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. 

What is Retail Analytics?

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. 

Why is Retail Analytics So Important?

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. 

Benefits of Retail Analytics

Here are just a few examples of how retail analytics makes a real difference for businesses:

• Customer Insights: Businesses will understand who their customers are, what they are seeking, and when they like to shop with the help of data analytics. For instance, analytics may clarify whether or not a store has an identified core customer group that would like to shop on weekends so that the store can have adequate staffing and promotional opportunities at the right time.
• Inventory Optimization: There is nothing more frustrating to a shopper than to find that a product is out of stock.Integrating retail analytics with RFID inventory tracking, businesses can track buying trends and adjust inventory, keeping popular items in stock and avoiding excess inventory of less popular items.
• Increased Profits: Knowledge of what products are in demand enables a retail outlet to strategize regarding its pricing as well as promotion.For instance, an outlet that sells groceries realizes that sales of snack foods increase when there are major sporting events. It will boost promotional activities on such food items when such an event occurs because it can then anticipate increasing profits from them.
• Operational Efficiency: Analytics helps retailers determine where the operations can be improved-from better scheduling to more effective logistics. For example, knowing that certain days have higher foot traffic, stores will ensure extra employees, which creates a better experience for customers.The data insights provide for customized shopping experiences from the stores. So, a customer, who regularly buys a workout kit, may be approached with customized discounts or offers on similar products, which may increase the loyalty of customers towards the store.

Types of Retail Data Analytics

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.

• Predictive analytics: These analytic tools study past trends and predict what could take place in the future. For instance, this is how a retailer will know how many winter clothes to order by first analyzing the sales trend of last year and comparing it. 
• Prescriptive analytics: This is the category of analytics that offers recommendations on precise actions. For example, prescriptive analytics might recommend that if certain store layout designs resulted in more sales for a particular store then other stores should make similar layouts.
• Diagnostic Analytics: Some firms need to establish the cause of certain trends. Thus, diagnostic analytics digs deeper into the data to determine for example why certain product sales declined abruptly.
• Cognitive Analytics: The application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to gain insights about the patterns of data, cognitive analytics learns and can modify suggestions in real-time, for example, online retailers often depend on cognitive analytics to display recommendations across a user’s browsing history.

How Is Retail Analytics Applied?

Retail analytics answers questions and gives insights that allow improvement in practically all parts of the retail business, including:

• Inventory and Stock: Analytics can help retailers maintain the right products available to meet demand patterns, eliminating overstock and missed sales.
• Pricing and Promotions: Through data analytics, retailers can better understand the optimal times to change prices or when to run promotions to maximize response.
• Customer Loyalty Programs: With data, the store can see who is coming back and tailor their loyalty program around those kinds of repeat customers.
• Store Location and Performance: Geographical data can identify where it needs to open new stores or point out underperforming stores that need more attention.
• Targeted Marketing Campaigns: Data and analytics allow for very targeted campaigns by identifying specific segments of consumers; hence, retailers can easily pass a more relevant message.

5 Best Practices for Retail Analytics

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.

Retail POS Products from retailcloud

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.

Conclusion

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.

Keeping up with the latest technological developments and e-commerce trends requires a consistent approach to ensuring customer satisfaction and a seamless shopping experience. This is when the concept of omnichannel commerce becomes relevant. By integrating different channels, the benefits of this business strategy are immense and deliver convenience and flexibility. In this blog, let us explore the key concept behind omnichannel commerce, its benefits, and the right way to derive an omnichannel strategy. 

What is Omnichannel Commerce? 

Omnichannel commerce is a business strategy that integrates multiple channels to create a convenient user experience, tailored to meet customer requirements efficiently. This multi-faceted approach unifies diverse channels, be it mobile devices, laptops, or the actual brick-and-mortar stores, and creates a continuum in sales, characterized by consistency and flexibility. 

Omnichannel POS Solutions enables seamless customer interactions across multiple channels simultaneously. For instance, omnichannel commerce makes it possible for customers to select their desired product in one channel, be it your website, and choose to resume the transaction process at a different channel at a different time, all hassle-free, seamless, and continuous. This cross-channel continuity is just one among the several features of this strategy to ensure a cohesive and personalized user experience. 

Comparing Single-Channel, Multichannel and Omnichannel Commerce

E-commerce has brought in an array of marketing strategies, each offering unique modes of selling and avenues for businesses to communicate with customers. Single-channel, multichannel and omnichannel commerce are all part of this business strategy with distinct objectives and advantages. Let us understand the key differences between these three terms. 

• Single-Channel Commerce vs. Omnichannel Commerce

As the name suggests, single-channel commerce involves sales through only one channel, such as a physical store, website, or social media. The entire purchasing process takes place through the same channel. The main advantage of this approach is cost efficiency, as managing a single channel keeps expenses low and simplifies maintenance. However, its primary drawback is its limited reach, as it does not cater to customers who prefer to shop on diverse platforms. 

• In short, the central difference between both approaches lies in the scope of customer interaction. While single-channel commerce stays limited to one chosen channel, omnichannel commerce focuses on multiple channels simultaneously.
• Moreover, unlike the simple and less flexible system operation in single-channel commerce, omnichannel commerce is seamless, consistent, and carefully integrated with a close consideration of a broad range of customers. 

• Multichannel Commerce vs. Omnichannel Commerce

Multichannel commerce integrates sales across various online and offline channels, including brick-and-mortar stores, websites, apps, and social media. By engaging with customers through multiple channels, this strategy provides businesses with greater reach and visibility. Additionally, it allows businesses to test and develop targeted strategies for customers based on their preferred platforms. 

• Multichannel and omnichannel commerce are often confused, though both represent different approaches with unique strategies. Multichannel commerce adopts a product-centric approach, whereas omnichannel commerce follows a customer-centric approach. 
• Multichannel marketing utilizes different channels to promote their products and services, while omnichannel marketing integrates platforms to impart a connected and coordinated experience, conveying a seamless business function and consistent shopping experience to users. 

Omnichannel vs Unified Commerce: Understanding the Difference

Both omnichannel commerce and unified commerce aim to improve customer experiences across multiple sales and communication channels, but they differ in integration, execution, and customer engagement strategies.

Omnichannel Commerce

Omnichannel commerce delivers a seamless customer experience across all channels, such as physical stores, online platforms, mobile apps, and social media. Each channel operates independently but communicates with others to create a cohesive customer journey.

• Key Features:
  • Channels are interconnected to ensure consistency.
  • Customers can switch between channels smoothly (e.g., buy online and pick up in-store).
  • Data synchronization may occur, but it’s often partial or delayed.

Unified Commerce

Unified commerce takes omnichannel to the next level by integrating all channels and backend systems (like inventory, sales, and customer data) into a single platform. It ensures real-time data sharing and a truly seamless experience.

• Key Features:
  • A centralized platform for all operations.
  • Real-time updates across channels.
  • Consistent and personalized customer experiences.

How Does Omnichannel Commerce Work? 

Although omnichannel commerce involves various elements across different channels, it works as a connected and coordinated process. By storing, analyzing, and utilizing the data from previous interactions, users are guided toward their desired results. 

Through the synchronization of various platforms, businesses can leverage customer data and ensure that other aspects like inventory, services, and other business operations are all connected in real-time. For instance, omnichannel commerce allows customers to search for their desired products at an online store, check for their availability in nearby stores, and choose to purchase them either in-store or via home delivery. The synchronization of these multiple steps across different channels works together to deliver a comprehensive customer experience. 

Let us explore an example that illustrates the process of an omnichannel customer experience. Imagine you see an advertisement for the latest trending shirt on your way to the office. You have been planning to purchase this for some time, so you decide to browse the product online. You discover that they have a nearby store and choose to reserve the product for in-store pickup. At the store, you try it on and decide to purchase it. This simple example demonstrates how omnichannel commerce connects multiple channels, enabling seamless transition and ensuring a unified experience for the customer. 

Why Is Omnichannel Retailing Important?

As top brands compete to offer seamless, personalized experiences, customers increasingly expect the same level of convenience from all businesses. Omnichannel retailing is essential because it provides a unified experience across various touchpoints, from online shopping to in-store visits. This integration not only meets customer expectations but also strengthens brand loyalty by ensuring interactions are consistent and accessible. By adopting an omnichannel approach, brands can enhance engagement through timely and personalized interactions that ultimately drive higher conversion rates. In short, omnichannel retailing helps businesses connect with their audiences wherever they are, whenever they’re ready to engage.

Benefits of Omnichannel Commerce

Omnichannel commerce is a strong sales strategy that boosts businesses, drives sales, and strengthens customer loyalty. Here are some of the advantages of an omnichannel commerce strategy that benefits both businesses and customers. 

• Better Customer Experience: Customers now expect an integrated and cohesive platform where they can enjoy a variety of benefits seamlessly. Omnichannel retail experience meets this customer expectation and offers a better, more fluid, and personalized experience. This builds trust and increases transparency between the brand and the users. By presenting relevant content specifically tailored to their interests and needs, customers feel more valued and engaged. 
• Builds Customer Loyalty: With its focus on improving brand loyalty, the omnichannel approach simplifies the path for customers to engage with businesses. Moreover, a seamless shopping experience where customers can utilize multiple channels plays a key role in strengthening loyalty and improving customer retention. 
• Boosts Sales and Traffic: Implementing omnichannel commerce can be complex, but the efforts are worth it. Unlike single-channel customers, omnichannel users are more likely to make higher-value purchases. By offering customers access to multiple platforms, businesses can drive easier conversions and, ultimately, increase revenue.
• Better Data Collection: Tracking customers over different channels makes it easier to collect, store and analyze data. This smart and comprehensive data collection becomes helpful in tracking the customer journey and providing valuable insights that align with their preferences. 
• Proper Inventory Management: As an integral part of running a business, inventory management plays a major role in optimizing operations and enhancing customer satisfaction. Omnichannel commerce facilitates real-time inventory management and accurate demand forecasting. With this approach, companies can manage inventory levels, reduce chances of overstock, and prevent stockouts. This in turn is an important part of ensuring customer experience. 
• Strengthening Brand Identity: Brand logo, colors, and voice are some elements that define your business and build a unified identity. When these elements are consistent across multiple channels, it creates a cohesive brand identity that helps customers remember your business as an established and reliable brand. 
• Effective Marketing Strategies: One of the greatest advantages of omnichannel commerce is deriving the right marketing strategies for your business. By targeting audiences across different channels, you can create personalized marketing strategies that cater to their unique interests. Moreover, omnichannel marketing helps reach a broad audience at the right time to create an impactful connection with the customers. 
• Streamlined Operations: With centralized management, improved inventory control, better customer service, and unified order management systems, omnichannel commerce helps businesses achieve a steady and streamlined workflow. 

How to Create an Effective Omnichannel Retail Strategy? 

Bringing a shift from a single-channel to an omnichannel strategy is the best way to take your business to the next level. With proper planning and a customer-centric approach, the effort and resources required for implementation will be worthwhile in the long run. Here is how you can create the right omnichannel strategy to skyrocket your business and establish a successful brand identity. 

• Identifying the Goals and Objectives: Understanding the business goals is the primary step in creating an effective omnichannel strategy. Whether you aim to boost online sales, offline marketing, or improve brand identity, identifying your business requirements is the key to shaping your strategy.
• Mapping the Customer Journey: Mapping the customer journey is crucial for understanding customer expectations, behaviors, and needs, helping deliver a seamless experience. This process helps address pain points and ensure more meaningful and satisfying outcomes for the customers.
• Manage User Data: As much as it is important to gather customer data, sorting and managing it is equally crucial. Properly storing, sorting, and utilizing the data enables you to enhance marketing efforts and improve customer service. From discovery to purchase, users navigate through different phases, and the presence of multiple channels in omnichannel commerce necessitates the use of the right tools to appropriately track shopper data and activity. Managing user data in the best way helps streamline decision-making and improve operational efficiency. 

Future of Omnichannel Commerce

As the world witnesses the importance and growing relevance of technology in numerous fields, the future of omnichannel strategy in retail is so demanding. From the days when even online shopping was a distant dream to the present, where nearly everything seems possible, it is undoubtedly a reality that omnichannel retailing will play a major role in shaping the future of businesses. 

With no turning back, businesses should keep up with the latest trends, understand customer behavior, and explore the future of omnichannel commerce to thrive in the competitive era. Here are some key developments expected in the future of omnichannel marketing. 

