Solutions That Sleigh: How Availability and Speed Can Prepare Retailers for Last-Minute Christmas Shoppers

‘Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the store,

Every shopper was racing, around the sales floor,

Depleted shelves and lengthy queues, the chaos was reaching its pinnacle,

Then in stepped Teamwork Commerce, with a retail Christmas miracle!

In the lead up to Christmas, many retailers can quickly become overwhelmed by the onslaught of in-store traffic. As consumers rush to tie up their shopping – purchasing gifts, outfits and treats before they can settle in for the festivities – the final couple of weeks before December 25th have the potential to make or break a retailer’s year. 

According to Deloitte, 57% of shoppers will still be completing their Christmas purchases into late December this year. The challenge for retailers lies in their ability to capitalize on late season purchases, and use it as an opportunity to not only maximize sales opportunities, but to build long-lasting customer relationships.

Here are three ways retailers can achieve this, all while mitigating the shop floor stress levels that many might expect…

You Can’t Sell What You Don’t Have

Accurate inventory management is one of the most important practices during busy shopping periods. If a retailer doesn’t have enough stock of a specific product, it will quickly sell out and miss out on sales opportunities – while also disappointing customers. Conversely, if a retailer overstocks a product, there will be an excess of inventory left over that either won’t sell, or will have to be sold at a discounted price. Not only does that factor alone significantly impact profits, but the retailer will have also wasted resources in the procurement, transport and storage of that product.

Accurate inventory practices completely streamline a retailer’s operation. They procure only the items they need, optimizing transport and storage, but also ensuring that they maximize their ability to sell specific items. This both reduces costs and increases revenue. Importantly, during the holiday period, customers also recognize reliable product availability in the retailer, with minimal cancel rates on orders – whether in-store, online or through omnichannel purchases such as Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS).

In order to achieve optimal inventory management, retailers can leverage a range of technologies, from tracking products at item-level through RFID technology, to utilizing an all-encompassing retail technology solution that automatically keeps retailers and their teams informed of changing inventory levels. Our customer, Moose Knuckles, has leveraged a “Send Sales” system through Teamwork Commerce’s Point of Sale (POS) technology to minimize missed sales opportunities while enhancing the customer journey through product availability and improved interactions.

Point of Sale Must Be Seamless

A busy shop floor creates potential for stagnated sales and frustrated customers. Difficulty navigating stores, and waiting in painstakingly long queues will quickly turn customers away from a retailer. Not only does this sacrifice short-term sales opportunities, but it leaves a sour taste in their mouth that they won’t necessarily be quick to forget.

Speed is essential during the Christmas season. Customers want their products and they want them quickly. The first step to success lies in product availability, but the second hinges on the retailer’s ability to streamline the in-store experience with minimal waiting.

Two solutions play a highly effective role in facilitating this: Mobile POS and RFID-Powered Self-Checkout. The key driver to success for both of these comes through the fact they both deliver rapid checkout experiences.

Providing retail associates with the ability to complete transactions from anywhere in-store, Mobile POS effectively removes the need for queuing. Instead, an in-store associate can simply approach a visitor, handle any queries they might have around product availability and location, and complete the transaction there and then, without the customer needing to go anywhere. An effective tool for queue-busting, Mobile POS allows customers to step in-store, receive on-the-spot assistance, and purchase their items. They can be in and out of the store in only a few minutes, keeping in-store footfall at manageable levels and getting everything they need before quickly moving to the next item on their list.

Footwear and apparel giant, ASICS, utilized our cutting-edge Mobile POS solution to transform its shop floor operations. Find out how here.

While self-checkout technology continues to undergo scrutiny around the challenges it causes some retailers around customer experience and theft, one variation of the solution, which utilizes RFID technology to automatically scan items, is transforming the speed at which transactions take place. RFID-Powered Self-Checkout automatically scans all items in a basket or cart as soon as they are placed in a designated scanning area. Without the need to manually scan products at checkout, customers can complete transactions in 30 seconds or less. Suddenly, checkout times significantly reduced, and in-store queuing moves along much faster.

Ultimately, both Mobile POS and RFID Self-Checkout serve to reduce in-store queuing and streamline the checkout process. In turn, this allows retailers to deliver a high-quality customer experience – with ease – even during the busiest of periods.

A Christmas Miracle

The last couple of weeks before Christmas can be tough for retailers, but it can also be extremely beneficial both for profits and for building long-term customer retention. During this time, speed is the best friend of both the retailer and the customer. However, if a brand can provide this speed while delivering high-quality customer experiences that leave visitors feeling satisfied, retailers can find short and long-term success.