Fixed Point of Sale for Retail Stores
Mobile Point of Sale & Line Busting App
Dashboard and Analytics Mobile App
Free Inventory Management App
Full Service Inventory Management App
Order Management Solution
House Accounts and Invoicing
Premium Suites Catering & Pre Order Management
Centralized Management Platform
Workforce Empowerment App
Hospitality Point of Sale App
E-Commerce Solution Platform
Table Mangement for Restaurants via Mobile or Tablet
Kitchen Display System
Seamless Sales Across All Channels
Elevating Sports & Entertainment Transactions Effortlessly
Streamlining Retail Transactions for Seamless Shopping
Optimizing Transactions for Vibrant Festival Experiences
Transforming Hospitality & Suite Service Management
Smart Inventory Management with RFID
Building Relationships, Rewarding Loyal Customers
Insights-Driven Decisions for Business Growth
Imagine this: you’re at a stadium, and everything you need—refreshments, merchandise, or tickets—is easily accessible without any hassle or delay. This streamlined experience is no accident; it’s the result of retail analytics working behind the scenes, optimizing inventory, staffing, and customer interactions to ensure efficiency and satisfaction at every level.
In the fast-paced world of retail, data has emerged as an indispensable guide to help stores understand and predict customer needs. From small, local boutiques to large-sized retail giants, all businesses move forward through such insights. It helps a business, regardless of its size and reach, to stay ahead of the competition, improve shopping experiences, and ensure that whatever is on sale is available whenever it is needed.
Retail analytics is about turning data into insights that help businesses make smarter decisions. Years ago, store owners might have based their own inventory decisions on what “felt right” or based on how things were changing seasonally. Today, every action – whether it is a customer purchasing in-store or making a social media comment about a new product – leaves behind valuable insights. For example, consider a retail shop keeping a record of a particular item’s sales frequency during the holiday season. Understanding this pattern helps the store to be ready for the next season for the product and have enough of them in stock. In the same way, web browsing can be used for recommending what products the customer may be interested in, and make shopping easier for their clients. This can be also integrated with sports stadiums to enhance the fan experience by providing all things available to them.
Today’s retail world is fiercely competitive with an utterly staggering number of choices for the customers. All this has made the retailers want to differentiate themselves from their peers and lead the game. Analytics plays an inevitable role in retail management so that stores can gain a sense of what’s important to their customer and then make shifts based on those new-found understandings. Think about a specific product that sells out every holiday season. This trend the store would find through analytics, and then the shop would order more in advance, keeping the customers happy, thereby averting lost sales. In short, retail analytics helps business organizations get one step ahead by making them proactive rather than reactive.
Here are just a few examples of how retail analytics makes a real difference for businesses:
Retail data analytics can be classified into different categories, each delivering unique insights. Descriptive analytics is the summary of past data, which may represent what was the best seller last month or some insight into recent foot traffic.
Retail analytics answers questions and gives insights that allow improvement in practically all parts of the retail business, including:
To extract maximum value from retail analytics, retailers need to keep in mind the following:
1. Maximize Customer Data: To understand what customers want, retailers must collect data from multifunctional touchpoints, including loyalty schemes and online buying behaviors, thereby providing a holistic view.
2. Use Visual Tools for Data: Complex data is not easy to get insights from. In a nutshell, insights become accessible not just for the data team with visualizations like charts and dashboards.
3. Data from other channels: Instead of viewing data as it relates to the online or in-store channel only, a complete view of the activity of a customer across all channels is achieved by combining data sources.
4. Define Key Metrics: Every retail business has its specific goals; thus, concentration on the right metrics, such as conversion rates or average purchase value, should be done to track progress.
5. Monitor KPIs: The tracking of the Key Performance Indicators helps retailers measure success and identify trends over time to adjust according to requirements.
nGauge is a real-time inventory tracking system and business analytics system of retailcloud to enable retailers to know what is happening in their businesses anytime, anywhere. From the aspects of sales or margin, tax computing or stock variation, or customer activity analysis, it provides businesses with the necessary information. Retailers can track what products are selling, customer satisfaction, and hourly sales using their mobile devices with mobile inventory management software, mInventory. The centralized cloud POS reporting solutions, console from retailcloud also provides real-time alerts for performance indicators to ensure that businesses manage their stocks, and enhance customer experiences, and operation efficiency.
Retailcloud also offers Inventory360, a cutting-edge RFID inventory tracking system for real-time, precise stock management. Manual errors are eradicated, and the process is made smooth and seamless using features like catalogue organisation, custom printing of labels, cycle counts and more. Advanced tools, including RFID receiving, transfer and adjustment, provide for reliable stock levels, as well as the Geiger Counter and comprehensive reporting utilities to give management total inventory control.
Let’s consider an instance where, a retailer at a stadium can use Inventory360 to track high-demand items during sports games, ensuring that fan-favorite merchandise is always in stock.
Retail analytics is not just a buzzword—it’s the need of the hour for any organization seeking to survive in this data-centric world. Whether it’s discovering customer preferences, managing inventory, or creating marketing campaigns targeted to customers’ preferences, analytics converts raw data into invaluable insights.
Being the leading game changer of Retail POS Software System and Services, retailcloud has a myriad of POS solutions that help make retailers quick and strategic decisions. Businesses embracing retail analytics seek not just to improve the bottom line but to gain long-term success in the ever-changing market by having closer relationships with their customers.
This blog delves into the top advantages of using data analytics in the retail sector, exploring how it can transform operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive sustainable growth.
Data analytics is a process that involves examining raw data to understand patterns, correlations, and trends. It plays a major role in decision-making and helps businesses optimize performance, operate more efficiently, maximize profits, and make strategically guided decisions.
This detailed analysis, within the retail sphere, requires examining customer behavior, sales performance, market dynamics, and any other relevant data points to glean valuable and actionable insights. Using these data, retailers can strategically steer their operations to enhance operational efficiency and take customer satisfaction to new heights.
Some of the key techniques and tools in data analytics include descriptive analytics, diagnostic analytics, predictive analytics, and prescriptive analytics. All these help businesses understand data characteristics, identify root causes, predict future outcomes, and take suitable plans and strategies. In addition to these core techniques, data mining, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and statistical analysis are widely used to extract valuable insights from data.