1. With transformative technologies leading the present and exploring the future, they are sure to be distinctive elements in the omnichannel retail experience. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), cloud computing, smart sensors, nanotechnology, etc. are making giant leaps every second and will take omnichannel retail to new heights.
   Moreover, omnichannel marketing powered by AI delivers more precise and efficient results. For instance, users get instant responses and customer support to their queries, ensuring them a smooth experience.
2. Enhanced personalization is another key aspect that can shape the future of omnichannel commerce. By leveraging AI and data analytics, users get more relevant product recommendations, offers, and content and create a well-integrated shopping experience. With more companies striving to capture the audience’s attention, adopting a personalized strategy helps users navigate and find what they really need.  
3. Voice assistance is a highly potential field that can transform and make a huge impact on the retail and e-commerce experience. It is expected that by 2025, technology will take a major step in fully developing hands-free shopping, enabling customers to use natural commands instead of typing search queries.
4. Mobile marketing is another significant area that can have a major impact on omnichannel commerce. As the number of mobile users is comparatively larger than desktop users, leveraging this screen time for effective marketing can drive stronger engagement and conversion opportunities. 

Discover Smarter Ways to Sell with retailcloud’s Omnichannel Solutions 

From integrating customer touchpoints to driving sales and traffic, the immense potential of omnichannel commerce offers businesses the ultimate growth opportunity. Investing in omnichannel commerce strengthens your business and ensures its relevance amidst the changing trends in consumer behavior and technology. By ensuring a seamless and personalized experience, retailcloud’s omnichannel POS solutions offer advanced ways for businesses to sell smarter and deliver a connected experience. 

The omnichannel approach by retailcloud offers an integrated system that connects in-store, online, and mobile sales channels, delivering a seamless customer experience across multiple touchpoints. Here are key aspects of retailcloud’s omnichannel capabilities:

• Unified Inventory Management: retailcloud ensures inventory is updated in real-time across all channels, preventing overselling and improving fulfillment efficiency.
• Flexible Payment Options: The system is payment agnostic, supporting a variety of methods, including in-app purchases, online payments, and traditional in-store transactions.
• Mobile/In-Seat Ordering: retailcloud allows customers to place orders from mobile devices or in-seat during events, bridging the gap between physical and digital experiences.
• Third-Party Integrations: By connecting with loyalty programs, gift cards, and e-commerce platforms, retailcloud helps businesses maintain consistent customer engagement across channels.
• RFID Capabilities: retailcloud supports RFID inventory management and enables quick product identification across multiple locations.
• Customer Insights and Personalization: nGuage, the real-time inventory tracking system provides a 360-degree view of customer behavior, enabling businesses to personalize promotions and experiences based on purchase history and preferences.

This seamless integration helps businesses offer a unified shopping experience, building customer loyalty and boosting revenue across multiple channels. By connecting in-store and online sales through streamlined operations, retailcloud delivers powerful benefits to businesses of all sizes. Schedule a demo with us today and discover how our retail POS solutions can boost your business and drive growth.

Premium seating areas in sports stadiums are becoming more popular than ever, changing how fans experience live events. These exclusive luxury options not only enhance comfort and enjoyment but also play a key role in shaping fan behavior and loyalty. With their elevated level of comfort, fans feel more engaged with the event, making it a standout experience compared to a typical game.

Here, we’ll take a closer look at various premium seating options available in stadiums. We will also discuss some key strategies for improving the experience for these fans. We’ll focus on the importance of innovation, personalization, and top-notch service in creating an indelible atmosphere that resonates with the transcendental sports culture.

What Defines Stadium Fan Experience?

The stadium fan experience includes every interaction a fan has with the venue during a sporting event. This premium suite wraps around all elements a fan engages with, beginning with the atmosphere, where the crowd’s energy, cheers, music, and even the aroma of food can transmute an average game into something extraordinary.

Comfortable seating is an absolute necessity. Recent surveys reveal that fans prioritize essential features such as extra legroom, padded seating, lumbar support, spatial arrangements, cushioning, and unobstructed views. There are also options for premium stadium seats equipped with adjustable recliners and charging stations.

For stadiums, hassle-free navigation is critically important and must be supported by easy access to food, beverages, merchandise, restrooms, concessions, and exits, along with expansive concourses and ramps. Improved convenience can mitigate disruptions during the events.

All of these amenities, combined with friendly interactions with staff members and fellow fans via fan zones, contests, digital engagements, and augmented reality experiences, contribute to a better stadium fan experience.

What Are Some Strategies to Improve the Fan Experience?

Here are some strategies that can be considered by stadiums to attract and retain fans at sporting events:

• Boost Revenue with In-Seat Ordering and Upselling

Stadiums that offer in-seat ordering have seen a significant increase in the average amount fans spend per order, often by 15-20%. This technology allows fans to conveniently order food, drinks, and merchandise without leaving their seats, which not only reduces wait times but also encourages impulse buys.

By integrating QR code ordering, fans can simply scan a code, view menu options, and place their orders directly from their mobile devices. This convenience enhances the fan experience and boosts revenue for venues by facilitating personalized add-ons and upsell options, which have been proven to increase food and beverage sales by an additional 10-15%.

• Lower Costs with Pre-Order Management

Pre-order management systems streamline operations in premium seating areas by allowing fans to place orders before the event begins. Implementing such systems has been reported to reduce staffing costs by up to 20%, as fewer staff are needed to handle orders during peak periods.

This system also enables stadium kitchens to operate more efficiently by preparing orders in advance and ensuring timely delivery. Such enhancements not only allow venues to focus on delivering a superior fan experience but also simplify backend operations, as noted by several stadiums that observed a 25% increase in operational efficiency after adoption.

• Customize the Experience for Each Event

Personalization is crucial for making premium seating stand out. Platforms now allow venues to customize pre-order options, assign servers to specific suites, and adjust menus based on the event type, whether it’s a concert or a major sports game.

This customization ensures that premium guests receive a unique experience tailored to the occasion, leading to higher engagement and repeat visits. Venues that have utilized event-specific customization report a significant increase in guest satisfaction and loyalty metrics.

• Build Fan Loyalty with Personalized Service

Across the industry, venues employing personalized services for their premium offerings witness higher fan satisfaction and increased loyalty. By leveraging data-driven insights, these venues can tailor services like menu items and promotional offers based on individual fan preferences.

Sending tailored offers based on past purchases or recommending items based on likely preferences enhances the connection between fans and the venue.

• Increase Merchandise Sales with In-Suite Delivery

Offering in-seat merchandise ordering allows fans to effortlessly order exclusive team gear or limited-edition merchandise from their seats. This method makes the purchasing process convenient and attractive. In-suite delivery ensures that fans can continue enjoying the event while receiving their purchases promptly, promoting impulse buying.

• Provide Real-Time Service with Suite Attendant Integration

Modern suite management systems empower attendants to manage orders, track open tabs, and finalize transactions directly from their mobile devices, thereby facilitating fast and personalized service. Integrating pre-orders with game-day orders in a single system improves operational efficiency and delivers an unparalleled experience for premium seating guests.

• Make Ordering Easy with In-Seat QR Codes

In-seat QR code ordering has proven effective in improving fan engagement and operational efficiency. Fans can scan a QR code to order without missing any action, enhancing their event experience significantly.

Beyond improving the fan experience, this technology reduces staffing requirements and streamlines operations, which has been particularly beneficial during peak event times, as observed in multiple stadiums with a documented increase in both sales and fan engagement metrics.

• Enhanced Data Analytics and Reporting

Equip suite management systems with advanced analytics capabilities to generate real-time reports on sales patterns, inventory levels, staff performance, and customer preferences. This data can guide business decisions, help optimize pricing strategies, and customize marketing campaigns, ultimately leading to better business outcomes.

• Sustainability Practices

Incorporate eco-friendly options within the suite and premium seating options such as biodegradable packaging and locally sourced food products. Promoting sustainability can not only appeal to environmentally conscious fans but also reduce waste and potentially lower operational costs.

• Accessibility Features

Ensure that the ordering and delivery systems are accessible to fans with disabilities. Features like voice-activated ordering, high-contrast menus on digital devices, and wheelchair-accessible delivery options can make the service inclusive, enhancing the reputation of the venue and complying with legal accessibility requirements.

• Interactive Fan Engagement Tools

Integrate interactive elements within the app or QR code systems, such as live polls, trivia games related to the event, or opportunities to win merchandise or food upgrades. This can enhance fan engagement, making their experience more memorable and increasing their likelihood of spending more.

• Feedback and Review Mechanisms

Include options for immediate feedback on food and service directly through the ordering platform. This enables real-time service recovery if needed and helps in maintaining high service standards. Positive reviews can be showcased to increase the credibility and attractiveness of premium seating options.

• Partnership and Sponsorship Opportunities

Leverage the digital platforms used for in-seat ordering to display advertisements or promotions from sponsors, creating an additional revenue stream. Tailored offers or exclusive content from sponsors can also enhance the fan experience while providing value to partners.

• Health and Safety Features

In the wake of health concerns, such as those highlighted by the pandemic, include features that promote safety like contactless payment and delivery, indicators of sanitized areas, or even health tips related to the event (e.g., hydration reminders during hot weather).

Using these strategies, organizations can significantly improve fan experiences, resulting in increased loyalty and future attendance.

Why Venues and Retailers Use Premium Suites in Sports Management?

The evolution of stadium fan experience has undergone a sea change, shifting towards a more refined, personalized service. This is particularly evident in the rise of premium suites at venues, which has raised the bar for fans’ expectations when it comes to bespoke services. No longer just a seat in the crowd, attending live events has become an immersive experience that truly caters to individual preferences.

In response to these emerging trends, SuiteSpot, an all-in-one premium seating app developed by retailcloud, an innovative omnichannel e-commerce platform, plays a key role in enhancing this experience. This comprehensive premium seating application is designed to enhance suite members’ experiences across various events, perfectly capturing the growing demand for luxury and convenience in sports management. With SuiteSpot, fans can enjoy the finer things in life while savoring every moment of the action.

SuiteSpot improves the premium suite experience in several ways:

• Streamlined Ordering Experience: Cutting through the usual red tape of pre-event preparations, SuiteSpot introduces a user-friendly pre-ordering system. This web solution allows guests to carefully plan their event experience, ensuring a smooth visit from start to finish. Once the event kicks off, the contactless QR code mechanism simplifies on-the-spot ordering, empowering attendees to easily adjust their requests while enjoying discounts and complimentary offerings making it a win-win for everyone involved. 
• Convenient In-Suite Merchandise Delivery: Revenue generation strategies for sports organizations are crucial for their long-term success. Among these strategies, merchandise sales play a significant role in fan engagement. Fans love to show their support for their teams by purchasing hats, jerseys, scarves, and various other items, but the process can sometimes be inconvenient and time-consuming. 

  Instead, fans can quickly purchase desired items, which are delivered right to their suite. This keeps them fully immersed in the event’s excitement without missing a beat. The sales inventory order management software from retailcloud ensures efficient fulfillment, directing orders to the appropriate store or warehouse, which streamlines the entire purchasing process.

• Maximized Upsell Opportunities: Using sophisticated analytics, SuiteSpot increases revenue potential by providing cross-product recommendations during the ordering process. This feature maximizes upsell opportunities for suite owners and venue operators by ensuring fans are aware of additional items they may want to purchase, which in turn helps drive additional revenue while simultaneously enriching the fan experience. 
• Customer-Centric Development: As an application developed in response to feedback from over 40 major league clients addressing specific challenges faced on game days, the application focuses on their needs. 

  Whether addressing concerns regarding available spaces, package offerings, or real-time availability, the app improves the fan experience and supports streamlined operations for venues of all sizes, making it an invaluable tool for effective management.

• Setting a New Standard: The importance of SuiteSpot goes beyond providing individual benefits; it establishes a new benchmark for luxury suite experiences in the sports and entertainment industry. 

  Integrating venue POS into operations enables venues to provide exceptional service that consistently meets and surpasses the expectations of discerning guests, thereby enhancing their competitive advantage in a saturated market.

SuiteSpot enables venues to deliver exceptional service that exceeds the expectations of today’s premium guests, ensuring that attendance at an event in a luxury suite is both memorable and enjoyable. This service includes convenient merchandise delivery, exceptional food, and beverages.

Enhancing the Premium Suite Guest Experience with SuiteSpot

SuiteSpot is a user-friendly application built for suite management. Whether in stadiums or concert venues, this easy-to-use and user-friendly premium seating and suite management app offers a stress-free experience for both the owners and guests. The efficient pre-ordering system enables guests to submit and oversee orders prior to events effortlessly.

