Competitive pressure continues to spur merchants to adopt an omni-channel retail model in which their brick-and-mortar stores, websites, catalog divisions, and other business components operate as a single cohesive entity rather than as disparate units. There are several keys to making this model work. Heading up the list: harnessing four omni-channel POS methods that enhance the in-store experience. Let’s take a look at each of these.
Omni-channel POS Method #1: Utilizing digital signage to distribute enriched information. Fostering customer engagement by providing consumers with a single view of the retail brand—from stores, to websites, to mobile shopping apps, to catalogs—is the cornerstone of omni-channel retailing. One means of better engaging customers and in turn improving their in-store shopping experience, is to provide them with as much detailed product information as possible, using digital signage as an omni-channel POS enabler. For example, for feature-rich products like electronics, digital signage can display product specs and comparisons, ratings, reviews, and video clips of experts sharing their recommendations. In apparel or accessories stores, alternate colors and styles of various items, along with suggestions for ancillary purchases, can be highlighted on digital screens.
Digital signage also leads to a better in-store experience when used to communicate and reiterate other messages consumers may have seen on retailers’ websites and within catalog pages. For example, if a “buy one, get one half price” deal is promoted online, digital signage should be deployed to let shoppers know of its availability in-store, rather than compromising their experience by forcing them to inquire about the promotion or to miss it altogether.
Omni-channel POS Method #2: Making all inventory easily accessible in-store. Customers will have a less-than-stellar store visit if any item carried, in any channel, is inaccessible from the brick-and-mortar location they are presently visiting. For this reason, every merchant’s omni-channel POS approach must call for offering customers the option of purchasing items online, or through a mobile app and having the item delivered to the store, or to the most convenient store location. Similarly, consumers should be able to order out-of-stock merchandise and have it shipped to their desired destination. Technology needed to support this aspect of omni-channel POS includes solutions that allow item-level inventory visibility across all channels and centralized order management systems.
Omni-channel POS Method #3: Providing store associates with real-time inventory data. No shopping experience can be entirely positive unless store associates are able to immediately verify whether the merchandise customers want is in stock. Consequently, it’s important to implement an inventory management system that not only yields a single view of merchandise availability across all stores and operations (online, catalog, and even distribution centers), but also one from which this information is available in real time. Making real-time data accessible to store associates via tablets or other mobile devices under an omni-channel POS umbrella is also a smart move. Information can be shared and arrangements for deliveries from elsewhere in the channel immediately arranged, at the point of decision—again preventing customers from leaving the store when they notice that the merchandise they seek is not on the shelves.
Omni-Channel POS Method #4: Facilitating cross-channel functionality. Implementing a POS system that supports “buy online, pick up in store,” “buy in one store, receive delivery from another” and similar options intended to enhance the shopping experience and encourage customer engagement is only part of the equation. An omni-channel POS approach wherein the POS system supports in-store return of items bought online is also needed to improve the in-store experience, ensure customer engagement, and spur incremental sales.
Today’s consumers want what they want, when they want it—and that includes a high-caliber shopping experience as part of an omni-channel retail model. Following the omni-channel POS strategies outlined above is a major step toward fulfilling the promise.