Data analytics is a comprehensive process that involves several key steps: identifying relevant themes, collecting raw data, conducting thorough analyses, and interpreting the results. As said above, having a deep understanding of customer preferences and their behavior is important.
Utilizing data analytics in the retail sector allows us to extract valuable insights from the vast amounts of information generated across various touchpoints, including online interactions, market research, and transactional data.
This analytical framework allows businesses to customize their product offerings, streamline inventory management, and enhance their marketing strategies. Through data analytics in the retail industry, retailers can effectively utilize this knowledge to improve their decision-making processes, build stronger relationships with customers, ultimately increase sales, enhance cash flow, and maximize revenue growth. Moreover, the strategic application of data analytics fosters operational efficiency and enables retailers to adapt swiftly to changing market conditions.
Here are some of the top advantages of leveraging data analytics in the retail industry:
Retail data analytics allows retailers to segment their customer base based on detailed insights. Analyzing purchasing patterns and preferences allows businesses to create personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with specific customer groups. Studies have shown that this customized, data-oriented communication outperforms traditional marketing methods by 20%, resulting in significantly higher engagement and improved conversion rates.
Accurate demand forecasting is important for maintaining optimal inventory levels across retail operations. Online retail analysis primarily foresees customer needs by analyzing historical sales data, seasonal trends, and market dynamics.
Here, the focus is on understanding the customer’s requirements and pain points. This approach minimizes stockouts and overstock situations, ensuring that the right products are available at the right time, ultimately improving customer satisfaction.
Retailers can take advantage of data analytics to implement dynamic pricing strategies based on real-time market conditions and competitor pricing. Understanding customer behavior and price sensitivity helps businesses optimize their pricing models to maximize profits while remaining competitive in a crowded marketplace.
The use of data analytics in retail can improve the overall shopping experience. By analyzing customer interactions across a store, retailers can identify pain points and streamline processes. variety of touchpoints. Customer satisfaction can be significantly enhanced and repeat business can be increased when personalized recommendations are provided based on past purchases.
Retailers can utilize advanced predictive analytics to identify emerging trends and shifts in consumer behavior by analyzing various data sources, including social media sentiment and market statistics. Businesses can remain competitive and relevant in a rapidly evolving market landscape if they stay ahead of these trends.
Data analytics enables retailers to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by measuring customer responses and engagement levels. This retail data analytics insight helps businesses focus on high-ROI opportunities while reducing spending on less-effective projects. This leads to better resource utilization and long-term financial performance.
Through data analysis, retailers can develop strategies such as targeted loyalty programs and personalized offers based on their understanding of customer behavior. All of these help businesses identify the pattern that leads to better engagement. Businesses can build long-term brand loyalty and retention rates by creating strong, meaningful relationships with customers, resulting in a loyal customer base that returns time and time.
For those considering expansion, data analytics for retail personnel provides valuable insights into potential locations by analyzing demographic data, foot traffic patterns, and local spending habits. This customer analytics data helps businesses choose the right sites for new outlets.
Data-driven insights enable retailers to explore innovative engagement strategies that resonate with their audience. For example, gamification elements or interactive promotions based on customer preferences can significantly enhance brand interaction.
Data analytics supports informed decision-making across various departments within a retail organization. By providing a comprehensive view of customer interactions and sales performance, businesses can align their strategies with market demands.
Retailers leveraging data analytics typically experience improved sales performance with better-targeted marketing efforts and better inventory management. Enhanced decision-making capabilities also lead to higher profit margins.
A culture of data-driven decision-making enables retail organizations to act on insights rather than intuition. This shift fosters continuous improvement across all aspects of operations.
Data analytics fosters collaboration among departments by providing a unified view of performance metrics. This clarity enhances communication between marketing, sales, inventory management, and customer service teams.
Analyzing supply chain data, retailers can optimize logistics operations and improve resilience against disruptions. Predictive analytics helps anticipate demand fluctuations, allowing for more agile supply chain management.
Retailers can fine-tune their marketing strategies based on information metrics, leading to more effective campaigns that resonate with target audiences. By understanding what drives customer engagement, businesses can maximize their marketing budgets.
Data analytics plays a crucial role in streamlining inventory processes by offering real-time insights into stock levels and sales trends. This optimization of the inventory process not only reduces additional inventory costs but also ensures product availability.
Encouraging a data-driven culture within retail organizations leads to innovation and improved practices across all levels. Retailers that prioritize data literacy empower employees to utilize data effectively.
A deep understanding of customer preferences allows retailers to tailor products and services effectively. Online retail analytics help us understand what customers want and enable businesses to create targeted offerings that meet specific needs.
Analyzing customer segments and behaviors enables retailers to develop precise marketing strategies that maximize impact while minimizing wasteful spending on ineffective campaigns. Also, channel optimization is important as it can understand customer preferences, behavior, and engagement across different channels.
Utilizing data-driven insights within retail organizations helps retailers create personalized experiences that foster loyalty among customers. Tailored promotions based on individual purchase history encourage repeat business.
Data analytics for retail is revolutionizing the industry. It has changed how retailers communicate with customers and manage their businesses. With a range of retail POS software suites and services, retailers can create customized experiences and develop marketing strategies that enhance their profitability. nGauge, the realtime inventory tracking system from retailcloud is a reliable, real-time inventory tracking system that continuously monitors sales, inventory, and key performance metrics.
Tailored specifically for the retail sector, this advanced data analytics software offers comprehensive reporting on sales, margins, and taxes, providing users with immediate access to critical business insights. It simplifies essential retail calculations while allowing sales, costs, and margins to be compared across different timeframes. It also provides valuable insights into inventory trends and customer activity, allowing businesses to identify top-selling products, track stock levels, and analyze purchasing behavior for actionable strategies.
If you are considering integration or migration to a sophisticated analytics tool, or want to understand how these solutions can elevate your business and meet customer demands, our integrated suite of cloud services would be the perfect choice. Take your business to new heights with retailcloud’s state-of-the-art analytics solutions.
SMS marketing is a powerful tool that can be used to reach a wide audience, increase sales, and boost customer engagement.. In the digital landscape of today, businesses strive to stay ahead of the competition by embracing innovative marketing strategies. While email campaigns and social media advertising have long dominated the digital marketing platforms, SMS marketing has been overlooked as a marketing campaign.