Understanding user preferences based on data analytics and perhaps previous orders, the app customizes services and hence increases guest satisfaction. SuiteSpot also provides real-time order tracking and seamless communication between suite attendants and the back office, resulting in increased efficiency and faster service.

Through automated order management, SuiteSpot reduces manual tasks and operational costs while ensuring quick service. It offers tailored guest interactions, simple ordering through user-friendly interfaces, and secure payment options for a seamless experience.

Likewise, SuiteSpot enhances suite operations with personalized menus, detailed reports, and simple integration with other apps, ensuring smooth transactions and valuable insights for every event.

Increase Fan Engagement with Retail POS Solutions from retailcloud

Premium seating areas in sports stadiums play a key role in shaping fan behavior and loyalty, enhancing the game-day experience. This change is driven by improved comfort, social interaction, exclusive amenities, technology integration, and the building of long-term relationships.

As sports venues respond to evolving fan expectations, it’s highly important to understand these louds and softs to create engaging environments that attract a diverse audience. Investing in premium seating and using tools like SuiteSpots from retailcloud enables fans to connect with live events, appealing to both traditional fans and newer generations looking for unique social experiences. Stadiums can use real-time inventory tracking systems like nGauge and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to increase loyalty while increasing revenue.

The future of sports entertainment lies in creating inclusive environments where every fan feels valued and connected to the game. For more information on premium seating and how retail POS software suites and services from retailcloud can influence fan behavior, contact us today.

 

Top Must-Haves for Stadium POS

A Stadium POS (Point of Sale) system is a streamlined, high-performance solution designed to handle the unique demands of stadium and large event venue environments. Stadiums, the grand structures designed to accommodate large crowds for sporting events and other entertainment spectacles, have been a part of human history for millennia. More than just event venues, they are comprehensive experiences offering tickets, concessions, and merchandise. The growing demand for seamless service experiences necessitates a Point of Sale (POS) system that is both dependable and robust and that is specifically designed to accommodate the peculiar requirements of stadium environments.

A well-integrated stadium POS system not only adds to operational efficiency but also greatly contributes to improving the fan experience. But how? POS systems help reduce wait times, streamline transactions, and provide valuable insights into customer behavior.

This blog will explore the need for POS systems in stadiums and some essential features that will add to operational efficiency.

What Is the Need for Stadium POS?

While these grand and impressive structures astonish the sea of faces that gather within their walls, stadiums often face a unique set of challenges that traditional POS systems may struggle to address. High foot traffic, diverse payment methods, and the demand for quick service during peak times can lead to long lines, frustrated fans, and delays in operations.

POS systems designed for high-volume settings address these issues with specialized features. Stadiums can benefit from using a modern point-of-sale solution for faster and more efficient transactions, better inventory management, integrated ticketing and access control, scalability, flexibility, cash flow, and revenue generation.

What Are Some Top Must-Haves for a Stadium POS?

• Offline Mode with Store and Forward for Uninterrupted Sales
• Easy Training Solutions for Cashiers
• Frictionless Checkout and Seamless Payments
• Self-Checkout Options for Faster Service
• Mobile Hawking and Line Busting for Enhanced Customer Experience
• Seamless Integrations with Sports Ecosystems

Here we discuss some top must-haves for stadium POS:

1. 1. Offline Mode with Store-and-Forward for Uninterrupted Sales: Store-and-forward capabilities are a critical component of any effective stadium POS system, as they enable it to operate offline. This means that even if the internet goes down, cashiers can still process sales. Transactions are saved securely and sent through once the connection is restored. This feature is essential for keeping sales flowing smoothly during busy events, ensuring that fans don’t experience delays or frustrations at checkout and allowing a more enjoyable experience.
   2. Easy Training Solutions for Cashiers: The POS system should be simple and intuitive, making it easy for cashiers to learn how to use it quickly. With high staff turnover in stadiums, it’s important that new employees can get up to speed fast. Providing helpful training resources like video tutorials, step-by-step guides, and on-the-job support can significantly improve the learning process. Likewise, investing in some premium suite software systems can offer integrated training modules that help staff feel confident and prepared. A user-friendly interface allows cashiers to navigate the system effortlessly, reducing mistakes and speeding up service during peak times.
   3. Flexible Payment Options and Support: Fans today expect a smooth and quick payment experience. A top-notch stadium POS should accept various payment methods, including credit and debit cards, mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, and contactless payments through RFID technology. By making the checkout process as seamless as possible, stadiums can reduce wait times and enhance customer satisfaction. Features like easy-to-use touch screens and customizable payment options help make transactions fast and convenient for everyone.
   4. Self-Checkout Options for Faster Service: Self-checkout stations allow customers to handle their purchases independently, which can significantly speed up transactions. During busy events, this feature helps reduce long lines at concession stands. Fans can scan items and complete payments on their own, leading to a quicker and more enjoyable experience. This not only improves convenience but also allows staff to assist other customers, enhancing service overall.
   5. Mobile Hawking and Line Busting for Enhanced Customer Experience: Mobile hawking involves staff walking around the stands with portable POS systems to take orders and process payments right at fans’ seats. This strategy helps eliminate long lines at concession stands, making it easier for fans to buy food and drinks without waiting. Also, line-busting tactics can help manage busy areas by sending staff to assist customers quickly. These methods enhance the overall experience for fans, encouraging them to make more purchases and enjoy the event.
   6. Seamless Integration of Sports Ecosystem: A strong stadium POS system should connect easily with various stakeholders in the sports ecosystem, including sponsors, broadcasters, teams, athletes, and fans. This integration fosters collaboration and improves the experience for everyone involved. Analyzing data on fan purchases, stadiums can tailor their offerings to meet customer preferences, leading to better retention and personalization. Moreover, having a comprehensive back-office system for managing inventory and fan data boosts operational efficiency, making it easier to serve fans effectively.

Key Features to Consider in Your Stadium POS Software

When choosing stadium POS software, it’s important to consider features beyond the basic functions. Here are additional essential features that can significantly improve the effectiveness of your POS system:

• Integrated Loyalty Programs and Rewards: Loyalty programs can drive repeat business and foster customer loyalty. Successful implementation and integration of these programs with the POS system allow simple tracking of customer points and rewards. This makes it simple for fans to quickly redeem offers and receive incentives, which can drive higher retention rates and increased spending.
• Operational Analytics and Insights: Real-time inventory tracking systems like nGuage provide valuable insights into sales performance by item, time of day, or event type. These analytics enable stadium operators to make informed decisions regarding pricing, product offerings, and staffing needs for future events, ultimately optimizing revenue and enhancing the fan experience.
• User-Friendly Interface: A clean and intuitive user interface ensures that staff can quickly navigate the system, reducing training time and minimizing errors during packed occasions. An easy-to-use system also improves the overall service efficiency, contributing to a better customer experience.
• Customization and Scalability: The ability to customize the POS system to meet the specific venue needs and scale as the stadium grows is essential. Whether it’s adjusting the menu offerings, adding new features or accommodating seasonal change, a flexible POS solution can grow and adapt to changing requirements.
• Event-Specific Features: Customizing the POS system for specific events can greatly enhance the fan experience. Features like tailored menus, special promotions, and themed merchandise engage fans more effectively. Stadiums can optimize sales opportunities and establish unforgettable experiences by customizing their offerings to accommodate various events.
• Real-Time Communication Tools: Real-time communication features are essential for smooth operations. Alerts for low stock levels or menu updates enable quick responses to changing situations. This instant communication improves service efficiency, ensuring that staff can provide seamless service even during peak times.
• Customer Feedback Integration: Providing a way for fans to give immediate feedback through the POS system can help operators quickly identify areas for improvement. This responsiveness shows fans that their opinions are valued and can lead to better service in the future.
• Secure Data Management: Better security features that protect customer data and transaction information are highly important. Robust encryption and compliance with data protection regulations reassure fans that their information is safe, fostering trust in the POS system.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Ensuring that the POS system works seamlessly across different devices, such as tablets, smartphones, and desktop computers, can enhance flexibility and accessibility for staff. This enables staff to provide efficient service to fans from various locations within the stadium, thereby improving the quality of the service.
• Dynamic Pricing Capabilities: Carrying out dynamic pricing allows operators to adjust prices in real time based on demand, inventory levels, or time of day. This feature can help maximize revenue during peak times and encourage sales during slower periods.
• Mobile Staff Ordering: It is possible to streamline the customer service process by allowing staff to take orders online while interacting with fans. This feature can enhance the customer experience by providing personalized service to customers.
• Third-Party Integration: Integrating with third-party applications, such as marketing tools, CRM systems, or food delivery services, can create a more holistic operational environment and improve overall service delivery.
• Environmental Sustainability Features: Adopting green and eco-friendly practices, such as tracking waste or promoting sustainable product offerings, can resonate with environmentally conscious fans. This could add to the reputation of the stadium and can likely attract fans who value corporate responsibility.

Incorporating additional features such as line-busting solutions, integrations with sports ecosystems, customizable interfaces, digital signage for enhanced fan engagement, seamless integration with accounting systems, advanced analytics for inventory management, support for roving concessions, and loyalty programs can significantly improve the operational efficiency of stadium POS systems. These enhancements not only streamline service but also enhance the overall fan experience.

As venues adapt to evolving consumer expectations, investing in a comprehensive POS solution becomes increasingly essential for success in the competitive landscape of sports and entertainment.

How retailcloud’s Stadium POS System Streamlines Stadium Operations?

retailcloud offers a flexible, cloud-based POS solution that purges the need for on-premises hardware, letting you select the payment processors and devices that work best for your business. Our stadium POS system is designed to tackle the unique challenges of stadium environments by minimizing wait times, enhancing customer satisfaction, and delivering personalized experiences for every fan.

With an intuitive interface and scalable features, your staff can easily adapt to changing demands, backed by the robust support of our dedicated team. Schedule a demo today to discover how we can enhance operational efficiency, improve fan experiences, and drive revenue growth.

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.

 

Why Text Marketing?

According to the following statistics, for every 100 text messages sent:

• The average open rate for SMS marketing is 98%. customers are more likely to see your text messages than they are to see emails or other forms of marketing.
• The average click-through rate for SMS marketing is 19%. Customers are more likely to click on the links in text messages as it’s easy and convenient.
• The average conversion rate for SMS marketing is 12%. conversion rates are higher as the promotional offers are sent directly to the mobile device and are personal.
• 96% of consumers say they are satisfied with SMS marketing for businesses, and can do it at their own convenience.

These  statistics are much higher than any other marketing campaigns as SMS marketing is personal, timely ,quick and optional.

Best Practices to Follow for an Effective SMS Marketing Campaign

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.

Why Using Customer History to Do Targeted Messaging is More Effective

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:

• 80% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with a business that remembers their purchase history.
• 70% of consumers say they are more likely to open a text from a business that remembers their purchase history.
• 65% of consumers say they are more likely to click on a link in a text from a business that remembers their purchase history
• 55% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase from a business that remembers their purchase history.

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:

• Segmentation: You can segment your customer base so that you can send targeted messages to specific groups of customers.
• Personalization: You can personalize your messages with customer data, such as name, purchase history, and preferences.
• Reporting: You can track the performance of your SMS marketing campaigns so that you can see what is working and what is not.

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.

Conclusion

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.

Introduction

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.

 

Tech for Faster Stadium Sales

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.

 

Item of the Day

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: Why Choose ZeroPOS over QuickBooks Desktop POS?

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.

Key Features of ZeroPOS: 

-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

How does ZeroPOS’s QuickBooks Integration Work?

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.

Gain Sales Reporting

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.

Simplify Inventory Management

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.

Accurately Track Income and Expenses

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!

Embrace the Ideal POS Solution with retailcloud

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. 

1. Omnichannel

Although retailers are increasingly using the digital channel to reach consumers, they’re not closing their physical stores—which is where an integrated solution comes in. New technology makes it possible to shift digital and physical inventory seamlessly and deliver a seamless buying experience to shoppers. 

What’s more, an integrated solution can help you streamline your back- and front-of-house operations. An omnichannel sales system will help you expand your market reach and keep items moving through your distribution channels. Some business owners and marketing managers are daunted by the prospects of trying to reach out to customers using multiple channels and media, but an omni-literate strategy can change all that.

