers globally believe that “providing clear information on how consumer data is used would help the company build trust.”

If a customer trusts a retailer, they’re more likely to willingly give up their data. From that point, a virtuous cycle begins. The data is leveraged to personalize experiences—making recommendations based on previous purchases, providing perks from loyalty programs, and altogether tailoring each retail touchpoint to the customer’s benefit. This only creates more trust, more loyalty, and, ultimately, better long-term customer relationships.

Investing in secure customer data in retail might seem like a tall order. However, it can set up retailers for huge, long-term success based on high-quality experiences and loyal customers.

Trick or Treat: are you ready for Halloween? Halloween is on the horizon, and as consumers prepare for several spooky festivities ahead of the big day, retailers continue to ready themselves for a busy end to the year. Feeling inspired to get into the spooky spirit – we have created a guide for retailers to help them navigate the upcoming period, with retail’s top current trends in mind.

Grab your pumpkin-spiced latte and settle in. Here are 3 tricks and 3 treats that will help businesses avoid the retail graveyard this Halloween Season…

1. Delivering High-Quality Customer Experience

TRICK – Operating on a skeleton crew

As we approach the festive period, the ongoing labor shortage continues to negatively impact retailers. With many expected to struggle to keep up with heavily increased in-store traffic ahead of the holiday season, retailers must beware of the consequences of understaffed stores, leading to poor customer experiences and a loss of sales.

TREAT – Delivering a spooktacular customer service

Equipped with Teamwork Commerce’s Mobile Point of Sale (POS) solution, retailers can deliver exceptional shopping experiences through streamlined checkout from anywhere in-store, tailored interactions, and access to real-time stock and order information. Amidst the ongoing labor shortage, efficient and effective in-store associates allows retailers to easily manage the demand of busy stores, ensuring optimal sales, satisfied customers, and brand loyalty.

2. Ongoing Shrink Challenges

TRICK – Thieves that go bump in the night

The retail industry has been grappling with rising in-store theft for a long time, but throughout 2023, the issue has only continued to grow. Theft has the potential to scare a number of retailers over the next few months as the wheels begin to turn on the end-of-year retail rollercoaster.

TREAT – Keep the monsters at bay with secure checkout

Shrink will disappear completely, but with concerns continuing around in-store theft, RFID-Powered Self Checkout presents a viable solution to maintaining security during a busy period.

With products equipped with RFID tags at item-level, our RFID-Powered Self-Checkout allows all items in a shopper’s cart or basket to be automatically scanned, immediately, once they are placed in a designated area. Not only does this significantly reduce transaction times and improve the customer experience, it greatly enhances in-store security, with RFID tags capable of triggering alarms if not deactivated during checkout.

3. Creating Convenience

TRICK – Frightful fulfillment options

Today’s consumer expects to be able to shop on their own terms – whether online, in-store, or through a mix of both, such as Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS). Without access to convenient fulfillment options, retailers run the risk of losing customers to more innovative competitors at a crucial time of year.

TREAT – Boooooosting sales through omnichannel

With the right technology in place, retailers can make life easier for their customers. An all-encompassing approach to retail technology creates flexibility that enables retailers to deliver a number of fulfillment solutions for consumers to match their busy schedules. Whether they need same-day delivery or can pick up their order on their way home from work, customers appreciate access to options. Omnichannel fulfillment can play a significant role in developing long-term, trusting relationships during busy shopping seasons.

‘Goblin’ Up Success

As we hurtle towards the end of the year, and with key dates such as Black Friday fast approaching ahead of the festive season, a few tweaks can significantly enhance a retailer’s entire operations. With the right technology deployed, retailers can streamline processes to become more efficient, cost-effective, and to deliver exceptional customer experiences that drive success – not only over the next few months, but for the long-term.

Interested in deploying a scarily impressive retail technology solution? Get in touch here to find out more.

Taking place over the course of October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month serves as an opportunity to raise awareness around cybersecurity best practices, cyber threats and trends. Each sector should encourage cybersecurity awareness, and the retail industry is no exception.

Today, when shoppers crave personalized experiences, retailers have no option but to leverage data to tailor interactions. However, consumers are conscious of how their data is used. In fact, according to Statista, 39% of customers globally believe that providing clear information on how consumer data is used would help the company build trust. In his recent Forbes article, our VP of Product Development Sergey Kozhevnikov opines that personalized service is important for creating high-quality experiences, it should never come at the expense of security.

In this blog, we’ve taken a look at some simple steps retailers can follow to keep crucial data secure while using it to tailor customer experiences.

Keeping the Crucial Information Safe

Retailers must understand that it is better to be safe than sorry. In the wrong hands, highly sensitive data – such as payment details and personal information – can be used to extort companies and even the consumers whose information has been stolen. As a result, retailers face multiple consequences that negatively damage their reputation, sales, and consumer retention.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of the most important tools that retailers can use to collect and store personal data of their customers. However, they must choose their CRM tools wisely. Retailers must leverage a CRM tool that complies with regulatory requirements and keeps sensitive information highly secure. Teamwork Commerce is SOC 2 Type 1 accredited which serves as a benchmark for its ability to safeguard its clients’ data.

Our Mobile POS software features an integrated Secure CRM that uses the highest level of security to protect customer data and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The technology supports GDPR through tokenization, with customer data located centrally making data security simple, easy and compliant. With our solution, retailers can securely store customer data in a separate repository and empower staff to use it when required without revealing or importing it to a local system.

3 steps to Futureproof Cybersecurity

Retailers can deploy the most effective security solutions, but can still fall victim to hackers’ advanced techniques. Cybercriminals continue to become more sophisticated in their attempts through phishing, insider threats, and malware. To ensure 360-degree protection, retailers need to take additional measures:

1. Mitigate human error

Humans are the weakest link in any business when it comes to cybersecurity. In order to minimize the risk of mistakes and negligence, retail companies should provide appropriate training to their employees that helps them understand risk and keeps them vigilant against any threats. This could include best-practices sessions, strong password techniques and identifying phishing emails. According to CISA, one recommended practice for organizations is to conduct a mock phishing simulation with employees, and recap lessons learned throughout the month.

2. Use multi-factor authentication

When their reputation, along with customers’ crucial information, is at stake, retailers cannot afford to rely on single-password access, no matter how strong it is. They must take advantage of modern security measures such as multi-factor authentication to set the seal on their cybersecurity across their entire operation.

3. Make regular updates

By performing timely updates and maintenance on a regular basis of their tech deployments, retailers can ensure they have the latest security patches and updates on their devices. As part of this, automating updates is one way that retailers can seamlessly keep their technology stack up to date and ensure they continue to provide the best possible service to customers while remaining cyber-secure. Additionally, retailers should also perform manual checks to ensure there are no gaps, and keep operating systems, antivirus software, web browsers, and applications updated.

Final Resolution on Cybersecurity for your Retail

2023 marks 20 years of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. However, rising cyberattacks clearly indicate that there is significantly more to be done in the industry to strengthen cybersecurity. It is essential to understand that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and every sector, organization, and employee must play their part to promote cybersecurity best practices and minimize risks. Retailers who take a holistic approach and utilize cutting-edge solutions in combination with additional advanced measures and strategies can bolster their cybersecurity as well as customer trust.  

To know more about our secure CRM, book a live demo here.