SMS marketing presents a unique opportunity for businesses to connect with their target audience directly through text messages. These text messages can be used to drive traffic to a business’s website. Businesses can include a link to their website in their text messages. This will allow customers to easily visit the website, learn more about the business, and play a pivotal role in driving organic traffic, improving website visibility, and ultimately boosting your online presence.
According to the following statistics, for every 100 text messages sent:
These statistics are much higher than any other marketing campaigns as SMS marketing is personal, timely ,quick and optional.
Collect and analyze customer history: To send targeted text messages, retailers need to know what the customer has purchased in the past or which store they have visited. This history tells you about the customer preferences to leverage and increase conversion rate.
Opt-in and opt-out options: Give customers the option to opt-in or opt out of receiving SMS messages from your retail business. This empowers them to control their communication preferences and ensures that you’re targeting individuals who genuinely want to hear from you. Make the opt-in process seamless and straightforward, and respect customers’ choices to foster trust and loyalty.
Keep your messages precise and include a CTA(call to action): Text messages with CTA should be short and precise to encourage customer engagement an example of CTA will be “ Limited time offer- shop today and get 10% off on your purchase”
Use a variety of messages: SMS marketing is not just about promotional offers but these messages can be reminders to use up loyalty points, birthday wishes or just a hello message to remind customers about your business.
Track your results: It is important to track the results of your SMS marketing campaigns so that you can see what is working and what is not. This will help you improve your campaigns over time to increase engagement and conversion rates.
Customer history can be used to create more targeted and personalized SMS marketing campaigns. By understanding what the customers’ preferences are. Retailers can send them more relevant suggestions and timely messages that are more likely to be opened, clicked on, and converted.
For example, if a customer has previously purchased a dress from your store, you could send them a text message with a special offer on a new dress or matching shoes that you just received in stock. Or, if a customer has recently viewed a product on your website, you could send them a text message with a reminder to complete their purchase. Here are some statistics on why you should use customer history for your text marketing:
The most effective and sustainable way to collect customer history is by using a cutting-edge Point of Sales solution, retailcloud POS solution offers an SMS marketing platform that can help you create and send effective SMS marketing campaigns. retailcloud’s SMS marketing platform includes features such as:
With retailcloud solutions you can even personalize text messages further by offering customer loyalty points for their birthday and also have the ability to see customer responses and respond to them to strengthen customer relationships. With Retailcloud, you can create and send effective SMS marketing campaigns that will help you reach your target audience, increase sales, and boost customer engagement.
SMS marketing is a powerful tool that can be used to reach a wide audience, increase sales, and boost customer engagement. By leveraging customer preferences and integrating them into your SMS campaigns, you can create highly targeted and personalized messages that are more likely to be successful.
Additionally, SMS marketing campaigns can generate user engagement and social signals. When customers receive a compelling SMS offer, they may share it with friends or on social media platforms, thereby increasing brand visibility and potentially attracting new customers. These social signals can positively influence your SEO rankings, as search engines consider them as indicators of brand authority and popularity.
The new rules in Major League Baseball aimed at shortening average game times can have several impacts on merchandising and concession sales at stadiums: MLB revealed the pitch clocks have shaved an average of 26 minutes a game to 2 hours and 36 minutes. The following are some of the ways that game day sales have been impacted.
Reduced sales volume: With shorter game times, fans will spend less time in the stadium, which could lead to fewer opportunities for them to purchase merchandise and concessions. This may result in a decrease in overall sales volume.
Shift in spending patterns: As fans adapt to the new game duration, they may alter their spending habits. For example, they might make quicker purchases before the game or during breaks, rather than casually browsing and buying items throughout the game. This could lead to increased sales in specific periods, such as pre-game or between innings.
Focus on efficiency: With a shift in buying habits, stadium operators can increase the efficiency of their merchandising and concession operations with sports and entertainment POS systems. This could include streamlining product offerings or offering item of the day promotions, optimizing staffing, and adopting technology to speed up transactions.
Changes in pricing: Stadiums may adjust their pricing strategies to compensate for the potential decrease in sales volume. This could involve offering discounts or promotions to encourage fans to spend more in a shorter time frame, or even increasing prices to maintain revenue levels.
Increased emphasis on fan experience: To keep fans engaged and spending during shorter games, stadiums may invest more in enhancing the overall fan experience with premium suites in seating. This could include offering unique or limited-edition merchandise, creating innovative food and beverage options, or providing interactive experiences that encourage fans to visit concession stands and merchandise outlets.
Off-stadium sales: Teams and stadiums might also increase their focus on online and off-stadium sales channels to offset potential losses from decreased in-stadium sales. This could involve improving their online stores, offering exclusive online deals, or partnering with local retailers for co-branded merchandise.
Ultimately, the impact of the new rules on merchandising and concession sales at a stadium will depend on how well teams and stadium operators adapt to the changes and implement strategies to maintain or increase sales in the new environment. Improving the fan experience with improved checkout efficiency, allowing fans to return to their seats will be paramount.
To speed up transaction times in merchandising at stadiums and improve the overall fan experience, there are several technologies that can be adopted:
RFID technology: Integrating RFID tags into merchandise and using RFID scanners at the point of sale can expedite the checkout process by instantly updating inventory and allowing for quicker transactions.
Mobile ordering apps: Fans can use their smartphones to pre-order and pay for merchandise, allowing them to skip lines and simply pick up their items at designated locations or have them delivered to their seats.
Self-service kiosks: Equipped with touchscreens and payment processing systems, these kiosks enable fans to quickly place orders and pay for merchandise without waiting in line at traditional counters.
Automated inventory management: Smart inventory systems can help ensure merchandise is always in stock and readily available, reducing wait times for items to be retrieved from storage.
In-seat merchandise: Installing small vending machines or merchandise storage lockers near seating areas can allow fans to quickly purchase items without leaving their seats.
Digital wallets: By creating a digital wallet or a stadium-specific currency, fans can preload money onto their accounts for faster transactions at merchandise stands.
