Originally posted in: Retail Voices

The physical retail landscape is experiencing a resurgence that shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, according to the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT), we are currently seeing a return to physical shopping despite the ongoing cost of living crisis. The consumer appetite for in-store experiences continues to rise. However, within the current economic climate, many are becoming more conscious of their purchasing decisions. Today, retailers face a pressing challenge: finding a way to stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

In a world where customer preferences reign supreme, success lies within top-tier customer experiences – the cornerstone upon which retailers must build their businesses. Yet, in an industry that is ever-changing, where customer demands evolve by the day, achieving this goal is not necessarily simple.

At its core, customer experience can be attributed to three main elements: speed, personalisation and convenience. By improving practices with these pivotal elements in mind, retailers can better create unique experiences. They can also differentiate themselves from their competitors and lay the foundations for long-lasting loyalty from their customer base.

However, delivering speed, personalisation, and convenience all at once can be a challenge, especially within brick-and-mortar stores. Yet, emerging technologies, along with the transformative capabilities of mobile point-of-sale (POS), present an avenue through which retailers can create unparalleled in-store service.

Delivering Speed

Long queues and waiting times during checkout only cause frustration for in-store shoppers. According to WaitWhile, nearly 75% of U.S. consumers feel bored, frustrated, disrespected, annoyed or impatient when waiting in queues. In an era where customers are desperate for seamless checkout experiences, retailers need to advance their in-store technology stack with the latest innovative solutions to live up to modern expectations. Mobile POS can act as a beacon of convenience and efficiency within retail. This technology revolutionises the checkout process by eliminating the need for in-store queues. Traditionally confined to designated checkout spaces, customers can now bid farewell to lengthy lines and frustrating waits.

Mobile POS technology liberates retailers from fixed checkout counters by enabling transactions through handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets. This enhances in-store services, reduces wait times, and equips sales associates with customer insights and inventory data. Customers enjoy efficient assistance and speedy transactions, while retailers can optimise sales and deliver superior in-store experiences.

The world is becoming increasingly fast-paced, and prompt service is becoming more important to customers than ever before. Using mobile POS, retailers can provide customers with a fast and efficient service model that suits their needs and supports their shopping habits.

Personalising the Experience

Consumer needs are continually adapting and changing. With 71% of customers now expecting a personalised shopping experience, retailers must find ways to tailor each interaction they have with their shoppers. Mobile POS solutions can enable retailers to provide this desired level of personalisation directly to customers, allowing them to offer exclusive discounts to customers based on their previous shopping habits.

Mobile POS technology provides in-store associates with access to crucial data at their fingertips. With an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system, real-time data can be collected from each interaction a customer has with a retailer, including information such as a customer’s purchase history, clothing and shoe size, and shopping preferences. From here, associates can offer customers a uniquely curated experience, delivering a tailored service that makes in-store visitors feel valued.

This personalised approach to customer service aids in building brand loyalty for retailers. With staff providing shoppers with a warm and welcoming experience from the moment they enter the store, retailers can develop long-term relationships with a retained customer base.

Creating Convenience

Convenience is the third crucial element that helps retailers differentiate themselves from their competitors. Combining speed and personalisation can go a long way to delivering high-quality experiences in-store, but adding convenience enables retailers to expand this service beyond the shop floor.

Today’s retail industry is highly reliant on multiple sales channels. While in-store sales continue to grow, ecommerce still plays a significant role in a retailer’s bottom line. As such, an omnichannel approach is necessary to facilitate sales from anywhere – whether purchasing online, in-store, or buying online and picking up in-store.

Convenience is created through options, and by integrating order fulfilment software with mobile POS, retailers can create omnichannel-focused sales channels that cater to a customer’s needs. Customers can visit a store, be greeted by a sales associate on entry, inform them of a product they are there to collect, and be out of the store in seconds.

Realising the Value of In-Store

As consumer appetite for experiential retail grows, retailers can attract visitors with convenient purchase options, and retain their long-term business by delivering a fast, highly personalised in-store service.

Those retailers that go the extra mile to make customers feel valued and satisfied at every touchpoint are the ones that will succeed in such a competitive landscape. Mobile POS can go a long way to helping them achieve that distinction.

Thanksgiving is around the corner! With yams on the mind, the nation is busy preparing for a range of festivities. Regardless of how you might celebrate: watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, tuning into the football, or eating your way into a potato-induced nap, Thanksgiving is steeped in tradition.

These traditions have transitioned into the retail world. Acting as the appetizer to Cyber Weekend (poorly used food-based pun intended), Thanksgiving Day kicks off the festive shopping period, with Black Friday following immediately after.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 196.7 million customers shopped over Thanksgiving weekend in 2022 – and its popularity is only expected to grow as consumers try to spread out their festive spending.