2. Flexible Pick-up and Shipping options

Many online shoppers would rather have products delivered than picked up locally, but only a small percentage of eCommerce retailers offer same-day delivery and most retailers are missing out on the opportunity to deliver quickly.

Most of us are busy and don’t have time to run all over town, so we’re getting more and more of our stuff delivered right to our doorsteps. But if you want to gain the highest possible number of loyal customers, you need to offer flexible pickup and delivery options so that you are able to cater to more customers!

3. Automated technology

Retailers have a big challenge ahead as a lack of workers could make it harder to keep up with increased demand. To make sure they can handle more customers, many retailers are turning to technology to do some menial tasks as they try to find ways to reduce their cost.

 Three areas where retailers say they will most benefit from automated technology are: streamlining the way they manage orders, running customer loyalty programs, and communicating with customers. Retailers who want to hire more employees should consider investing in software that helps automate these tasks.

4. Online shopping is here to stay

If you’re a retailer, it’s important to make a good impression on your customers by providing an excellent selection of products in your store and creating opportunities for shoppers to connect with you online. 

Today, the number of shoppers who shop online are in a steady incline so establishing an online presence and maintaining a local presence is key. E-commerce is a powerful tool for retailers, who can benefit from the reach and convenience that Internet sales provide.

5. Social commerce – shoppable images and videos

As social media becomes the primary place for consumers to shop, retailers are increasingly selling through channels such as Instagram and Pinterest. Retailers are bringing together multiple sales channels to stay competitive in today’s evolving retail landscape.

Social shopping trends show no signs of slowing down, Facebook and Instagram continue to be the most lucrative platforms for retailers to sell on. As consumers continue to connect with brands and retailers on their favorite social media platforms, more retailers are turning to those platforms in order to drive inevitable increases in sales.

retailcloud is pioneering omnichannel order management solutions that provides businesses of all sizes access to tablet, windows and phone solutions with API integration to ERP and ecommerce systems. retailcloud provides retailers a way to increase sales, better manage inventory, collect valuable data on the shopping habits of their customers and much more. The system is scalable and grows with your business. Interested in knowing more about retailcloud’s solutions? You may contact us directly at sales@retailcloud.com

Setting up a point of sale system, or POS, is something that most people in retail or any brick-and-mortar company will do at some point. POS systems are one of the most basic parts of any business and have become essential to seamless transactions. 

But it has changed through the years to adapt to evolving trends in business and commerce. 

Particularly, the rise of digital and e-commerce changed the landscape of point-of-sale systems. POS software now has to adapt to the growing digitization of business practices and technologies. Sometimes, it might not be that easy. 

Still, we need to move with the changes if we want our businesses to stay efficient and relevant in this new era of technology.  

8 Common POS Software Challenges and Solutions

Point-of-sales software should generally be straightforward, but much like any solution, it can come with a few hiccups. Let’s discuss some of the most common POS software challenges today and how to overcome them. 

1. Picking the Wrong System for Your Business

Before learning how to set up a POS system and maximize it, we first need to choose the right system for the business. Choosing the best fit for your operations is a crucial decision to avoid headaches switching systems too often. While it’s not a crime to change POS software every year or so, it can become quite inefficient at some point. 

To get the best system for your context, research is your best friend. Get up to three options that fit your business best and make a comparison. 

Not all POS systems are created equal. Sometimes the best solution for another business might not be the best for you. Know what your non-negotiables are in terms of feature, pricing, and support, and decide based on your contingent needs and requirements.

2. Lack of Mobility

Mobile POS systems are slowly becoming the norm. The volume of mobile POS transactions was expected to reach US$2,466,606 in 2021.

Traditional POS systems were bulky, and they only stayed in one location. If that system gets broken, it’s difficult to gain its data back. 

Using a mobile system that can connect with a tablet or phone has all kinds of benefits. Personnel can carry the POS system around and bring them to the customer instead of having the customer come to a counter. It also takes up less space and weighs less, which could provide some flexibility to our employees. 

Given that mobile retail is up like never before, it might be good to consider switching to a mobile POS system. However, mobile devices do have their downsides. For instance, they’re easier to steal or misplace. To avoid this, policies should be in place to steward the hardware better. Have a safe place to store the POS system to avoid theft— somewhere out of sight and preferably with a fastening or enclosure.

3. Data Security Threats

Part of any POS implementation checklist should be security. And that shouldn’t only include the physical security of the hardware but also the data and digital aspects too. 

Cybersecurity is becoming a prevalent form of crime in today’s digital era. Identity theft, data breaches, and malicious hacking are becoming more of a threat. 

To avoid any data or cybersecurity threats, business owners and retailers should always choose a POS system with basic security features, such as data encryption and two-step verification. Use complex passwords for logins and enable any pin number setups where possible. There’s no such thing as “overkill” when it comes to data security.

4. Manual Tracking of Promotions and Offers

Integrating day-to-day sales and transactions with marketing campaigns is a must for smooth business operations to avoid confusion and customer concerns. One of the basic POS features every retailer should require in a system is a promotion and offer tracker. It’s always best practice to connect promotions with POS systems. Find a system that has an in-build promotions tracker. This feature will take care of applying any discounts or offers to ensure that they’re tracked accordingly for accounting and inventory purposes, which leads to the next challenge that business owners and retailers face with POS systems.

5. Time Lost on Inventory Tracking

Dealing with inventory management can be an arduous task without the help of tools and systems. The key to saving time and getting more accurate results in inventory counting and management is to ditch manual systems and automate it. POS systems can actually be a great way to streamline this process. Most, if not all, of the best POS systems today have an inventory management feature that helps log product inventory and update it as sales go out. 

For any business with product inventory, the temptation is to skip this feature in your point-of-sale systems. But doing so is doing your business and employees a huge disservice. Inventory management can help save a lot of time from manually tracking product stocks. It also removes any errors that could lead to deadweight loss and sales discrepancies. Set up your inventory tracker and integrate them with your inventory systems to keep a better account of product stocks. 

6. Not Using Data and Analytics

In this day and age ruled by big data, businesses need to learn to leverage data and analytics to make better business decisions. The numbers don’t lie, and they can help point out what’s working and what’s not. Data around sales, purchase returns, customer feedback, and so on can provide valuable insight to help businesses delight customers and improve business metrics. Leverage your POS system’s data and analytics by using them as benchmarks in strategy meetings and planning sessions. 

7. Ecommerce Integration Disconnected from Store Ops

E-retail sales are now hitting $4.2 trillion worldwide. So it only makes sense that POS systems should integrate with e-commerce platforms. Seamless integrations to an online shop will allow POS software to automatically gather and track sales data, order details, and fulfillment requirements in one platform. 

This way, it becomes easier for staff to stay on top of orders, given that all transactions land on one platform instead of two. This integration also makes it possible to make comparisons between brick-and-mortar performance with online ones. 

8. Ignoring Customer Insight and Feedback

Recently, POS systems have also started integrating with live chat software to streamline customer service and feedback channels with point-of-sale tools. This integration allows businesses to respond more proactively to complaints and concerns for faster resolution. 

Customer support is a vital part of business growth and operations. It helps extend the customer lifetime value by ensuring long-term trust-based relationships with clients. Leveraging on any software, systems, or features that can help improve customer insight and feedback gathering can equip businesses with the necessary information to build those long-lasting business relationships.

Cloud-based POS Systems

The far majority of businesses today still use on-site POS systems. But up to 28% of retailers said that they would be switching to retail cloud-based POS software in the near future. Accordingly, your business might want to consider learning how to implement a POS system on a cloud-based solution as it provides an array of other benefits and advantages to your business like flexibility, data access from anywhere, and seamless communication between POS systems from multiple sites.

All this to say, point-of-sales is changing fast along with the needs, priorities, and challenges that businesses today face. We need to be on the lookout for where e-commerce and business solutions will be going this 2022 and beyond to stay ahead of the innovation curve. Doing that will keep your business relevant and competent in the immediate and beyond.

Restaurants have higher numbers of employees and customers than small businesses. It requires operating a business in various locations — whether owned or franchised — to manage their schedules and work shifts simultaneously. To operate a restaurant, the business owner should possess great managerial, accounting, human resources, marketing and HR administration skills in addition to the ability to make delicious food.

1. Modifiers

Modifiers are a great way to add more details on an order, such as desired side dishes or preferred cooking temperature. They can be added to orders in the Modifier section, which you access by clicking on the Shopping Cart menu and selecting Modify Orders.

2. Sales by Employee

Sales Per Employee Ratio aims at understanding the productivity of the employees. This ratio basically helps in keeping track of the relationship between a company’s number of salespersons and their total revenues, and even makes it easier to payout tips to the correct employee as well.

3. Kitchen Routing

You want your POS system to have kitchen routing so that your order gets sent to the right station, this is especially important if you want certain orders to be sent to the bar or to the kitchen. It streamlines the order preparation process and makes things simpler for your staff.

4. Split Check

Being able to split checks is a feature that you need so that your restaurant can offer different ways to make payments.This can range from splitting the bill between multiple cards or splitting amounts between cash and card. You want a point of sale that offers as many flexible payment options as possible so that you can cater and appeal to more customers.

5. Tip Reporting/Paper/Glass

Being able to generate tip reports and receive tips on glass is an important feature that you need from your POS system. This allows you to keep a record of the tips received by your employees at the end of their shift, and you are aware of who to pay it out to. It is good to know and keep track of your tips so that your business is not scrambling during tax season.

6. Time-Based Menu

If you have different menu items available at certain times, at different prices, or if you have Happy Hour, having a time-based menu is a very helpful feature. This is especially helpful for your employees so that they don’t have to manually enter the appropriate prices when they are set to change.

7. Online Ordering, Curbside Pickup and Delivery

In order to maximize your profits, you have to build an online presence as well. People nowadays are taking convenience into account so offering guests the ability to place their orders online and get it delivered to their doorstep is a huge deciding factor on whether or not they will take their business to your restaurant.

8. Online Ordering Integration

Online ordering integration is an important feature that you must have if you already have an online ordering website. There are online ordering solutions like retailcloud’s, that can even route online orders to the kitchen display screen or to a kitchen printer so that you can immediately start preparing the order.
We can help you find the right solution for your restaurant, shoot us an email at sales@retailcloud.com and we can get you started on the right track!

No matter the size of your business, you need to make sure your POS system offers everything you need. In this article, we’re going to highlight some of the best POS system features out there.

1. Time and attendance

Time and attendance is a way to verify that your employees are working at the hours they are paid for. It helps in the calculation of employee payroll and to prevent absenteeism. Managing time and attendance manually, though, can be challenging without an integrated solution.

2. Unlimited Products

With retailcloud, there is no limit to the number of products you can have. Nor do you pay any additional fees for adding a large number of products in your store. Instead, you pay the same fixed monthly fee you would have paid even if you had just 10 or 20 products. This way, it doesn’t cost more to have many products rather than only a few. You’ll also never be charged an extra fee for having a large number of products like other eCommerce solutions do.

3. Loyalty Program

A loyalty program is a business tool that gives you an advantage by encouraging customers to shop with you more frequently. This form of marketing encourages customers to remain loyal to your business and use the services or products that your store or restaurant has to offer. Loyalty programs have proven to be successful when implemented correctly. They are often used in retail or restaurants, but they can also help corporations and even non-profits.

4. Barcode Printing

If you have a retail business, chances are there’s inventory involved. You need to know what came in, what’s going out and exactly where it is at all times. Barcode scanning can ensure that everything is accounted for and managed effectively throughout your entire organization. It also helps in printing barcodes for your items so that you can easily scan it without having to manually enter the price or SKU numbers.

5. Multi Item Discount/Promos

Discounts and promos are never a bad idea when it comes to marketing your store. It’s one of the most effective ways to bring in new customers, save money on your marketing budget and help you cash in on more sales. It’s also quite straightforward to implement and provides your customers an incentive which makes it a no-brainer for most retail businesses out there. Choosing a POS system that can offer flexible discounts would be a great choice.

6. Product Variance & Matrix

Having a product variance and matrix is important so that you can store information about your products. It is a great feature for better inventory management so that you can input and classify by attributes or categories. 

7. Quickpick Options

Having Quickpick buttons on your POS are important so that you can quickly add non-scannable items to the customers’ cart. Items that are too large, too small, or best sellers are great items to have their own quick pick buttons.