Queue management: Implementing queue management systems, like virtual queuing or line-monitoring apps, can help distribute customers evenly among available service points and reduce wait times. Giving fas access to approximate wait times at different stands can also help them plan their purchasing trips
Augmented reality (AR) shopping: AR can allow fans to virtually try on merchandise and make purchases from their seats, eliminating the need to visit a physical store or stand.
By adopting these technologies, stadiums can create a more efficient merchandising experience for fans, allowing them to spend less time waiting in line and more time enjoying the event.
Determining the Item of the day sales can be complicated, ideally they should create an urgency for fans to buy a specific item without cannibalizing existing sales, you can follow a systematic approach that leverages data and considers various factors. Here’s an algorithm to help you identify the “Item of the Day” for each game:
Collect data: Gather historical sales data for all items in your inventory. Ideally, you should have data for the past few seasons to better understand sales trends and customer preferences. Also, take note of any special events or promotions that might have influenced sales.
Determine item popularity: Calculate the average sales per game for each item. Rank them according to their popularity. This will help you identify the items that are selling well and those that need a boost.
Identify slow-moving items: From the ranked list, identify items that have a low sales volume per game and could benefit from being the “Item of the Day.”
Factor in seasonality and trends: Consider the time of the year, special events, or other trends that might affect item popularity. For example, if your team has a rivalry game coming up, you might want to promote items related to that rivalry.
Create a non-repeating schedule: Once you have identified a pool of items that can be featured as the “Item of the Day,” create a schedule for the 81 home games that ensures no item is repeated.
Set a discount strategy: Determine the discount percentage or pricing strategy for each “Item of the Day.” You might want to offer a higher discount for slow-moving items or lower discounts for more popular items to avoid cannibalizing sales.
Monitor and adjust: Track the sales performance of the “Item of the Day” and compare it with historical sales data. If you notice any negative impact on overall sales, adjust your strategy accordingly.
Quickbooks desktop alternatives are more essential as businesses evolve. While QuickBooks Desktop has long been a trusted tool for accounting, many companies now seek flexible, cloud-based solutions that provide greater accessibility and collaboration options. With the growing trend towards remote work, cloud accounting software enables teams to access financial data securely from anywhere, eliminating the need for local installations and maintenance. Additionally, some businesses find that QuickBooks Desktop lacks industry-specific features or scalability options as they grow, leading them to explore other platforms that offer specialized functionalities.Alternative accounting software can also provide a more budget-friendly option for small businesses or freelancers who need streamlined features without the higher costs. Consequently, there’s a strong demand for QuickBooks Desktop alternatives that offer robust, scalable, and mobile-friendly accounting solutions to meet today’s dynamic business needs. retailcloud’s ZeroPOS is an all in one point of sale software that has been designed with today’s retailers in mind. Conduct and manage all aspects of your business with the one, easy to use system. retailcloud gives you less to worry about and more time to spend growing your business.
-Processor-agnostic Solution with Dual Pricing Capability
-Multiple Support Channels i.e. Phone, Chat and Email
-Intuitive Cashier Experience
-Multiple Tender Options and Tap Pay
-Robust Inventory Management
-Powerful CRM with In-house Loyalty and Gift Cards
-Dynamic Employee Management
-Muli-location Capabilities
-Insightful Reporting
-Mobile App and Clienteling Toolkit
-Cloud-based Back Office with Real-time Updates
ZeroPOS, a cloud based pos system, is a full suite of management tools that streamlines payment processing, inventory management, and other business operations. Integration to QuickBooks Online allows you to manage your finances with ease.
ZeroPOS pushes all data to QuickBooks Online as transactions are processed throughout the day. This allows you to view sales activity in QuickBooks and effectively gauge your business’ performance based on accurate financial reconciliation.
With ZeroPOS you have a full suite of inventory management in one system. From purchase orders, to receiving, selling and adjusting, you can track where your inventory is at all times. Integrated with QuickBooks Online, you can make more informed decisions with your inventory management and increase profits.
Tracking your profits and losses, as well as your invoices and house accounts has never been easier with ZeroPOS and QuickBooks. Streamline your accounting activities and record-keeping!
retailcloud’s integration with QuickBooks Online makes it the ideal cloud POS solution for those who have worked with QuickBooks Desktop POS. As QuickBooks moves to discontinue their POS, retailcloud is proud to offer a turnkey solution that allows merchants to gain sales reporting, simplify inventory management, and accurately track income and expenses: allowing them to take advantage of the accounting and financial management tools in QuickBooks Online.
At retailcloud we love lists; our support team keeps a list of all features that are requested by users, our partner team keeps a list of what is important to our partners and our product team keeps yet another one on what are key industry drivers.
Recently our AI and analytics team was playing with some models to mash up all the data and see what features should be developed based on these three lists as well as what could have the greatest impact on our customer’s bottom line.
If you have been following our blogs you will see that we, and our industry, have been talking a lot about the impact of customer retention and building brand loyalty and experiences, and so while a feedback and rating system was not on our product roadmap we were not altogether surprised that our AI modeling told us that an application where customers could provide instant feedback to merchants, AND where merchants had tools and insights to make customers into fans made sense.
And so feedbk (pronounced feedback) was born; feedbk is a real time rating application that allows merchants to easily obtain feedback from their customers at the Point of Sale. It keeps track of 3 metrics for a retailer;
This feedback is automatically combined with segmentation which is critical in allowing operators to immediately identify problem areas and rectify them; it is also able to provide retailers with the ability to gauge opportunity costs that are related to such issues. feedbk operates entirely on the retailcloud platform so it can provide operators with actionable analytics on how to increase units per transaction, identify ideal product mixes, and in general, identify their most valuable customers.
It’s just version 1.0, but we are excited about feedbk and the machine learning opportunities that come from it. We believe that it is the first of many pragmatic analytic solutions from our AI team that will allow small and mid size retailers to quickly access where their staff can best focus their efforts.
To understand your customers, customer feedback is important. Companies that listen to their customers have the tools to succeed – You’ve heard this many times and you have probably even given it consideration for your business. But what’s missing is a solid explanation. You’ve heard that customer feedback is crucial to your business grow, but the how’s and why’s are what I’ll try to help clarify for you.
Here are seven reasons why a customer feedback rating is important to the success of your business
You know your product, every variation, size, color, style, feature and you have educated your team hundreds of times. Unfortunately, your passion may not allow you to see the imperfections. It is important to know what appeals to your customers, as well as what was subpar and why. Listen to your customers and provide the products that they desire.
