The old saying that “the customer is always right” may be debatable in some circumstances. But the fact remains, if you want your retail business to be successful, you do need to be able to cater to all kinds of customer demands. Their expectations, and the types of customer experiences they want, will continue to shift with evolving trends and technologies — and it can be challenging to keep up. Having the right retail point of sale (POS) tools can make all the difference. Robust POS technology can help you work around the challenges retailers face today so you can meet customers’ high demands. Here’s how your retail POS system can increase customer loyalty and revenue.
Seamless Transactions
One of the top customer challenges is providing seamless transactions. While everyone wants the purchase process to be fast, convenient, and accurate, not everyone wants the same type of checkout experience. Consider offering your customers a variety of options:
- Traditional: Sleek all-in-one retail POS systems can help you make the most of your counter space while providing the comforting familiarity of the traditional in-store checkout experience.
- Self-Service: For customers who prefer to control their own checkout process and minimize interaction with cashiers, kiosks are a great solution. Besides processing sales transactions (and reducing wait times in the process), kiosks can serve other functions such as assisting customers with item price and location lookup or providing loyalty program account information. These functions can free up your staff to focus on other areas of customer satisfaction.
- Mobile: Meet your on-the-go customers anywhere with a mobile tablet solution. Your employees can conduct transactions anywhere on the sales floor, providing convenience and line-busting when necessary. They can also use tablets for curbside pickup — another option many customers have come to expect and prefer.
Whichever checkout options you offer, they should all have integrated inventory management and centralized customer data to help you meet the retail challenge of providing consistent customer experiences.
Multichannel Experience
Another top customer challenge that retailers face is fulfilling the growing demand for the availability of multichannel paths to purchase. With the growth of e-commerce, 96% of Americans now utilize online shopping in one way or another (even though 65% of their shopping budget is still spent in-store). Consumers have come to expect the ability to move fluidly between spending in-store, online, or both at once — for instance, with “buy online, pick up in store” (BOPIS) options, which have become increasingly popular. Once again, the right retail POS technology — with real-time inventory updating across channels, for example — can be invaluable in meeting the challenges of providing consistent customer experiences within these multiple options. And with self-service kiosks, even in-store transactions can feel like an online shopping experience, providing the best of both worlds.
Stand Out from the Competition
Another major retail challenge has always been staying ahead of the competition. These days, customers have more choices of retailers (both brick-and-mortar and online) than ever. With so many other stores out there, it sometimes may feel hard to get loyal customers coming back to your business — especially when 88% of consumers say it takes three or more purchases to build brand loyalty.
However, customers do want to feel connected to their favorite brands; and it is more cost-effective and profitable to retain repeat customers than to convert new shoppers. One of the best ways to do both is to implement a loyalty rewards program. The average American consumer belongs to more than 16 such programs, and they are strongly incentivized: 64% of loyalty program members will spend more money to reach reward goals. Give your customers more reasons to come back, besides great products and outstanding service. Your retail POS solution should include the ability to create and manage a loyalty program that will make it worthwhile for customers to keep returning to your store instead of going to the competition.
Retail POS Technology Turns Customer Challenges into Accomplishments
Having the right retail POS solution in place can help you combat the challenges of today’s retail industry. Your tech should help you offer a variety of seamless checkout experiences, provide multichannel shopping options, and incentivize spending with a loyalty program that brings customers to your business instead of your competitors’. If your POS can’t do those things, then it’s probably time for an upgrade to a system that will meet even the most demanding customers’ needs.
