Nothing raises a retailer’s anxiety levels more than dwindling sales. But when retail business is slow, there’s only so much you can blame on the weather, school holidays or what just happened on TV. Instead, it could be because you’re failing to satisfy new customer demands – which have dramatically changed lately. (Granted, external events have caused terrible hardships for various businesses, so they’re hardly to blame). But if you’re ready to boost retail eCommerce sales, you likely have some catching up to do — given the exceptional changes we’ve experienced.
Fortunately, this news of necessary change is not all bad. Retailers who have tried to catch up with the right strategy and software are reaping stellar rewards. Do the same, and you can drive eCommerce sales and win customer loyalty — enticing shoppers back for more.
Let’s take a look at how this is done.
Covid has taught us a lot more than the fact most of us weren’t paying attention in science class. As retailers, it’s delivered a sobering reminder that we can’t put all our eggs into one basket because the results can be devastating. We need to operate and integrate several sales channels as a way of risk mitigation. But there’s more to it than that.
Covid has taught us a lot more than the fact most of us weren’t paying attention in science class... it’s delivered a sobering reminder that we can’t put all our eggs into one basket...
How online sales demands have changed
Retailers still have the same objective as before. We want to sell the best possible product to as many shoppers as possible — and give them an outstanding customer experience. The difference is that the required customer experience has changed.
Shoppers now demand an omnichannel customer experience — a seamless, integrated VIP experience where they come first — whether they are online or in-store. They want more choices, more personalisation, more instant gratification. And when they get this, you’ll improve your sales online and in-store. Plus, you’ll radically improve your brand experience.
Most retailers now understand that a highly functional website is an absolute necessity today. Aussie customers have developed an intense love affair with eCommerce which shows no sign of abating. According to Australia Post’s eCommerce Industry Report, shoppers expect their online shopping frequency to remain 28% higher than before the pandemic. So, if online shopping is here to stay, our websites must have all the bells and whistles to keep up.
A sizzling-hot website is just the beginning, though. It is now necessary to also have integrated retail software to create this omnichannel experience both online and off. This will allow you to deliver to today’s customers in the way they want.
Investing in POS eCommerce software capable of complexities to move to omnichannel is now a clever and necessary move. And by making a move, you’ll open an entirely new world of opportunities to increase your online and offline revenue.
How an omnichannel strategy will boost sales
Let’s look at why an omnichannel strategy will boost sales online and offline and what you need to do to get there.
Extended sales potential through an improved eCommerce experience-
Your eCommerce website is far more than just another touchpoint for your business — it’s an intensely vital sales channel and an essential cog in the omnichannel wheel. To maximise its potential by treating it as seriously as your bricks and mortar store you need to nurture it and give it the attention to detail it needs.
Choose a website platform that can meet your retail needs now – and in the future. And ensure that it can integrate with good quality eCommerce POS software. Your eCommerce website will be pivotal in your success for several reasons, which we’ll explain below.
There are many great eCommerce platforms available. For example, Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento and WooCommerce all have a variety of fully mobile themes optimised for sales and stacked with must-have features such as order management, actionable reports, customer service, built-in SEO and more. Investigate them to see which will best fit your needs over the long term.
Improved retail customer experience-
With fully integrated retail channels, your online shopping and physical store experience can dramatically shift gears. Customers are no longer anonymous viewers online but VIP members who can log in, see their history, access loyalty points and more. Likewise, their details can be similarly accessed when visiting in-store. And as all touchpoints are integrated, customers can choose when and how they want items delivered.
This is the beauty of a flexible omnichannel strategy that can adapt to consumers’ changing needs and meet them wherever they want to be.
Leverage store stock online-
Using eCommerce POS software, you can maximise all your store stock online so that customers can see complete inventory levels. Now, both retailers and customers can enjoy fewer “SOLD OUT” signs and more “BUY NOW” buttons. And if a shopper searching online intends to pick up in-store, they can instantly view where stock is available. The result? More choice for customers and more sales for you.
READ MORE:
- How to maximise your omnichannel retail sales with a single stock pool here
- How live stock visibility tools are helping retailers excel at customer experience
Improved delivery options-
Customers now want to choose where and how they purchase (online or offline) and receive the goods. So if you’re baffled by your poor sales and wondering how to increase revenue in eCommerce, it could be because your delivery options are limited. Perhaps feeling frustrated, your customers may have chosen to go elsewhere.
Use the right software, and you can offer more choices and keep your customers happier. If they want to order online and have goods delivered to their door, they can. If they need it fast? Ship from Store has that sorted. Click and Collect? Yes, they can do that too. See — you’ve just made more sales possible. Ka-ching.
Read more about launching a retail Click and Collect strategy here
Improved delivery communications-
A good customer experience doesn’t just end at the shopping cart. Prove your dedication to good customer service by regularly updating your customers until the goods arrive — and even after that. Retail Express integrates with Shippit, providing real-time branded shipping status tracking and notifications to customers and minimal admin time for the retailer.
You can also radically improve communications by integrating your POS system with ActiveCampaign. This email marketing program allows you to set up marketing automation for a brilliant after-sales experience. Send EDMs and SMSs after your customers receive the goods to check that they’re happy and satisfied. You can ask for a review, offer further promotions and sign them up for loyalty memberships.