Listening to your customer feedback makes your customers feel involved and valued. When customers feel listened to, they positively connect with your brand and direct their good experience back to you, which makes them a part of your business family and ensures return visits.
Word of mouth advertising is very successful, and referrals are the most effective, free way of advertising. These most often come from friends and family and are often the most convincing recommendations. Always remember to strive for positive feedback, if you want to gain customers through recommendations.
You can always sell something once, but the true test is getting the customer to return over and over. Feedback is helpful in providing some of the finer details that encourage the recurring business. Is maybe free shipping, same day alterations, polite/educated support team, user friendly website which is the key to solidifying the customer relationship.
Especially nowadays, with competition down the street and on line, its essential to tackle a problem or misunderstanding immediately. With the bandwidth of social media, a bad comment can do far reaching harm to your business.
Seek out a rating system can has the capability to alert you to negative feedback immediately – before your customer has left the store. Allowing the customer to share the unhappy experience and providing you with the opportunity to rectify the issue immediately.
As a consumer, one of the first things you do when looking up a business or product is to read online reviews. Make sure that you have reviews available to draw in the new business, and further more, make sure that the reviews are positive. Asking your customers for their feedback in store will allow you to react before it appears online.
Actively soliciting feedback from your customers and reacting to their opinions creates a relationship that makes the buying process more personal. The customer perceives the business as being run by friendly people that care about their experience, instead of just a company that sells product.
As you see, eliciting feedback from your customers is important and can be very beneficial to your business, as it helps you get to know your customers better, increases their engagement and loyalty and brings in new customers. As it turns out, customer feedback is quite important!
As part of the retailcloud sales team, at least 2-3 times a week I speak with a business owner who tells me that their biggest issue is staying on top of the cash flow; in fact a not to uncommon statement is that we just had a great month but I don’t know where the money went.
Managing your Cash Flow and effectively converting inventory into cash are the most important things that small business operators do. With that in mind I thought I would put together a very high level post on some basic practices on cash flow management. If you want some complexity we have other posts on managing cash flow, GMROI and sales to stock and cash to sales ratios that can take you to the next level but this for the basics.
Let’s begin by taking that money and putting it into some piles
Paying Sales Tax – this is often overlooked, but start first by running your sales tax settlement reports and put that aside for the tax man – there is no getting around that. While you are doing that, make sure that the amount you are reserving is in line with what your sales are – often items are not properly set up in your system and you may have neglected to collect the correct taxes.
Paying your Employees – Look at your time clock reports and forecast what you need to pay your employees, remember to carefully set aside withholding amounts and any other employer contributions. These are monies that you don’t want flowing into your operating accounts.
Keep your doors Open – Know what your fixed costs are (Rent, Utilities, Business Operation Fees) and prorate them so you are setting aside enough to cover these fixed expenses. Having accurate projections will allow you to forecast what your minimum sales are on a daily basis to cover overhead.
Replacing your Inventory – Finally set aside enough to replace your inventory, if you are buying on account you will need to pay your vendors and if you are paying on delivery you need to keep your items stocked at optimum levels. While doing this, consider what you stock on hand is and determine if you are better off investing in complementary products. Have a look at our posts on Increasing per Unit Sales.
See what’s left over – This is for you if there is not enough to go around, you only have a few choices
These are 4 simple checkpoints – having these good practices will help you build a strong and profitable business. The majority of business failures occur due to poor cash management.
The key to retail success is having a plan you can implement, reducing the variables and executing the plan to perfection! Ok So you knew that already, but how do you go about doing that.
Since you are reading this, I will assume you are part of the 20% of retailers that have put processes in place to monitor your expenses, manage your inventory levels and are reviewing your product mix and performance.
You might even be part of the 20% of the 20% that has implemented a CRM that tracks customer preferences and is aware of slippage activity; if you are just doing loyalty that’s not good enough.
So you are now part of the 20% of the 20%, now what – how do you get to be 20% of the 20% of the 20% that is executing to perfection. Let’s look at one of the simplest ways to get there.
Put another way :
80% of all small business are content with opening the doors and waiting for customers to come in – when they do they focus on selling them what they have and meeting whatever needs they ca,
20% of them are looking at their product mix and managing their costs and inventory levels on a regular basis – They are aware of a key KPI’s and are looking for ways to increase margin and ROI.
20% of that 20% (4% of all merchants) are taking it a step further they have implemented a CRM and have launched an online commerce store – they work hard at trying to increase their foot traffic, focusing on marketing, making their inventory visible and doing what they can to match their stock levels to customer preference.
The difference makers – the ones who seem to have all the luck the 20% of the 20% of the 20% (thats .8% or 80 out of a 1000 businesses) are focused on doing more with what they have – seems simple but often misunderstood it’s focusing your energy and efforts on where they make a difference. Make every action count! What does that mean.
How many customers come in and how many are buying – if for example 10 out of every 50 customers who come in buy something, focus on what it takes to get that to 11 – that immediately reflects a 20% increase in sales. Are they looking for sizes, color or product you don’t have – can you meet those needs using retailcloud’s endless aisle or predictive reordering to ensure you have the right mix? Does your clienteling system allow you to suggest substitute products?
Yes again you are right everyone says that , but what kind of insight does your POS system give you on similar customers, are you using machine intelligence to recommend items based on what customers have selected as well as what that customer has previously purchased? If your average units per transaction are 1.67 and you get 1 out of every 5 customers to buy one more item this could result in a 12% increase in sales.
Look at what how many customers are coming back and how often, does your POS system allow you to reach out to them with targeted offers (promos or experiences) to drive them back – the better you know your customers the more effective experience based marketing is; say for instance you know they love UnderArmour shoes, invite them back for an early preview of the new shoe line; or if they like a certain wine – allow them to reserve part of that allocation before it comes in – (use the retailcloud prepaid feature). Utilize the valuable information in your customer preference profiles. If you can increase your customer retention by 10% this again would have a huge impact on your bottom line.
So what does it take to be the 20% of the 20% of the 20% – it’s the little details; while your competition is using a scrambling approach you can focus on the details and successfully execute a winning strategy.
retail Key performance Indicators ( KPI ) in combination of recommendation & pragmatics analytics are key to solve sales challenges retail companies are facing. If you would like to learn more about the how you can improve your retail performance bookmark our blog and keep watching this space.