8. Curbside Pickup/Shipping/Online

Online shopping is bigger than ever so having an online presence is very important for a business. You would want to choose a point of sale software that has online integration so that your sales are updated in real time and reflect your inventory accurately. Offering shipping and curbside pickup options are also ways to easily boost your sales since more people are choosing the most convenient shopping options now and more and more stores are adapting as well.

There are more features that would certainly help you run your business more efficiently, we can help you with that! Shoot us an email and connect with one of our POS experts today.

Layaway is a popular option for many retailers that want to sell more items to their customers. According to a recent survey, over ¾ of the people agreed that layaway was very important for large-ticket purchases. They liked this option because it allowed them to avoid borrowing money from credit cards, since the large purchase items could be paid off in installments.

What is Layaway?

Layaway is a program through which shoppers can reserve items that aren’t immediately available at the time of purchase, paying a set amount over a period of time until they pay off the item. If a customer fails to pay off the full price of an item by the end of the term, then it is usually either forfeited, and storage and other costs are incurred.

When deciding on a layaway plan, ensure you balance several factors. First, layaway duration should be proportional with storage needs. Next, the costs associated with layaway must also be considered: it could lead to losses in your margins. Lastly, consider allowing customers to place both sale items and non-sale items on layaway; but carefully consider that service fees may need to be collected. Overall, understand that there are state laws regulating these types of plans.

Why is offering Layaway beneficial?

Layaway programs provide customers with a unique option to shop—they can have what they want, when they want it. By providing layaway options, retailers are able to increase revenue and improve the overall customer experience. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits it offers:

1. No Interest Charge

No interest charges make layaway cheaper than using a credit card. That is always the better option than swiping a card that has high interest rates, with a layaway option they can make smaller payments without paying extra.

2. Flexible Payment Plans

Installments are a great alternative to offering a store credit card or credit plan because offering different payment options makes your business look generous and trustworthy. 

3. Builds Customer Loyalty

Since offering installment payments are attractive to consumers, it will help in your brand’s image as well as making your products more affordable for more people. Offering different types of promotions or incentives such as  gifts with purchase to people who spend a certain amount or purchase a certain item at your store can also be a great way to boost your customers’ spending.

4. Compete with today’s ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Programs

There are plenty of different online payment programs available in the last few years with fintech companies offering interest free payments with increased limits after customers pay on time after a certain amount of time which has been proven to be an effective method to increase sales for businesses. Offering your own payment plan is a great way to keep all of your profits instead of losing a percentage to third party payment companies.

In today’s economy, offering a layaway option can help your business stand out from the competition as well as provide your customers with more payment options.

Getting your business ready for the upcoming holiday sales seems like the most daunting task for the majority of retail merchants. The lack of agile business management systems makes it impossible for them to make the required changes without affecting the whole business operation. No one can predict the sales analytics for 2021 for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

Get your Business Ready for Biggest Sale Events 2021

Since we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of this year’s holiday sales will come from online purchases. A great way to ensure smooth transactions is by streamlining your online ordering process. There are many tools available out there that can successfully help retailers do so with Apps like OrderUp, an easy to implement fulfillment solution app plugged into retailcloud’s commerce ecosystem.

The integration of this smart tool ensures that your system is capable of handling curbside or in-store pickup. This approach can help your business to ensure smooth flow of orders and deliveries on the upcoming holiday sale events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021.

Apart from this business approach, here are a few major things that every business should consider in preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021:

1. Start Early

Start early so that you have more time to test everything such as how you will handle fulfilling a larger volume of customers and orders. Having enough time to study the market and prepare for the increase in sales you will be getting from will help you to ease the shopping experience for your customers.

2. Integrate Online Sales

Integrating online sales towards the Black Friday and Cyber Monday success of your business. Online sales can help you  reach more customers and increase your profits so this is a very important step.

3. Build loyalty

Create loyal customers through customized rewards programs, with up to three tiers of rewards, and targeted promotions based on customer purchase history.

4. Give discounts for loyal customers

Give special pricing & discounts exclusively to loyal customers. Customers love discounts and having club pricing makes them feel special and motivates them to shop more with your store.

5. Update your website

Update your website with high-resolution images. Ignoring the visuals of your online store is the biggest mistake here. If you are offering sales and discounts then let the customers know about it and make sure they are visible right when they get to your website. There is no better way to advertise your deals than having a dedicated banner on the home page!

6. Work with Best POS Solution Providers

To stay ahead in this technology-driven world, it is important to work with the best agencies. If you are looking for an agency that can help your business get ahead in this hi-tech world, check out eCommerce solutions for retailers where you can harness the true power of the digital world for your business.

7. Improve your Online Presence

There are different other ways to improve the online game of your business. From social media marketing to the right integration of powerful tools, there are many business aspects where your retail merchants need to focus on to tackle the high demand of the products on the sale events.

Conclusion

Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be exceptionally good events for your business if you know how to manage things properly. Consumer spending rates are at the peak at these events so retail merchants need to equip their businesses with the right tools and solutions and retailcloud products can help you to make it happen.

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

1) Allows you to identify products that need improvement

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.

2) Engage with your Customers

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.

3) Positive Feedback generates Recommendations

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.

4) Convincing Customers to come back for more

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.

5) Embrace the Negative Feedback

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.

6) Feedback helps you acquire new customers

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.

7) Listening to customer feedback helps build loyalty for the brand

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

• Run the Employee Productivity report and check your staffing levels; are you overstaffed for your sales (if so look at  5 Tips on Increasing Customer Visits on how to use associates to create brand building experiences)
• Run the Attribute Analysis Report and see how your inventory is performing in terms of product mix and also consider Vendors – do you need to change your product or vendor mix
• Review the Gross Margin numbers at a classification level – are you underpriced and your returns don’t support your prices or are you overpriced and your sales don’t support your stock levels
• Look at expanding your reach, maybe deploy an online store (retailcloud essentials start at $15 a month and includes hosting) – read Beyond Bricks and Mortar on why an online store is key in growing your sales.

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.

Let me start by says that a product return isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Based on a six-year study from the University of North Carolina’s Flagler Business School, the study looked at the return rates from various companies. And it turns out that there’s actually a “sweet spot” that equates to higher profits per customer sales. One company was found to have a magic number of 13 percent!

But a product return may not go the way merchants want. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, that same research showed numbers that were greater than this percentage actually decreased profits. And it signaled deeper, structural problems within the company itself. It could be a strict return policy or poor record keeping from accounting. Either way, these problems can lead to dissatisfied customers, increased chargebacks and much more.

I’d like to provide four simple tips that should help your business prevent excessive returns

Let customers  touch and feel your products

Allow your customers to fully experience your merchandise. Touching, Tasting, Feeling – your customers can make a more informed decision, which will minimize returns.

Market-right features

Many times such returns are the result of a retailer carrying a product that doesn’t have the features customers demand. They may still buy it, but the end result will typically be a return.

Listen to your Customers

The best way to find out what the customers want is to ask them. Salespeople will also have great insight as to what customers are asking for that a store isn’t carrying. Paying attention to the responses and acting on them will help minimize returned merchandise. Keeping tabs on the competition can also be useful.

Informative displays

“With tight payrolls and a large turnover of associates, displays are more important than ever before,” says Tom Hebrock, vice president of retail services at Stuart and Associates in Brentwood, Tenn. “This is what the customer relies on if they can’t get employee assistance in the store.”

Displays need to have consistent information for one type of product. The sign also needs to include accessories that are needed but not included so the customer doesn’t get home expecting what’s not there.

Informative displays will also help store personnel communicate the benefits and features of the products they are selling. While it would be nice for associates to memorize every feature of every product, the expectation is unrealistic, and detailed displays will assist them in selling.

Follow these tips to prevent excessive returns so that you can operate in the Sweet Spot of customer returns.

Today we are announcing the General availability of PAX A920 Mobile All in one Smart Terminal with retailcloud’s point of sale solution. Last April we had launched the PAX E500 Smart Terminal. As we outlined in that post PAX commitment on suite of smart terminals has enabled us to launch more in the series.

PAX A920 Smart terminal is an all-in-one payment processing terminal with retailcloud’s full fledged point of sale and inventory management. PAX A920 is sleek, fast and secure.

With retailcloud’s Terminal on PAX A920 you can now manage your sales, engage with your customers, accept payments & print your receipts. It is a beautiful looking device which can be snapped into your pocket and use it whenever you need it.

Some of the key features & benefits of the retaicloud’s smart terminal are

Beautiful Design

PAX a920 is an engineering marvel with sleek design and comes with a HD tablet color display and integrated thermal printer . The printer is designed in such a way that it is not bulky but still fit a decent size paper roll into it.  PAX A920 comes with Integrated Printer, Payment device and a high speed barcode scanner. Optional Dock is available to charge as well

Point of Sale

retailcloud’s Software turn the A920 into a full featured point of sale software with customer engagement and cloud access. Print your detailed reports within the device or have it accessed through our cloud portal.

Mobile Connectivity

With the option to connect via Wifi or your cell phone provider you can take your point of sale to any location or if you need mobility for your business.

Inventory Management

Manage your inventory for single location or multi location with retailcloud A920. Inventory is managed automatically as the products are sold from your stores.

Secure Payment

A920 can accept all modern secure payment technologies such as EMV, MSR and Tap Payment.

Cash Discounting & Surcharges

Ability to do Cash Discounts, Surcharge or just add fee automatically when you make a sale is key for a lot or merchant to keep the business cost under control. Retailcloud terminal software allows the business owners to do this efficiently and display it on receipt.

If you are a business owner and exploring about mobile point of sale or adding another point of sale for your roadshows PAX A920 Smart Terminal is right choice to get started. Click the order now button to contact us if you want to learn more on how PAX A920 can be a solution for your store

In retail location matters, and brick and mortar retailers spend a lot of time and resources in getting new customers to walk in their stores,  but that is just the beginning; keeping customers coming back is the key to operating a successful retail operation. Here are some tips on how to do that

Brand awareness

Let’s start here,  keep reminding them where they are – have associates greet them by using your store name “ Welcome to (store name);  Can I help you find something?” Remind them where they are whenever possible – Thank you for shopping at (store name); try to use shopping bags, digital receipts where your store name is prominently displayed. Whenever possible use preprinted hangtags or if you don’t want to invest in them – try a stamp or sticker with your name and logo.

Exceed expectations

Here is a low-cost value add for your customers, have associates be aware of surprising customers with random acts of kindness (I don’t mean give away free product or discounts) – taking time to carefully package items, spending a little more time to make sure the customer experience is curated for the customer.

Inventory transparency

Provide accurate information to the customer or product availability. Give associates the tools to know what’s in stock, what’s on the way in and when it can be expected.  Pay particular attention to your product mix and train your associates on complimentary and replacement product.

Value your relationships

Loyalty and club programs (especially experienced based ones) are the cornerstone of retail – Club programs can range from simple pricing discounts like grocery stores offer or experience-based ones that many airlines focus on. One of my favorite example of a club program is a neighborhood restaurant who has a point system for visits and once you get to a certain level – they guarantee you a table anytime – I’ve seen them set up temporarily set up tables for their top customers even when fully sold out – I’m sure that those customers feel the restaurant always value their relationship.

Last but by no means least

Get online

Consumers want easy access to their favorite stores, have an online site that has accurate information on products and inventory levels (ideally connected to your inventory system) and tied to your POS (so customers have one view into all their activity). This allows customers to view product, make purchases and even process returns at their convenience.

Keep the shopping process simple yet enriching is what will keep them coming back. Keep reminding the customer where they are (frequency of impression is real) and have your associates stay focused on providing a quality experience. These are some simple yet inexpensive ways in driving return activity.

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

Sturdy Hardware and All in one Terminal

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.

Full Fledged Point of Sale Software

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

1. Advanced Order Module with Sales, Refunds, Exchanges
2. Customer Relationship Module to engage your customers
3. Inventory management for your multi or single location business
4. Employee Management with Attendance tracking
5. Cash Drawer Management features with detailed end of day reports
6. Cash Discounts and Surcharging programs  
7. Many More

Next Generation Payment Device

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

• Secured EMV Chips
• Magnetic Cards for swipe
• NFC payments with Apple Pay , Google Pay, Samsung Pay
• PIN & Signature on glass

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.

To begin with – Get to really know your customer!

If you are using a POS management software like retailcloud, you can get an in-depth understanding of your customer preferences,  what their ideal product mix is, what their tendencies are, maybe even who their favorite employees are

Having this type of insight will allow you to create a more customer centric approach to your emails,  ultimately improving your conversion rates and allowing you to target your product mix more specifically for your customers.