On the subject of tradition, perhaps the most important of all is the opportunity to reflect on what we are thankful for. So here you go, we’ve outlined 3 retail technologies that we’re grateful for this Thanksgiving…

Mobile Point of Sale

According to BCG, an eye-watering 74% of consumers are expected to search for great deals during this year’s Black Friday weekend. With incredible consumer appetite for a bargain, in-store footfall will inevitably increase significantly around Thanksgiving.

Busy stores run the risk of customer frustration. Limited space on the shop floor combined with long queue times can quickly turn off would-be customers during Thanksgiving weekend. Retailers need a solution that alleviates this issue, and Mobile Point of Sale (POS) can do exactly that. Capable of completing quick and seamless transactions from anywhere in-store, mobile POS can optimize in-store sales opportunities while significantly reducing wait times for customers.

Order Management  

In order to avoid crowded stores, many consumers today choose to buy online and pick up in-store (BOPIS) – ensuring an easy, streamlined purchase that fits around their schedule. Creating omnichannel fulfilment enables retailers to provide customers with more options for how they conduct their transactions, and opens more doors for sales opportunities.

This can only be achieved with order management technology, connecting e-commerce platforms with wider retail operations to generate shipments. With the right solution deployed, orders can be placed from multiple locations and fulfilled anywhere.

With the flexibility of being able to shop in the ways that suit them best, retailers can deliver an enhanced customer experience that provides convenience for consumers during an extremely busy period.

Customer Relationship Management

According to NRF, consumers begin their festive shopping as early as October. They buy early, and they plan everything well in advance. As a result, retailers should recognize that the likelihood of impulse buys during the festive period drops significantly.

Using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) effectively, retailers can take advantage of the meticulous research consumers undertake. Able to track all interactions with customers – which products they have viewed, or size and color preferences – retailers can use this to their advantage and push specific, personalized messages that encourage sales.

Whether creating personalized discounts on viewed items, or offering specific loyalty points for certain purchases, retailers can not only encourage customers to buy from their store, but they can begin to leverage secure data for long-term relationship building.

Keep the Bigger Picture in Mind

Thanksgiving – and the following festive period – sees an uptick in sales for the retail industry. While maximizing profits is a priority for many, retailers should take this time to really focus on delivering high-quality customer experiences that create and nurture strong relationships with customers. With these relationships established, they can benefit from the growth in long-term retained customers. Now that is truly something to be thankful for.

Interested in finding out how technology can help your retail business drive long-term customer relationships this festive season? Book a live demo here.

Bo Zavorotniy​e

Integrations Director

In the latest edition of our Five Minutes With… blog series, we get to know Bo Zavorotniy, Integrations Director at Teamwork Commerce.  

From wakeboarding to wine tasting, Bo’s eagerness to stay active extends way beyond leisure – regularly getting involved in Teamwork’s party planning on top of the day-to-day demands of an Integrations Director. Here, Bo reveals (almost) everything…

• What is your role at Teamwork Commerce?

Officially, I currently oversee our development services department as Director of Integrations, ensuring that systems and technologies can all communicate seamlessly. However, unofficially, I can be many things – including mascot and party planner!

• Explain your career path. What inspired you to join the retail tech industry?

To be honest, I never specifically planned to join the retail tech industry. It just kind of happened, and I liked it. Initially, I joined the IT industry as a Quality Assurance Analyst. I then slowly moved to other positions within the company which helped me learn different perspectives from different teams and departments of the business we’re in. In every position I’ve been in within the company, I was able to obtain a skill or two that helped me get to where I am today – and I don’t plan to stop this trend any time soon.

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

I love the diversity of knowledge you’re able to obtain. The thing about the retail tech industry is that you’re not just trying to win new clients and flow through traditional client-vendor relationships. You’re trying to build a technological partnership where you must always dig deep to find out what is really needed, acting as an extension of your client.

You’re able to see, feel and be a part of not only the business you are in, but also other businesses, teams and technologies that you interact with on a daily basis. I think it’s great! It gives you an opportunity to broaden your horizons.

• What is the best career advice you have ever received?

That’s very simple: Don’t half-ass it. It is the best advice I’ve ever received and probably the best advice I can give to anyone else.

• What is your favorite thing about working at Teamwork Commerce?

I’d have to say people, company values and culture. I don’t have such a broad experience with working in other big IT companies, but here at Teamwork it’s very easy to have a feeling that you’re being heard. No one hesitates to express ideas and create something.

• Who are your key role models/inspirations?

I try to not idolize anyone, so I don’t really have an answer for my key role models, but I’m always fascinated and inspired by people or things that attempt to revolutionize the world for the better.

