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.

Modern point of sale (POS) solutions have been helping retailers modernize their operations to provide a seamless experience for their customers. Beyond shopping malls and fashion retail stores, these POS solutions are hugely important for museum retail too.

Customers visit museums for an amazing experience. In today’s consumer environment, expectations are rising. This means the experience must be extended beyond the exhibitions.

Museums must provide a seamless experience for visitors. This should start at the admissions area and continue until the gift shop.

Every touchpoint in a museum experience should be simple and easy. From admissions ticketing at the start, to a souvenir shop at the end, the visitor’s experience should be enjoyable. This increases the chances of visitors returning, encourages positive online reviews and word of mouth.

Modern POS solutions can help museums give visitors the best experience. In this blog, we are sharing three of the best ways to use the technology in museums.

Queue Busting and Seamless Admissions

Customers often have a negative experience when operations are slow. This can be seen when waiting in long queues to purchase tickets or struggling to redeem an online gift card. To reduce queuing times and serve visitors quicker, museums must deploy advanced POS solutions that are well integrated with a wider technology stack and operate in real-time.

Teamwork Commerce’s Museum POS solution is designed to meet the unique requirements of museums and help them drive profitability. The software can be installed on iOS devices, removing the need for bulky, traditional terminals. This makes it easier for staff to serve visitors with efficiency.

The state-of-the-art solution can also be integrated with online ticketing platforms and different payment providers. Staff can quickly process payments, print online purchased tickets, and redeem gift cards. This makes the visitor experience smooth and seamless. 

Enhancing Experience at Museum Gift Shops

Gift shops, often one of the last touchpoints of visitors’ museum experiences, play a crucial role in visitors’ overall experience. In fact, going to a museum shop was one of the favorite activities for museum visitors in the US last year. Investing in appropriate technology to keep visitors happy, engaged and satisfied is essential.

Teamwork Commerce’s POS solution provides staff with all information, from in-store stock count to warehouse inventory, at a tap of their fingertips. This Point of Sale System offers retailers in museums a secure way to store data. It also allows them to analyze this data with Teamwork Commerce’s Reporting and Analytics software. This generates valuable insights for museum retailers which can help them make improved decisions in a more timely manner.

Furthermore, the software also helps museums manage their gift shop stock more efficiently. Teamwork Commerce’s solution communicates with wider technology – such as warehouse management and ecommerce platforms – in real-time, providing detailed information of all merchandise and enabling better decision-making. For example, if an item is selling fast, in-store associates can stock up to maximize sales and avoid stockout situations. All this not only helps museums become profitable but also keeps visitors happy by allowing them to purchase items they want. 

Leveraging Mobile POS in Fundraising 

Fundraising has changed significantly from what it used to be. In the past few decades, it was simply a matter of asking people to donate cash into a dropbox. Today, museums leverage unique ways to raise funds – and regularly organize special events both indoor and outdoor.

To make these fundraising activities more efficient, Teamwork Commerce’s mobile POS system allows museums to deploy these POS systems at offsite locations without hassle. This helps museums to transact seamlessly at fundraising events with take-anywhere functionality.

Summer holidays are fast approaching, and museums must stay prepared to be able to provide the ultimate customer experience to their visitors. With the right Mobile POS solution, museums can not only greatly enhance their level of service, but can also make the most of increased footfall to boost sales and profitability.

Museums have unique requirements and may need different reporting capabilities. Looking for a personalized recommendation? Book a customized demo here to find out how Teamwork Commerce can help.

Personalization has been a key driver of retail success for a number of years. Today, user data serves as a crucial enabler of personalized experiences. 82% of customers are comfortable in sharing their personal information with retailers for customized experiences. However, they have become more conscious about who they share their data with and how their data is used.

Last year, 70% of customers in Latin and South America claimed that their purchasing decisions are based on a retailer’s reputation for data protection. In fact, 40% admitted that they stopped purchasing from companies that violated data privacy laws, or just their digital trust. It is clear that retailers who fail to safeguard their customers’ data can lose their loyalty.

Data breaches have serious consequences. They impact consumer trust and bring financial, reputational, and legal implications. Retailers may be forced to pay huge penalties and suffer reputational and financial damage. Retailers must be able to mitigate these risks, and technology can play a pivotal role in helping them achieve that.

Mitigating Risks

To protect data privacy, retailers should take into account some actions beforehand. Cybersecurity training for employees and deploying a wider cybersecurity solution are essential practices today. However, these may not be enough to protect against the increased threat surfaces. To ensure high-level security, retailers must select their individual retail solutions wisely too.

Retailers utilize customer relationship management (CRM) tools to manage and store customer data. These tools must be compliant with the legal requirements of watchdogs. Teamwork Commerce’s Secure CRM solution is GDPR compliant and uses the highest level of security to protect customer data.

Furthermore, the state-of-the-art technology keeps customer data secure in a separate repository, allowing associates, devices and other integrations to access the information as required. The advanced CRM allows retailers to store all data centrally and ensure that information is not revealed or imported to local devices and systems.

Driving Personalization

Consumer habits and preferences continue to evolve, and retailers must ensure that the experiences they curate are valuable for their customers. They must use the latest solutions to reach their goal. These solutions can work with a retailer’s retail technology stack.

Teamwork Commerce’s all-encompassing software serves as a one-stop-shop solution for retailers, offering a variety of retail tools. These include a mobile point-of-sale system, secure customer relationship management, data analytics, order management, and Clienteling.

What’s more, the solution facilitates a clear retail vision in one place and makes it easy for retailers to track data and develop new strategies. At an individual store level, with this real-time data at their fingertips, store associates can answer customer queries and offer customized discounts accurately and quickly.

Taking a 360-Degree Approach

Personalizing customer experiences is essential. However, retailers must not put consumer data privacy at stake in order to achieve that. The retail sector is a primary target for cybercriminals who are looking for opportunities to penetrate and steal customer data. Retailers who skimp on securing this data can easily become vulnerable to potential cyberattacks.

Retailers must take a holistic approach that covers all aspects of their business. Retailers’ strategies and solutions should work together to ensure long-term success. This includes driving personalization, managing supply chain efficiency and ensuring high-level security.

Want to prioritize data privacy while still being able to tailor customer experiences? Get in touch.