When it comes to stock and logistics, there are apps you can incorporate to automate your business and improve stock availability and delivery times for your customers. For example, you could automate fulfilment with the abovementioned Shippit, which will save time, eliminate human error, speed up the delivery process — and save you from headaches. Their app seamlessly integrates with Retail Express and your existing couriers, so, fortunately, it’s not hard to get started.
Take a look at a few of these stock and logistics options to see which is right for your business.
Be everywhere-
Today, customers make multiple touchpoints before committing to a sale. To allow this to happen quickly, it helps to be everywhere you can on multiple channels. You have a physical store and an online shop; you’re on social media, in your customers’ email inboxes regularly, and maybe across online marketplaces like The Iconic and David Jones Online. All these touchpoints must — and can — be integrated with powerful, intelligent software.
There’s a slight caveat here, though. Don’t open every channel you can find if you can’t service them well. Think carefully about the channels that would work for your retail business. Trial them one at a time to see if they bring in the right customers, then make a plan to implement the most promising ones successfully.
Clear, actionable reports-
Say goodbye to analysis paralysis, wading through headache-inducing spreadsheets or making decisions based on a hunch. The right POS reporting software can give you helpful, easy-to-read and actionable reports to help you avoid mistakes and make it easy to learn how to generate sales online.
Personalised email marketing & loyalty-
It takes a lot of time and money to generate new customers, but it’s a lot easier to keep your existing ones— and costs a lot less. According to international media analysis giant Nielson, “The average company loses 10% of its customers each year. Moreover, acquiring new customers can cost a business up to five times the amount it costs to retain existing ones.”
But the question is, how do you keep customers? The answer…
Earn their loyalty with good customer service, regular contact and powerful marketing and loyalty software to help you create brand advocates, not just one-time sales visitors.
Email marketing (EDMs) is a potent tool for savvy retailers today. In fact, for many, it’s their marketing backbone. EDMs allows you to target or retarget an already warm audience. They have displayed interest in your brand or have already purchased from you and are keen to stay in touch. Best of all, it’s cheap.
However, email marketing gets a whole lot better with intelligent retail marketing software. Then, you can successfully segment and target your audience, giving them more of what they want and less of what they don’t. Say goodbye to spammy blanket messages that do nothing but annoy the recipients every day.
With customer approved data collection, you now have your customers profiles, along with their buying history, the amount spent, preferences and much more. With this information, you can:
- Recommend products your customers are interested in based on their previous purchases and profile attributes
- Target customers based on topics such as their birthday, expiring loyalty points, customer type and history
- Plan your marketing campaigns that span the customer lifestyle and is triggered based on their activity*
- Automate emails and SMSes by creating specific trigger points*
(*These two features are possible with the ActiveCampaign and Retail Express integration, offering a game-changing marketing customer experience automation.)
Loyalty programs-
Loyal, devoted customers are what makes your business grow. And to grow loyal customers, you need powerful integration with your marketing and loyalty software that helps you create long-term brand advocates. Retail Express’ marketing and loyalty software can provide your retail business with everything needed to personalise your marketing and encourage customers to come back for more. Growing revenue with repeat sales just got easier.
Make the change — with the right POS software
If your business is serious about winning or retaining valuable market share now that consumer demands have changed, it’s time to make a move. It’s time to create a compelling customer experience to meet our ever-changing demands and deliver your products seamlessly to any channel.
To make this move, you’ll need to choose the right point of sale software. Choose wisely, and be aware of the limitations of free or cheap entry-level systems. They might appear to save you some costs in the short term, but for most retailers, they quickly become a burden for growth. (Read about the hidden cost of ‘freemium POS software’ here.)
Look for a POS software system provider that doesn’t just talk of ‘integration’ but has the technical depth to handle complexities. Because unless your business is tiny, there will be complexities.
POS software benefits {The benefits of integrating bricks and clicks with Retail Express POS software}
Integrate your bricks and clicks with Retail Express’ POS software you can and profit from the following:
- Integrate your physical stores with Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and other eCommerce platforms
- Automate your stock replenishment for an optimal inventory mix based on actual customer demand
- Give customers the choice of home delivery, store pickup and stock transfers online and in-store
- Turn on Live Stock in Store and Instant Click & Collect to allow customers to see stock levels online and pick up in-store
- Set up new payment methods and gateways online and from your POS
- View real-time, cross-channel reports and analytics for stock, supplier and sales performance
- Sync customer information and purchasing history between channels and send out personalised promotions to increase order value and return customers
- Adapt quickly to market changes and prepare for anything with a cloud-based POS
- Onboard your entire team with a fully-guided implementation by a dedicated success manager and online Australian-based phone and email support
How Retail Express can help retailers, online and off {How Retail Express can help retailers, both online and instore}
The world’s first cloud retail management system, Retail Express was created for retailers by retailers in 2006. It’s helped drive over $50 bn in Australian and New Zealand retail sales and build industry expertise that’s second to none. Unlike others in the market, we carefully choose employees with real experience in retail – not just IT. This means we speak your language and know first-hand the complexities of running a retail business.
Plus, we offer something else that makes us stand out from the pack: outstanding customer support. In fact (modesty aside), we’re renowned for it. We support you every step of the way, and there’s always someone nearby to help.
Each new client gets a personal Success Manager who will remotely guide them through their set-up and adoption process. Afterwards, clients can contact the Australian-based customer support team via phone or email, 24/7.
If you haven’t made a move to omnichannel, we understand that it may seem daunting. But with the right tools and support, it’s easier than you think — and again, software integration will open up a world of possibilities for your retail business.