Rapid Fire Round…

What is your favorite…

• Book: I wouldn’t call myself a big book reader, but for this one I’d say it’s

Shantaram and The Little Prince.

• Movie: Troy, Miss Sloane, The Devil Wears Prada… the list goes on and on.

• Album: I can’t really single out something specific, as my music choices are

often mood driven. One day it’s AC/DC, Imagine Dragons, Okean Elzy, and

another it’s Ludovico Einaudi, and Estas Tonne.

Most people don’t know that I…

I think a mystery should remain a mystery…

In my spare time, I…

Honestly, I have a whole plethora of things I enjoy doing in my spare time. So I’ll just try to generalize my answer – I like anything active. Escape rooms, boating, MMA, airsoft, wakeboarding, wakesurfing, wine tasting, hiking, any sport, you name it.

With Black Friday just weeks away, retailers are keen to find ways to increase sales and gain an edge over the competition as we head towards the festive season. Approaching one of the most important shopping holidays of the year, which sees shoppers consumed by more deals and promotions than they can count, retailers need to ensure that they’re reaching the right audiences, delivering relevant offers, and providing a streamlined and enjoyable experience – all while remaining profitable. Technology can play a pivotal role in enabling that.

In this blog, we explore four ways retailers can use technology to navigate the chaos of Black Friday and maximize their success ahead of the festive shopping season.

Personalized Services and Customer Service with CRM

Whether in-store or online, it’s essential that retailer businesses make customers feel valued. Shopping is a dynamic experience – from discovery to purchase – and personalized experiences are key to retaining and attracting customers. While the main focus for Black Friday is typically on providing the best deals and offers, retailers who can create personalized offers and tailored discounts for their customers can stand out from the competition by providing additional value on an individual basis.

By implementing a secure customer relationship management (CRM) system, retailers can create a single source of information around every customer. An integrated CRM system can stay up to date with real-time data of what customers prefer, sourced from both online and offline sales channels.

Using this real-time data of purchasing habits and interests, retailers can position Black Friday deals that personally align with shoppers right in front of them. This makes shoppers feel welcomed and valued, and importantly, also leads to increased opportunities for sales.

Omnichannel Strategy to Drive Retail Sales

Today’s shopper uses multiple channels when searching for the best deals during Black Friday. Retailers must understand where customers engage, discover and buy to create a consistent omnichannel strategy that provides a flexible and seamless way for customers to make their purchases seamlessly.

Black Friday is hectic, and consumers want to complete their shopping with as little friction as possible. A robust omnichannel offering allows them to shop in the way that suits them best. Whether online, on the shop floor, or through buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), by providing a range of fulfilment options for potential customers, retailers can facilitate frictionless purchases, encouraging more sales opportunities while delivering exceptional experiences.

Flexible Mobile POS

Bustling stores are common during Black Friday – a good sign for retailers, but often a painful one for customers, with long queues and waiting times severely impacting their shopping experience.

To reduce checkout times in retail stores and optimize the time of in-store associates, retailers can deploy a user friendly mobile point-of-sale (POS) system. Equipped with a mobile POS solution, retailers can provide customers with a seamless experience, capable of completing transactions from anywhere in-store. Sales associates can approach customers, handle any queries or issues, and complete transactions in seconds on the spot before greeting the next customer.

Mobile POS minimizes in-store queue times and allows retailers to deliver a speedy, high-quality customer experience; perfect for heavy foot traffic around Cyber Weekend. 

Inventory and Order Management to Fulfill Demand

Running out of stock of popular items on Black Friday is a retailer’s worst nightmare. An efficient inventory management operation is crucial for success during any retail peak. Retailers can use predictive analytics, leveraging a range of historical trend data, to forecast which of their products will be in high demand during Black Friday. From here, they only need to ensure they have ordered an adequate amount of the right stock to ensure they are optimizing their returns.

With inventory levels accounted for, retailers must also focus on how they will fulfill the flurry of Black Friday sales. By integrating an order management system that can be directly connected to their ecommerce platform, retailers can gain access to a flexible and automated solution that generates shipments, allowing orders to be placed from multiple locations and fulfilled from anywhere. 

An order management system that helps streamline order processing and fulfilment from the most convenient location for the customer is essential to enhancing their overall experience, and helps cement their loyalty to the brand. 

Preparation is Key

As Black Friday approaches, retailers need to ensure that they are utilizing the latest technology to drive sales, give amazing store experiences, and improve customer satisfaction. The festive shopping season may arrive with the expectation of a surge in sales, but retailers can’t afford to rest on their laurels when facing today’s highly demanding consumers in this heavily contested retail industry.

Want to know more about how tech can help you make the most of Black Friday? Click here to discover more.

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!