Online retailers gather every bit of customer data, their clicks what they looked at what they bought and what they abandoned, this may overwhelm you if you are not collecting any data today but time is on your side- start with a 3 simple things to get you started

1. Add a customer to each sale – this will allow you to ultimately generate reports on their preferences and give you insight to your MVC (Most Valuable Customers).
2. Consider a loyalty or club program, reward customers for giving you’re their permission to track their sales – consider experience-based rewards (early access to new or sales products for example) or club pricing (there is a reason supermarkets with their low margins do it).
3. Launch a connected ecommerce site that customers can see your products and inventory on hand, use it to for cross promotions (online and instore) and most importantly make sure you can see all the combined data in one view.

These are just basic steps, if you are already using your retail CRM and would like a more indepth discussion on how to use preference marketing to drive additional sales (especially add-ons) email me at jordan@retailcloud.com.

According to a recent infographic from Community Merchants USA, 66 percent of all point-of-sales (POS) transactions are done with plastic – credit, debit, or gift cards. As we all know, there are VISA/MC and association fees that must be paid by the retailers to accept credit cards. A major trend in many industries is to pass on the expense to the customer at the time of the sales transaction. Tacking a small percent onto each sale, can result in a significant savings for the business.

Are Cash Discounts right for you and your customers? Here are pros and cons that can help you decide.

PROS OF A CASH DISCOUNT PROGRAM

Reduce Fees – Obviously, the biggest pro is reducing or eliminating card processing fees associated with accepting credit cards. If you don’t process cards, you don’t have to pay for the service.  

Easier to implement and explain than a credit card surcharge  – Another way some merchants pay for card processing is to assess a surcharge on products bought with a credit card.  There is sometimes push back. For instance, it’s illegal to add a card processing surcharge in 11 states. Implementing a cash discount, though, is legal everywhere.  And it’s pretty easy to explain that all items in the store are priced with a built-in service fee, but that the fee is deducted if you pay with cash.

Encourages cash payments – Although many people prefer credit cards, a cash discount may encourage a customer to use cash instead of a card for their purchase. These means less time between the sale and when you have access to the funds. There is no processing time or wait period for cash in your hand.  Plus you eliminate some fraud exposure.

Reduce chargebacks  – With fewer people using cards in your store, it’s likely the number of chargebacks will also decrease. If this has been a problem for your business, this decrease may actually help reduce the card fees you do pay, because you’d be perceived as less of a risk.

CONS OF A CASH DISCOUNT PROGRAM

Some customers may not carry cash – Lots of people simply don’t carry cash anymore. Expecting to use ApplePay, some shop armed with just their phone. And if a customer is opposed to making a purchase without getting a discount, they may walk out without buying anything.  You could experience a drop in sales volume.

Conspicuous signage – To offer cash discounts, you must post what the law refers to as “conspicuous signage” throughout your place of business to let customers know they can receive a discount if they pay by cash or gift card rather than using a credit card. Also, while expressed as a discount and not as a fee, some customers may view the posted “offer” in a negative light.

Implementation – To be compliant with a cash discount program, your receipts must clearly reflect that there is a service charge on items and that that service charge was removed for a cash payment. That means revising your POS system software.  Plus you’ll want to be sure you follow any changes in the laws around cash discounts in the future to avoid any penalties.

Potential Drop in Sales  – Studies have show that consumers spend more when using their credit cards. If cash appears to be a more attractive option in terms of managing credit card processing fees, be aware that it could end up discouraging and depressing your overall sales results.

If you chose to implement a cash discount program, make sure you go into it with your eyes open. Follow the rules closely to avoid issues and penalties, and be sure to evaluate the success of the program against any declines in sales you may experience to be sure the program is working for you.

Brick and mortar or physical stores are still the way to get start a small business for a lot of communities across the country. A lot of these business have ambitious plans to build their store and expand it beyond their first location. However seldom think about how to get beyond brick and mortar. Today’s digital world require you to go beyond your instore strategies. This post outlines some quick ways you can adopt beyond brick and mortar

Online Store

This is the quick way you can expand your channel. The easiest way is to start an online store and have start selling there . Modern retail software allows you to start online store with a few clicks without any server cost of huge maintenance. You can either use your existing site or provision a new website to do this.

Pro Tip : Use a smaller web address even if you have a long business name . This is way to remember

Buy Online Pick up in store ( BOPIS )

Online store these days are not just for online shipments. You can have Buy online and pickup instore strategies without any additional cost. These are sometimes very useful for busy shoppers where they can get orders picked up same day. BOPIS also offers Pay online or Pay in store capabilities.

Sell Products in Social media platform for Commerce

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchats have become an essential part of people’s life. They also offer ways you can sell products. When you take a nice picture of your products, get your likes and if you can have your customers buy directly from that picture it would be awesome. This is what these social platform enables with commerce.

According to hootsuite here are some statistics about  Instagram . If your business targets any of these demographics you know that it is right time to get into the Instagram commerce

• 1 billion people use Instagram. …
• 39% women, 30% men, for U.S. Instagrammers. …
• 59% of U.S. users are under 30. …
• 72% of teens use Instagram, every day. …
• 35% of online adults use Instagram. ..

Online Marketplaces

How can you sell beyond your store, online store social media ?. The answer is market places. Everyone knows that amazon is the biggest online seller of eCommerce products.  Did you know that you can also sell through amazon marketplace. Moreover did you know that you can have the products displayed across all the channels and have a single inventory view.

retailcloud online provides capability to give your instore into another dimension with  and set of channels with a single Inventory view. You can sell products in store, online, facebook , instagram and marketplaces through retailcloud online.

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

• Truly Commercial Hardware – Elo’s are the built to last and perform. They have been the best we have seen so far this the Android segment for a commercial grade . Elo’s iSeries and paypoint has customization module to extend beyond basic
• All in one solutions as well as Modular Solutions which can fit into different business situations.
• Eloview – A true support centric MDM which can be used to deploy apps across thousands of devices at the same time.
• Partner relationship – This is something we have seen where Elo beats its competitors. Elo’s team stand behind their product and thus any customer issues are addressed is the fastest possible way

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

• Multi Location and warehouse support
• Simple and Advanced checkout workflows
• Customizable Quickbooks for Cashiers
• Catalog Management & eCommerce site.
• Full Inventory management Suite
• Supply chain workflows
• Report and dashboard package with 50 + reports
• Appointment Scheduling & Customer Check in apps.
• Bring your payment processor
• Customer Tracking, Loyalty Programs & Integration to email marketing.  
• and Many More…

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

It is that time of the year, the dreaded full inventory count. This blog lays out 10 steps to simplify the process, increase your accuracy and reduce the amount of time spent on this task

The prep planning is the key to a successful and accurate count, most of the prep work can be done during regular business hours and will both reduce the time you spend counting as well as minimize recounts.  Remember, an inaccurate count affects at least two years or stock levels and KPI analysis.

Preparing for the Physical Inventory

Schedule the Count Date

Schedule the date far enough in advance so that all involved have time to prepare for it. Plan for a date/time that is less busy. Ideal timing is right after an inventory clearing sales event before the new merchandise is received into stock.

Best practice tip: Give yourself at least 30 days to plan

Staffing the Count

Assign a specific role in the process to each person and make sure that they understand the role is fixed. Explain the need for accuracy. Of course, consider your staff for the task, with thought given to checks and balances. If internal theft is a consideration, you cannot depend on an accurate count. You may want to assign personnel to areas which they do not have a direct associate with or other stores. Using an outside service provides an alternative, with the downside is that they can be costly and they do not have the same knowledge of the merchandise and stock locations that your team does.

Best practice tip: Use experienced team members in key roles, who have an understanding of the product and the count plan

1. Create a Fixture Map

A fixture map is a physical layout of the store with all stock locations. Each display, rack, stock location should be assigned a fixture map code that will be used for counting. When doing the physical counts, include the fixture code on the count sheets so you are able to tell which areas are not counts and where the merchandise was, if a recount is needed. The fixture map will also encourage all team members to use the terms in describing the completed work.

This will provide a critical map to a well planned wall to wall inventory count that assures that all product is counted.

Best practice tip: Organize fixtures so that the product is not varied, and the counts can be done systematically. Once counted they should easily be tagged as completed.

2. See the Physical Inventory

Before the count date, visit your inventory to understand the layout of the store and look for obsolete and damaged items. Make sure that the inventory areas are clean and organized; product are in their proper places and not mixed up.  Make sure all items have barcodes if applicable. Look for areas that may not have been considered in the fixture map, such as hold/layaway or merchandise that has fallen behind the display. Review all merchandise that needs to be returned to your vendors. Complete RMA’s and ship back or identify these items for the count. Consider products that you may want to markdown prior to the count to reduce the inventory. You can run category and attribute analysis reports and review Stock Days, Turnover and Return on Inventory Investment numbers  to identify products that should be targeted for markdowns.

Best practice tip:  Organize product on the shelves, removing damaged items and use discounts and promotions to clear obsolete ones.

3. Freezing Receiving and Transfers

To get an accurate count, all sales and movement of inventory must cease. Make sure that all store/warehouse transfers are completed and merchandise has been received into the system. New shipments received should be frozen, and seals should not be broken.  Review Open Transfers and Adjustments and make sure they are committed or errored out as appropriate.

Best practice tip:  If you can’t freeze receiving, then clearly define a physical not to be counted area for items that have not been received into the inventory.

Select the Count Method

There are a number of methods available and selecting the one that will work best for your business depends both on your type of inventory and how your merchandise and store are laid out.

4. Manual Count Sheets

Manual count sheets are simply forms to enter the product ID (SKU) and quantity. This method is effective for wall to wall counts using count teams, with one person calling out the SKU, price and count and the other recording the data. This allows you to pair an experienced person as the counter with the less experienced employee to record the information and helps less experienced personnel learn the inventory. The downfall is that there is room for mis-recorded SKU’s and it’s a manual process so more time consuming.

5. System Generated Count Sheets

Preprint the count sheet from your POS System and use this for recording the count. The biggest problem is that the form will not follow the logical flow of your merchandise layout. To much time can be spend flipping through pages searching for items. If some items are not included, you are more likely to miss them altogether. However, system generated count sheets are useful in narrower spot counts or warehouse locations where the inventory is well organized. Run an inventory balance report and download it to a CSV file so that you can sort it and prepare the count sheets.  Your final count sheets can be imported into the system to adjust your inventory balances; this will generate write-off amounts for you to review before you commit the counts.

6. Portable Inventory Devices

Using a portable inventory device can be the most efficient way to take inventory when all items are barcoded. You will not need the two person count team and merchandise can be counted quicker. These devices also automate the reconciliation process so that the store can complete the count quicker and be ready to unfreeze the inventory in less time. The primary hurdle is the expense of the devices. There are two options here; you can use Portable Inventory scanners or any Android phone to scan and count the inventory. The Inventory Manager application can be used to load the data into the system automatically or the data from Multiple devices can be combined into one count using mInventory, mobile inventory management software.

Best practice tip:  Use digital tools whenever possible, organize counts in smaller groupings so you can easily recount, if necessary.

Conducting the Count

7. Controls Over Count Sheets and Tags

Designate a responsible person to monitor and control the distribution and return of the count sheets. If you are using electronic counting, designate one person to monitor and coordinate activities. Use the fixture map to describe the counts.

Best practice tip:  Have one person in charge, who is managing the process. Everyone follows their plan.

8. Do It Fast or Accurate. Pick One

For accuracy, enough time needs to be available to take the count, complete the count audits and recount as needed. If possible, start early in the day, while all employees are fresh and alert.

Although such a major inventory count is disruptive, resist the urge to focus on speed. The primary goal should be accuracy. Speed will come in time, but an inaccurate count does not provide any value to the store

Best practice tip:  With proper planning you have plenty of time, however planning will not eliminate errors from exhaustion.

9. Include Redundancy

Even your best counter can make mistakes so instead of blindly adjusting inventory based on a single person’s count, steps can be taken. Have two separate teams conduct the count separately and compare the numbers to determine discrepancies and areas to look further into. Recount all items where discrepancies exist.

Best practice tip:  Double count all items, and triple the count the discrepancies

10. Reconciliation

Depending on device/method used, determine that all inventory has been included. Investigate discrepancies and recount as needed. Document explanations. Determine the adjustment amounts. Make necessary system adjustments based on the physical count.