It is important that business owners are presented with business tools and hardware which fits their needs. While there are plenty of Android based Point of sale out in the market, there was still void in the space mainly the integration with secured payment integration. PAX’s bold step to fill that void with a suite of smart terminals from 4” screen size to 15” is in that direction.
We are announcing the retailcloud full features Point of sale on PAX E500 terminal. E500 is a sturdy terminal in its own class which can handle your point of sale operations, inventory management, payments and customer engagement in a secured way.
With E500 you can now downsize the Point of sale hardware but still get and advanced solution. PAX E500 comes with 8” touch screen, 3” customer facing screen, Integrated EMV payment terminal, NFC Payments, Integrated 3 inch printer, Extension ports to connect extra peripherals
Here are some other benefits of using retailcloud POS on PAX e500
PAX E500 is All in one terminal with Printer, Tablet, Payment device in single unit. It is built with high quality hardware and have gone through rigorous certifications for the payment industry. PAX E500 comes with high quality & solid performance, equipped with multiple peripherals ports, large paper roll, technologies of auto-brightness setting, magic SR and grease proofing enabling smooth touch of screen.
retailcloud’s Point of sale app on E500 provisioned through the Paxstore is one of the only Full Fledged POS software available for E500. It has
Accepting payment have evolved over a period of time. EMV is gained traction and store owners feel short when they don’t accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay or Alipay. Pax e500 can accept
The Solution is PCI Certified and compliant to the Payment Standard defined by the industry.
PAX E500 with retailcloud is easy to setup and get going. If you are interested in the program please contact us where we can help you order, setup your terminal and train to modernize your store operations.
Today’s perfect grocery store point of sale and retail management solution is full-featured, speedy, and reliable. Supermarkets need a POS solution that is seamless, running on grocery POS software that is fully connected to the rest of the store. From a single lane, multi lane, or many locations the POS solution needs to grow with the business and provide the tools for success.
The grocery store needs significantly more than a cash registers that prints receipts and holds cash. The perfect POS system addresses inventory, loyalty, analytics, and accounting. Grocery stores carry tens of thousands of products: fruits and vegetables, meats, breads, and dairy. Keeping track of product volume and sales data will maximize profit and help avoid spoilage, shrink, and stock-outs.
A strong POS system will streamline supermarket operations, cut costs, grow grocer’s profits, and maximize efficiency.
In looking at a POS solution, consider these key features:
Important to consider is the POS provider. Look for software upgrades and enhancements to be included in your monthly POS license fee, this can save you hundreds, if not thousands annually. Understand their merchant support, are they available during your peak hours. Are ou provided with training during your critical early days with the new software. And dont forget track record, are they comfortable with understanding the needs of the grocery store merchant and have the features to help your business thrive.
Since Android made a foray into Tablet space in 2011 we have had opportunity to release hundreds or versions for retailcloud TabPOS. One of the challenge have always been to match TabPOS to our Enterprise Windows Point of sale system and allow customers to use it for their heavy processing situations. Some of the reasons why we held back on features were due to lack of hardware support and backing from provider when it mattered most for our customers.
Elo introduced next gen iSeries platform in 2015 and we extended our existing partnership with Elo to iSeries and Paypoint platforms. Their world class hardware & support has helped us navigate through these challenges and we have chosen it as our recommended hardware for serious business. Some of the outstanding features why we decided to choose Elo’s platform are
We have come a long way since then and in last 2 years we have accelerated our pace . retaicloud’s android TabPOS currently features some of the best solutions for any Android Point of solution out there
Beyond our Tablet Point of Sale we have extended our Android apps to business solutions such as
Today retailcloud’s & Elo solutions are used in Sport Arenas, Grocery Shop, Convenience stores, Liquor Stores, Salons, Apparel.
We are showcasing retailcloud and Elo solutions at @NRFBigshow #NRF2018 . Visit us at booth #3662 . Mention this blog to get a special offer on retailcloud and Elo bundle
Learn more about @retailcloud here
Learn more about @elo here
You are looking for ways to attract customers and do all you can to make sure that they come back again and again. One surefire way to entice their repeat business is by offering incentives through a loyalty program. Loyalty programs can be structured in many different ways and the different programs succeed for different industries.
Here are the top customer loyalty programs with pros and cons of each, so you can select the program that best fits your business type to attract your customer’s repeat visits.
1. LOYALTY POINT PROGRAMS
Loyalty роіnt programs let customers accumulate points thаt thеу саn rеdееm fоr rеwаrdѕ оr free рrоduсtѕ/ѕеrvісеѕ. This type of loyalty program is ѕо easy tо set up thаt 73% оf loyalty рrоgrаmѕ are points based, making thіѕ the mоѕt рорulаr tуре оf loyalty рrоgrаm bу fаr.
A lоt оf buѕіnеѕѕеѕ ѕtrugglе tо get сuѕtоmеrѕ in thе dооr. If thаt’ѕ a problem that’s keeping уоu up late аt night, rеfеrrаl mаrkеtіng саn hеlр. And уоu can take thаt to the mаx wіth роіntѕ bаѕеd loyalty рrоgrаmѕ.
Not аll points are tied tо money trаnѕасtіоnѕ – some may bе earned from ѕосіаl sharing, еmаіlѕ, or оthеr асtіоnѕ сuѕtоmеrѕ tаkе tо drіvе trаffіс tо уоur store. In fасt, your loyalty рrоgrаm ѕhоuldn’t bе рurеlу trаnѕасtіоn-bаѕеd. Gеt уоur bеѕt сuѕtоmеrѕ tо send уоu mоrе buѕіnеѕѕ аnd rеwаrd thеm fоr helping уоu.
Pоіntѕ рrоgrаmѕ аrе the most рорulаr lоуаltу рrоgrаmѕ. Thеу’rе еаѕу to uѕе and can encourage ѕресіfіс consumer bеhаvіоrѕ.
Prоѕ
Cons
Who does this Loyalty Program appeal to
Thаnkѕ tо thе еаѕе оf uѕе аnd сuѕtоmіzаbіlіtу оf роіntѕ рrоgrаmѕ, thеу’rе реrfесt fоr most businesses, regardless of ѕіzе оr tаrgеt market.
2. Sреnd Programs
In spend рrоgrаmѕ, customers get lоуаltу сrеdіt fоr thе аmоunt thеу ѕреnd аt your buѕіnеѕѕ. Yоu саn uѕе ѕіmіlаr dіѕсоuntѕ wіthоut an upfront еmаіl capture to kеер customers соmіng bасk, but you’d lose out оn a lot оf valuable information (and a captive аudіеnсе!). This kіnd of рrоgrаm is very еаѕу to understand, create, аnd maintain. They’re аn еffесtіvе way tо сut your сhurn rаtе аnd іnсrеаѕе transaction amounts.
Spend programs аrе a great орtіоn for еnсоurаgіng іnсrеаѕеd transaction vаluеѕ аnd rеduсіng high сhurn rаtе. Thе ѕіmрlісіtу mаkеѕ it еаѕіеr to get сuѕtоmеrѕ tо ѕіgn uр.
Cоnѕ
Spend programs are a grеаt орtіоn for rеtаіlеrѕ in fаѕt fаѕhіоn оr other, ѕіmіlаr іnduѕtrіеѕ thаt rely оn a hіgh numbеr оf trаnѕасtіоnѕ and rеtаіl рrоduсtѕ wіth high mаrkuр.
3. Tiered Prоgrаmѕ
An іmрrоvеd vеrѕіоn оf роіntѕ рrоgrаmѕ, tіеrеd loyalty programs gіvе сuѕtоmеrѕ rewards bаѕеd оn dіffеrеnt lеvеlѕ оf ѕреndіng оr роіntѕ. Tiered Loyalty is grоwіng ԛuісklу іn popularity bесаuѕе thе program саn bе highly tаrgеtеd аnd сuѕtоmіzеd еаѕіlу, аnd сuѕtоmеr ѕеgmеntѕ саn be tаrgеt рrе аnd post-payment. In some tіеrеd рrоgrаmѕ, сuѕtоmеrѕ are оffеrеd gіftѕ, free рrоduсtѕ/ѕеrvісеѕ, рrіvіlеgеѕ, or exclusive рrоduсtѕ.
Nееd to сut your churn rаtе, ѕаvе оn уоur lоуаltу рrоgrаm expenses, аnd tаrgеt ѕресіfіс ѕеgmеntѕ or асtіоnѕ? Spend loyalty programs might bе thе rіght ѕоlutіоn – еѕресіаllу іf you’re іn the luxurу mаrkеt.
Tіеrеd рrоgrаmѕ аrе great сhоісеѕ fоr е-соmmеrсе ѕеrvісе рrоvіdеrѕ, luxurу rеtаіlеrѕ, аnd companies іn thе trаvеl аnd hоѕріtаlіtу іnduѕtrу.
4. Paid Prоgrаmѕ
Paid loyalty рrоgrаmѕ рrоvіdе аn еxсluѕіvе fееl bу іnсоrроrаtіng a mоnthlу or уеаrlу fее that mеmbеrѕ рау fоr ассеѕѕ tо ѕресіаl ѕеrvісеѕ, dіѕсоuntѕ, or unique орроrtunіtіеѕ. Althоugh the сuѕtоmеrѕ thеѕе рrоgrаmѕ drаw mау require mоrе соddlіng, thе іnсrеаѕеd trаnѕасtіоn vаluе іѕ ѕubѕtаntіаl. Thе program’s bаrrіеr to еntrу drаwѕ рrоѕресtѕ furthеr іntо your mаrkеtіng funnеl, аnd provides an іnсеntіvе tо continue mаkіng рurсhаѕеѕ оn your ѕіtе.
A fee tо join is the hаllmаrk оf thіѕ lоуаltу рrоgrаm, аnd it’s a twо-еdgеd ѕwоrd. It gіvеѕ уоu the сhаnсе tо сultіvаtе an extra rеvеnuе stream, hіghеr trаnѕасtіоn values, аnd hіghlу-tаrgеtеd саmраіgnѕ, but the value may not bе арраrеnt to all customers.
Pros
Paid рrоgrаmѕ are реrfесt fоr larger rеtаіlеrѕ, аnd аlѕо mаkе a ѕmаrt pick for luxury product аnd ѕеrvісе ѕіtеѕ. Information businesses саn аlѕо mаkе gооd uѕе оf thіѕ lоуаltу program model.
5. Punсh Programs
Onе оf thе ѕіmрlеѕt and оldеѕt loyalty program dеѕіgnѕ, рunсh рrоgrаmѕ are extremely popular in brick аnd mоrtаr buѕіnеѕѕеѕ, but thеіr аdорtіоn in е-соmmеrсе isn’t аѕ рrеvаlеnt. The іdеа bеhіnd punch саrdѕ іѕ thаt сuѕtоmеrѕ аrе rеwаrdеd fоr рurсhаѕіng a particular рrоduсt оr ѕеrvісе wіth “рunсhеѕ.” One punch is gіvеn реr purchase. Aftеr a ѕеt numbеr оf punches аrе collected, thеу receive a product оr ѕеrvісе оf еԛuаl оr lеѕѕеr vаluе frее оf сhаrgе.
Punсh рrоgrаmѕ are іntuіtіvе, еаѕу tо uѕе аnd track, and low cost. Unfortunately, thеу tеnd tо be targets for frаud, thоugh. If you саn integrate the punch program into your POS system, this would eliminate the fraudulent punch cards. As you are able to trасk уоur сuѕtоmеrѕ buying habits and frequency, the integrated punch program makes a great орtіоn fоr a easy to implement and understand loyalty рrоgrаm.
A grеаt сhоісе fоr nеw lоуаltу рrоgrаmѕ in the café and Quick Serve Restaurant industries. Ideal fоr еxреrіеnсе-bаѕеd іnduѕtrіеѕ like travel, although thеу wоrk wеll with соnѕumеr gооdѕ thаt аrе hіgh value and high соnѕumрtіоn, too.
This is the first in a series of blogs about loyalty programs to help you make sense of all of the options that are available to you and guide you through the myriad of programs. The series will cover business benefits of customer loyalty programs, tips for launching your loyalty program, as well as measuring the effectiveness of the program you implement.