Deeper research into discrepancies can always be completed at a later date – in fact several weeks or months later, but the only time a physical count can be accurately verified is at the time all movement is frozen. So take the time, while you have the staff in place and focused on the inventory count to resolve any count discrepancies.

Once all data has been uploaded into retailcloud, review the potential write-offs and recount any items where the variances are outside the acceptable differences. Check storage areas again for overlooked product.

Best practice tip:  Get the count rights, resist getting involved in reconciliation or adjustments until later.

A well planned and organized physical count is the basis of determining and analyzing shrinkage. Without a reliable physical count, analysis of the results will be unproductive. It takes a bit of work to initiate the implementation of the physical  count. But, in the end, when inventory is accurate and operations are running smoothly, the attention to detail will be well worth it.

Click here to subscribe to my next post on Cycle Counts

Also See 5 WAYS TO MAKE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT EASY

Making Payments Easy

The sleekly designed Poynt Smart Terminal with it’s built in EMV reader and Interactive Customer Display makes it easy for small retailers to step up from their calculator registers into something that provides them with flexibility and integrations into todays must have retail solutions.

Poynt users of all sizes will have a couple of decisions to make in deciding if Register or Skycraft POS best meets their needs.  This post will help navigate the waters and simplify the decision.

Register features

Both apps have the ability to create user pages to easily layout items making them easy to find, and both also support line item and order level discounts, coupons and fees, as well as the ability to set tax levels based on the item. Register has a limit of 500 SKUs per catalog so if you have more than that you will need to move up to Skycraft POS which has unlimited SKU’s.

Skycraft Advantage

With Skycraft POS in addition to the features mentioned above you also get category management features that allow you to run margin and performance reports by up to 3 classifications and 5 attributes. Leaving lots of room for growth. The inventory management module is also quite comprehensive allowing you to easily identify categories that are impacting your net margins.

There is also a built in CRM list builder app to easily get and launch marketing campaigns, a loyalty program to offer club pricing, discounts on merchandise to your most valuable customers as well as Time & Attendence with time sheet management. These together with Sales Tax Settlement reporting and Barcode Label printing are the most popular features on Skycraft Point of Sale App.

Other benefits of the Skycraft application is that you can add Advance Orders for online ordering with delivery or pick up in Store, you can also connect your Poynt to Windows and Android POS devices on retailcloud and there are phone apps for cycle counting and other inventory functions. You can also connect to retailcloud online and launch an ecommerce store within minutes.

Regardless of which application you select you cant go wrong with your new Poynt Smart Terminal.

Other Interesting Apps

If you are not considering using the Poynt to get one view of your transactions, inventory and customers, there are some other apps (most of these features are already included or available in Skycraft POS) you may want to also consider

• ListBuilder for building Marketing Lists
• Customer Connect for Loyalty and Promotion
• Time Lock for Time & Attendance
• Order max or Appetizer for Advance Ordering
• Datasync QB to Sync data to Quickbooks

Let me know if you have any questions or feedbacks on the apps recommended here. You can reach me on twitter @retailmadesimpl or post your comments below

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

• Tangible vаluе fоr thе соnѕumеr
• Flexible and сuѕtоmіzаblе
• Can drіvе desired соnѕumеr behavior
• Easy tо undеrѕtаnd
• Lоtѕ оf lоуаltу рrоgrаm аррѕ аnd software tо choose from
• Integration available directly through your POS system
• Avоіdѕ рrісе discounting

Cons

• Pоіnt program ореrаtіоn саn bе соnfuѕіng
• Needs tо bе сlеаrlу еxрlаіnеd
• Mіght require a саtаlоg or ѕераrаtе rеdеmрtіоn site
• Nо “instant grаtіfісаtіоn” (gаmіfісаtіоn can fix thіѕ)

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.

Prоѕ

• Tаngіblе vаluе
• Intuitive rеwаrdѕ ѕуѕtеm
• Enсоurаgе rереаt business
• Increase trаnѕасtіоn аmоuntѕ
• Integration available directly through your POS system
• Eаѕу tо ѕеt uр
• Easy tо maintain

Cоnѕ

• Mау not let уоu gather аѕ much dаtа as оthеr types оf lоуаltу рrоgrаmѕ
• Cаn decrease реrсеіvеd vаluе оf products/services
• Higher соѕt tо your buѕіnеѕѕ

Who does this Loyalty Program appeal to

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.

Prоѕ

• Dесrеаѕеѕ churn rаtе for most vаluаblе сuѕtоmеrѕ
• Yоu dоn’t іnvеѕt in lоw-еnd сuѕtоmеrѕ (saves уоu cash!)
• Uses gаmіfісаtіоn tо mоtіvаtе сuѕtоmеrѕ to higher lеvеlѕ
• Integration available directly through your POS system

Cоnѕ

• Unlikely to drаw nеw customers into jоіnіng оn thе fіrѕt visit
• Nоt unіvеrѕаllу арреаlіng (grеаt fоr tаrgеtеd campaigns, but nоt аѕ a gеnеrаl, stand-alone ѕtrаtеgу)
• Mоrе соmрlісаtеd to ѕеt uр

Who does this Loyalty Program appeal to

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

• Higher spend реr сuѕtоmеr
• Easy tо undеrѕtаnd
• Prоvіdеѕ аddіtіоnаl (аnсіllаrу) rеvеnuе ѕtrеаm
• Highly-targeted
• Value іѕ obvious tо subscribers
• Integration available directly through your POS system

Cоnѕ

• First-time customers mоѕt lіkеlу won’t see value
• Bаrrіеr to entry mау dіѕѕuаdе ѕоmе сuѕtоmеrѕ
• Mау require increased сuѕtоmеr ѕеrvісе еffоrtѕ

Who does this Loyalty Program appeal to

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.

Pros

• Eаѕу tо track
• Fаmіlіаr рrоgrаm mоdеl fоr customers
• Integration available directly through your POS system
• Can be hіghlу tаrgеtеd оr арреаl to mаѕѕ customer bаѕе
• Low implementation соѕt

Cоnѕ

• May dесrеаѕе perceived product/service vаluе
• Cоmmоn tаrgеt оf loyalty рrоgrаm frаud if not integrated in POS system

Who does this Loyalty Program appeal to

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.

Inventory Management is the heart of retailers effort to manage their assets. It can be disastrous if they are not approached properly. A lot of retailers rely on the tools mainly on their point of sale systems or retail management systems. In some cases point of sale do not provide what they wanted or they tend to rely on other third party tools to manage these assets. You can simply rely on a spreadsheet or a  very complex enterprise grade systems which gives tons of options ( a lot of time it comes with increased complexity ) or it can be like the tools which retailcloud provides which balances simplicity and usability. 

Ultimately it should focus on

• Inventory Visibility
• Increase Sales & Turnover

Here are 5 ways to make Inventory Management easy

1. Organize your products with proper meta data.
2. Use inventory management tools which fit your needs.
3. Incorporate inventory management business process into your workflow.
4. Vigilant about your inventory.
5. Measure and Forecast.

Organize your products with proper Meta data.

This is one of the key first step to have a clean inventory. This is important not only for management but for visibility & discovery.

• Arrange the product into right classification such Department, Category , Subcategory. 
• Tag the product with as many attributes as possible such Ex: Style, Size, Color, Brand , Season etc.
• Have a very SEO friendly name or description.
• Have a detailed extended description.
• Have a beautiful image to the product.

Once you have a good organisation of the product, it is always easy to look into your inventory and sort, filter through your product whichever software or tools you may use.

Right Inventory Management Tools

Right tools are important for the job. Inventory management doesn’t just end with adding or updating product , counting product. So it is important to have the right tool for the job. retailcloud provide various tools on POS, Web and mobile which can be chosen for your convenience . For some mobile may be convenient and it may be desktop for others.

A few examples of tools which may help

• Product Management tools like retailcloud web forms, mINventory mobile app
• Inventory Transaction Management tools like Inventory Manager, POS Inventory Module, CAS Web portal inventory management module. 
• Bulk import for inventory Management
• Purchase order utilities.

Incorporate Inventory Management business process to your workflow

It is always good to have good business process tied to your retail management. This can be when an inventory is brought into the location, moved between locations or if you have to account for damages. If you do not have any of these processes or not used to any of these don’t worry we have built workflows right into retailcloud tools so that you don’t have to do the heavy lifting.

Example of a few workflow process are

1. Inventory Receiving process to a locations ( Store Inventory , Warehouse Inventory )
2. Inventory Transfers between Locations
3. Inventory Reconciliation &  Cycle Counts
4. Purchase Order Management

If you have a custom workflow you can achieve this by leveraging our API’s . Check with us how we can help you to improve your inventory management  

Vigilant about your Inventory

It is always good to extra set of eyes to know what is going on with your inventory . The smart way to do is through notifications, alerts and approval management process

Retailers that participated in the 2016 NRSS say that employee/internal theft amounted to 35.8 percent of inventory shrink in 2015. The report also found that the average loss of dishonest employee cases dropped from $1,546.83 to $1,233.77

Source : losspreventionmedia.com

retailcloud provides various alerts for tools for configuring the alerts at various roles and a permission based feature activation.

• Alerts for product Management for any addition of modification
• Alerts for Inventory process or count updates ( ex: if someone manually adjust a sku to a certain inventory level )
• Approval process for Inventory Adjustment & Transfers
• Role based access for various Inventory management functions

In addition to this a more Actionable alerts like below will provide better insights to their inventory

• Overstocked & Under Stocked Reports
• Inventory below threshold

Measure and Forecast

Last but not the least measure your inventory or use tools which provide insights about inventory. Any of the above mentioned ways are not relevant if you don’t measure and have a good idea about how you should sell your existing inventory. 

retailcloud provide various tools to get you insights. Some of the amazing tools are

1. nGuage – A KPI mobile app focuses just on the indicators which matters for retailers
2. Dashboard – Back Office and in app dashboard on your POS.
3. Attribute Analysis Report – Show how your products perform by meta data.
4. Overstock & under stocked report.

A lot has been written about drawing new customers and retaining your existing customer base. Statistics show that it is wiser to emphasize your efforts on retaining existing customers, as it’s 6 to 7 times more expensive to attract new customers than to keep existing customers. That being said, you probably have underutilized tools, that you are already paying for, that can help you reach new customers that will love your products.

You want to grow your business not only through catering to your existing customer base but reaching all those potential customers out there. There are a number of paths to explore with ways of attracting new customers into your store.

1 – Explore the demographics of consumers interested in your products

You are the eyes and ears of how to make your business succeeds in your community. You know the demographics of who your products will interest. Explore beyond the obvious and expand to new avenues that potentially could expose additional consumers to your store that may not have even thought of you as a viable option.

2 – How to engage with this group

You need to think about how best to reach this audience.  Give this some thought, so that you can tailor your marketing to best reach the consumers most likely to respond, seek you out and enjoy the buying experience at your store.

3 – Get your Message out

There are numerous ways to market to your targeted buyers, ranging from elaborate marketing tools to flyers plastered on car windows. Look at the systems that you have in place to leverage the features that you may already have and that you may not be using to their fullest.

4 – Analyze effectiveness of efforts

Once you have the marketing campaign in full swing, you want to have real time data to assess the success of your program and then can pivot to increase effectiveness. You’ll want to know which marketing campaign is bring in the new customers and what kind of shoppers are they. What are their Units per Transaction and other Key Performance Indicators, are they repeat customers once they discover your business, in general how did your marketing campaign increase the bottom line.

5 – Tweak your campaign to increase effectiveness

Whatever you have put in place to reach your new consumers, it needs to be user friendly so that you can easily modify the parameters to get the results desired. A complex third party application that requires expensive development to alter may not only take too long to change, but may also come with a price tag that does not work for you.

I recommend looking no further than your POS system for advanced marketing tools. Partner with a POS company that can help you get seen by the consumers you are trying to reach.

What to ask your POS Provider to explain:

• How does your system increase my local SEO
• Can I easily set up an integrated ecommerce site
• Can I launch an easy to implement marketing campaigns from the POS System
• Do I have analytics available in real time so that I can pivot my marketing efforts
• Can all of this be implemented through my POS, so that I my data (and learning curve) are centralized

These tools should be available on your POS system and are often underutilized as merchants think that they need to look elsewhere for these solutions and often hire a third party when it’s already provided on their POS. Your POS, not only helps with sales and tracking inventory, but uses your customer data and integrations to give you incredible market reach.