The fact that retail is no longer just about product is not a secret, that it is all about engagement is not a surprise, that customers expect a unified experience is natural; but how retailers should pivot and aggregate all this data into one view remains a mystery and keeps many small and mid sized operators up at night. This has created a pressure on businesses to revisit their online strategies even those whose primary focus is their local market.
“It’s like watching an accident in slow motion, you know you got to do something but the question is what and how and for how much”
There are many sources of data to consider but let’s focus on a few simple yet meaningful places to start with. Before we get started, let’s talk a little bit about tracking or customer preferences; while no doubt most consumers do not want their every activity tracked and stored, they do not mind doing so if they can receive something of benefit and the data is stored securely. Think about how willingly we allow the cell providers to track our every movement so long as they know exactly where we are when we need directions.
To begin aggregating this data you need to start with a reliable CRM software. Ideally this is will be built into your POS application as that will solve the instore piece of it, assuming that it has the functionality of a CRM software.
In Store POS sales activity is the easiest and simplest to do; does your POS provide robust segmentation so you can classify your products into departments and categories, as well as flexibility in creating item attributes (in apparel for example size, color, style, season, brand) and does it provide you with flexibility in creating customer groupings across all channels, so you can group customers based on initial channel of the relationship or other groupings. Remember that there has to be some benefit for a customer to provide you this detail and loyalty programs are the most common, however perhaps more effective has been club pricing (like in grocery stores) or access to premium experiences (like with airlines or hotels). As you design this pick the one that works best for you.
Get our free “How to design your Loyalty program” ebook
Other benefits can be more lenient refund policy to know customers or a more restrictive return policy to anonymous transactions.
Getting your store online with insight to up to date product availability will provide you with a trove of data; encouraging customer to quickly register and login to get special pricing also rewards and encourages customers for sharing their data with you.
Customer expect to connect with their favorite retailers on their terms; when they are available and from the devices of their choice. As a result retailers are experiencing a lot of pressure to deploy online stores; unfortunately too many do this as a reactionary move and not part of a strategic move.
It is commonplace for customers to go to sites and get real time access to products and their availabilities from any device. Just think about the increase in “some product” stores near me searches in Google. Does your store appear with images that accurately represent the product and the quantities; as inventory is added or depleted from your POS system is your online store reflecting it. Does your Retail CRM aggregate customer and transactional data no matter where it happens? Does it make it available to online and offline stores easily.
Sounds complicated but it’s not, in fact any POS, Cart and CRM solution that you are using should be able to do this as a matter of fact, without much work on your end.
It’s true that most small and mid-sized operators are not doing future planning beyond the next order; however your retail CRM should be able to generate reports based on classification and attributes to not just determine what to buy buy for whom to buy it for.
In retailcloud for example our Grow and Pro users can filter product to 3 classifications and 5 attributes to determine with a fair amount of accuracy who is likely to buy new product; or to include a discount modeling to see who is likely to buy overstocked product. Your retail crm should help you minimize your investment in inventory at a product level which should free up investment in complementary inventory to increase units per transactions. Having a CRM that just stores the data is pointless, how can you utilize the crm to create personalized offers to customers, and to plan stock levels to meet your customer needs.
Retail CRM is a must have for retailers today, it does more than just give you a historical perspective of your transactional data; it should establish the relationships between the variables that affect sales and revenue; such as product mix, availability, trends etc.
Ideally it should provide tools to drive revenue growth, such as identifying tailored upsell opportunities or other methods to increase units per transaction, while helping identifying ideal product mix using overstocked and understocked algorithms.
Most crucially it should serve you all the information in a clear easy to digest and use manner , so all your operators have to do is act.
Posted by Melvin Bright a guest blogger
Lеt’s fасе іt, rеtаіlеrs аrе busу. Ѕо busу іn fасt, thаt mаnу dоn’t make thе tіmе tо run rероrts аnd аnаlуzе thеіr busіnеss’s реrfоrmаnсе.
Тhіs іs а bіg mіstаkе, but іt’s nоt hаrd tо fіх. Runnіng rероrts dоеsn’t hаvе tо bе а hugе tіmе соmmіtmеnt еvеrу dау, wееk, оr mоnth. Іt dоеs hоwеvеr hаvе tо bе dоnе on a regular basis. Іf уоu’rе nоt runnіng rероrts аnd аnаlуzіng уоur busіnеss, уоu’rе аlmоst сеrtаіnlу wаstіng tіmе, mоnеу, аnd lоsіng sаlеs.
Ѕо, whаt rероrts shоuld уоu bе runnіng? Тhе trісk іs tо іdеntіfу thе mоst rеlеvаnt раrts оf уоur busіnеss tо уоur рrоfіtаbіlіtу, аnd tо analyze а fеw Κеу Реrfоrmаnсе Іndісаtоrs (ΚРІ) thаt wіll gіvе уоu а сlеаr рісturе оf уоur busіnеss’s реrfоrmаnсе wіthоut hаvіng tо plod thrоugh tоns оf dаtа.
Κеу Реrfоrmаnсе Іndісаtоrs аrе quаntіfіаblе mеаsurеmеnts, аgrееd tо bеfоrеhаnd, thаt rеflесt thе сrіtісаl suссеss fасtоrs оf a business. Тhеу wіll dіffеr dереndіng оn thе industry.
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Seems like every industry serving retailers has a disrupter that is using Zero pricing from Cell Providers Tax Services to Web Services and everyone in between. This blog is meant to look at POS solutions that are available for Zero. (more…)
The Pierian Mountains are in current day Macedonia and legend has it that they were sacred to the Muses, who were the personification of knowledge and the goddesses of inspiration. What you may ask does that have to do with KPI‘s, It has everything to do with it and let me begin by quoting the first two lines of “An Essay in Critism” by Alexander Pope
““A little learning is a dangerous thing
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:”
As in the water from the Pierian Spring, if you are going to drink from the KPI spring, make sure you drink deep. While shortly I will share with you my “favorite” KPI, I must stress the importance of taking a holistic approach to using KPI’s. Generally one KPI itself should be used to pose questions that will then be augmented or debunked with the use of others, and only after consuming several drinks from various KPIS’s should you plan your course of action. (more…)
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