Checkout experience is a key part of shopping experience for a consumer. You might have seen occasions where a customers get disappointed with a very bad experience and thus get reflected in the reviews.  Checkout experience for an in store shopping is mainly driven by the cashiers ability to handle the transaction engaging, smooth and fast .

According to study from Harris poll & Digimarc 88% Of U.S. Consumers Want A Faster Checkout Experience

“Checkout is the last opportunity a retailer has to make a positive impression on a shopper,” said Larry Logan, CMO of Digimarc. “Asking customers to endure a lengthy wait to process and pay for their order can spoil what may have otherwise been an enjoyable shopping experience.”

Recently one of the retailcloud’s customer specifically touched on this topic asked these questions before signing up for an enterprise license

1. Can retailcloud POS handle checkout really fast ? Like adding 100+ items in a 1 minute .
2. How about if every order is average of 40 – 50 items ? Will it slow eventually ?
3. Will the pos freezes up if there is a problem with servers in cloud ?
4. Will everything stop if the internet goes down and will it can it recover back. 

Based on our extensive experience in Large Sports & Entertainment events, we were positive about #3, #4 and semi confident on #1 & #2  and we put it up for stress test with the customer’s team. The test was based up with 30 – 40 cashiers just banging the checkout process as fast as possible. The outcome was very positive and we ended up executing the event successfully.  

The customer’s team was very smart in identifying their potential operational problem ( which a lot of people don’t ) identify based on their prior experience and they had crafted their business requirements to that. One of they key thing which was passive through this process was “ How easy was it to train a cashier “

They key things which makes a better experience for a cashier is

1. Accessibility of the most commonly used features
2. Navigation between screens
3. Touch Targets & Readability
4. How easy i can get help if i needed

retailcloud POS solutions focuses on all these areas and address this based on the users feedback we receive from the ground. On an average it takes 3 – 5 minutes for a cashier to learn 80 % of the cashier functions on retailcloud screens. This is one of the reason when Sport Arenas , Large Events, Outlet Sale events becomes a successful programs where you have to train 100’s on cashiers in different shifts.

Another factor which helps checkout experience to have MSIB ( More Stuffs in Bag ) is how you engage with customer.  A few things can dramatically increases the experience are

1. Recommend a product with ease to a customer based on what they bought
2. Know your customer & buying patterns through their CRM History
3. Engage them to your brand or store through Loyalty Programs.

This will be only successful if the checkout experience is less painful for the cashier and consumer. While Checkout experience is evolving there are also other aspects which can be looked into it such as

1. Kiosk based checkout 
2. Self checkout areas
3. In app or mobile checkout . Checkout Express checkout which retailcloud is partnered with
4. Innovative Payment Experiences

Overall time and usability matters for both employees and consumers and we believe in making that experience as smooth as possible . If you would like to learn more about retailcloud plans and features visit here 

retailcloud monthly plans start from $0 and If you would like to signup for an account click here 

How to Increase Units Per Transaction (UPT)?

Units Per Transaction (UPT) is a key performance indicator in retail that measures the average number of items a customer buys in a single transaction. It provides insights into customer purchasing behavior, highlighting how effectively a store encourages shoppers to add multiple items to their baskets. A higher UPT indicates a successful upsell or cross-sell strategy, as customers are purchasing more items per visit.

Retailers often track UPT to assess sales associate effectiveness, optimize store layout, and develop promotional tactics aimed at increasing sales volume. Understanding and boosting UPT is crucial for maximizing revenue and improving overall store profitability in the competitive retail landscape. Increasing your units per transaction is often what determines success versus failure for the small to mid size retailer. How best to do this hinges primarily on understanding and engaging with your customers. This article identifies key practices to increase your units per transaction covering different aspects of your interaction with your customers.

Selling more is a direct reflection of you and your staff. Placement and signage are only so effective. The key is engaging with your customers starting with the interaction from your sales personnel on the floor. They are the first point of interaction a customer will have with your business. Besides hiring sales associates with experience and providing training, now they need the tools for retail management solutions. This not only will build the trust and result in additional add ons being purchased but also increase return visits.

What Is Units Per Transaction (UPT)?

Units per transaction (UPT), also known in another name as items per customer (IPC), is a sales especially in the retail sales sector to measure the average number of items that customers are purchasing in any given transaction. The higher the UPT, when the customers purchase more items for every visit. Increasing UPT is an excellent way for a retailer to increase sales using existing traffic.

Why Units Per Transaction (UPT) is important?

How to Calculate UPT for a Business

Units Per Transaction (UPT) is determined by dividing the total quantity of items sold by the total number of transactions.

For example, if a retail store has the following sales data for a week:

• Total Items Sold = 450
• Total Transactions = 75

Then, UPT = 450 / 75 = 6

This means that, on average, customers buy six items per transaction at this store.

How to Recommend Add Ons

Drop the “Would you like a … (scarf to go with your sweater)”, customer are so tuned to this that they have the “No thanks” formed before you have completed the sentence.

Try suggesting

• Have you tried pairing your ivory cashmere sweater with our new shipment of teal French silk scarves.
• Did you notice our new arrival of teal French silk scarves? We are having a special on them this week
• Has anyone told you about our amazing special going on today?

Notice that these techniques do not ask the customer to buy the product but instead the sales associate is asking if they have tried, noticed, or been told about the item. The phases are conversational and encourage the customer to consider the option brought forth by the sales associate.

Cross-selling, upselling, and recommending add-ons are powerful strategies to enhance the customer’s shopping experience. It’s essential that salespeople are skilled and experienced in making thoughtful suggestions that add value for the customer. These techniques are most effective when a salesperson establishes a genuine connection by approaching and engaging the customer sincerely. Through attentive listening and understanding of the customer’s needs, they can provide tailored recommendations that benefit the customer and improve the overall shopping experience.

The Retail Point of Sale (POS)

This is a prime opportunity to solidify your relationship with the customers. It’s no longer enough to complete the transaction, bag the merchandise and politely say good bye. You have a captive audience from your customer and one final opportunity to increase your units per transaction (UPT)and ensure a repeat customer.

The customer is generally relaxed and impulse items are easier to sell. Your POS may have custom tailored recommended items prompts, similar to your Amazon on line purchasing experience. Ask your retail POS software solutions provider to add this vital feature, if available.

Does your POS has customer history, this provides another opportunity to reach your customer on a personal level.  By mentioning recent purchases, the sales associate can remind the customer that they may need to replenish the purchase or have a related product that enhances their experience with the original purchase. This type of personal interaction is reminds customers as to why they still shop in the traditional brick and mortar shops.

Create Sales Challenges

Focusing on a particular product line, or area for a week or a month can also help generate add on business. Sales Associates are motivated to recommend these items and the internal contest keeps it fun for the employees. Your POS Solutions should be able to track sales by employee so you can update your employees as the contest runs.

Retail Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

This blog covers a number of techniques to improve your UPT, but wouldn’t it be great to tie it all together with matrix so that you can see how effective these improvements are to your success. Focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to track from a retail store perspective. Your POS System will provide reports and/or a mobile app so that you have immediate access and can tweak your approach to get the desired effect.

These positive sales experiences all hinge on your salespeople being able to build solid customer relationships built on authenticity. Your goal is for your sales associates to be seen as trusted advisors to your customers. Sales isn’t an art, it’s a science. Teach your sales associates the basics and with continued mentoring will tweak and develop their authentic approach. Use the tool provided by your POS system to give your employees access to the knowledge about your customers to further build that relationship.

A customer who is enjoying their experience in your brick and mortar store is easier to upsell and more likely to buy add-ons. That’s what raises your UPT – not promotions and discounts that might increase units sold but destroy overall profitability.

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 Activity

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.

Online Sales

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.

Forecasting and Purchasing

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.

93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine

97% of all consumers search for local business online

It’s no wonder that in a recent Constant Contact survey, the majority of small businesses (SMBs) said it was “important for them to be found on major search sites, local search apps and directory sites.”

Local independent retailers who want to draw local consumers need to appear in the Google Snack Pack, which is a listing of the top 3 local business based on seo. Consumers typically do not look beyond these top 3 listings and perceive them as the best matches. For that reason, it’s crucial for local independent retailers to work on getting into the top 3.

As a SMB retailer who may not have a team, or a budget, to engage in local seo here are some things that you can do to connect your retail business to the cloud and improve your position.

Google My Business Page

Claim your Google My Business page. Make sure that your business name is descriptive and includes your business category. Make sure your phone number, address and website is correctly listed (if you don’t have a website; more on that later).

Update your Social Profiles

Make sure that your social profiles are all up to date and actively managed, verify that the business information on your social media pages, matches the google my business information.

Reviews

Manage your reviews on yelp and similar sites, thank those that give you good reviews it encourages others and respond to those who give you negative ones.

Product descriptions & Information

Get your website up, show product in stock with good descriptions. Most POS companies (including the free ones listed here) have integrations to allow you to quickly and easily launch an e-commerce site and display your product. Good descriptions are a seo goldmine.

These are just some quick tips to start you on the road to building your local seo. Imagine being at the coffee shop and doing a search for “shoe stores near me”. Would it make a difference to you to be in the top 3 results?

Today’s email which was the 5th of the series, and continued on yesterday’s theme of building customer awareness. It had a post on how to raise customer awareness of my brand by having “billboards” in their wallets and inbox.  

The POS solution has a gift card program, where in addition to the standard cards with my logo, you can also have customers buy and sell gift cards using mail, text and even facebook. I liked this and it made me think of how I had been neglecting my facebook business page.  I looked over the gift card company’s agreement and it seemed pretty simple, there were no monthly fees and i was able to order a 100 gift cards which I did.  The gift card company would contact me on how to activate the text and facebook ordering, and they were also able to put my cards in their online store for anyone to buy.  Seemed worthwhile as I only paid them if someone bought a card and a transaction fee when the redeemed. I was also able to use the send by facebook feature for promotions to attract new customers.

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Today was the 5th day since I activated my retailcloud account, and I received email 4 of the boarding series. It was about how to create a mailing campaign and some promotions, it also guided you through how to check the effectiveness of the campaign.

As you may recall from my Day 3 blog, I started with about 400 customers and added a few more since then, at the POS.  I  scanned through my Inventory Balance Reports as well as my Bestseller and Sales Summary Reports and was not sure what direction to go. Back on chat support and we concluded that after less than 3 days of sales there was not enough data to run a targeted campaign, so I decided to run a general promotion.

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I have been using the new POS now for a couple of days and the front end operations have been going well; today I focused on understanding the reports that came with Zero POS.

There are 18 reports that come with Zero POS in 6 different groupings (Sales, Inventory, Customers, Employee , Transactions, Warehouse), using my old system I was able to see sales reporting and SKU level sales activity data, but I was not able to get any data that provided me high level reporting. I wanted to see how the new reporting would help me make better day to day decisions on inventory and cash management.

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Got email 2 in the 10 email series and today it suggested I add any customer data into the system, as well as turn on built in features to add customers to the mailing list. This would allow me to generate mailchimp campaigns on demand.

I had customer lists on constant contact, mailchimp, an excel spreadsheet and a note pad. I started by downloading the lists from constant contact and mailchimp after which I entered the names and email addresses from my note pad onto the excel sheet.  The chat support asked me to share the files with them, and after looking at it determined it was  more involved process to combine the data so they asked me to open a ticket and they would create a file for me that I could then import. Which I did.

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On Day 2, I received an email from retailcoud telling me that I had 10 days of white glove support and how to schedule an appointment to make sure of it. It also listed the free inventory tools that were available in their app store specifically mInventory and Inventory Manager.

Since I knew I still had to add items that were missing from my list and mInventory seemed like a good option, I downloaded it and installed it on my phone. There is only an Android version which was fine with me. I scanned a few items and was able to add them into the database, sometimes it prepopulated the information on the missing items with available descriptions and prices and other times no data was available and I had to enter it myself. This looked like it was working well, so we downloaded it on two other phones as well and began scanning the whole store. One cashier was also checking items directly on the POS and adding them there if they were not imported from the QB file.

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Once I opened and received my retailcloud welcome email, I went to the management portal as it recommended to update my default settings. I entered my store information and sales tax rate for the store. I imagine that this will all show up on the POS receipts.

Next, I exported the data from my current system and checked the UPC numbers and noticed that some of the numbers were much smaller than others, in looking further, I realized that the leading zeros were not being exported from QB. I got on retailcloud chat to see if there was a way to get them and they told me not to worry about it as they had a flag to append leading zeros in their solution.

“Already loving the retail made simple concept.”

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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…)