It’s been a rough year for brick-and-mortar retailers. In fact, USA Today reported that top clothing retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch, Barnes & Noble, Aeropostale, J.C. Penney, Office Depot, RadioShack, Sears, Staples and Toys “R” Us are the ones planning to close the most stores in 2014. In general, consumers are choosing to shop online more and more. Some even prefer it to an in-store shopping experience.
And it isn’t just eCommerce that they have to worry about – it’s mCommerce, too. According to Retail Customer Experience, the retail industry grew 49 percent as a content category on smartphones just between June 2012 and 2013.
As these new technologies gains popularity among today’s consumers, retailers are looking for innovative ways to attract customers to their brick-and-mortar stores. They’re adding eating and drinking opportunities, offering consumers a more memorable experience – one they can’t achieve with their computer, tablet or smartphone.
A winning combination
– Urban Outfitters has served lamb and bass at its home-and-garden store in Westport, Conn.
– Banana Republic has offered cocktails at shopping events to introduce new clothing collections.
– Ann’s Loft has held Friday happy hours.
– J.C. Penney plans to add juice bars and coffee shops to many of its stores in the next few years.
– Tommy Bahama’s Manhattan store offers island-inspired drinks and dishes in an in-house bar and restaurant.
Not a new concept
The concept of combining food and shopping – many consumers’ two favorite things – is not a new one. It dates back to the early 20th century in department stores. Many department stores included restaurants and tearooms. Some are still around today and continue to serve food and drink to retail customers, including the Walnut Room at the Chicago Macy’s at State Street (the former Marshall Field’s flagship store) and the Zodiac restaurant at the Dallas Neiman Marcus store.
A more recent example is Nordstrom, which has offered food and drink for many years. The department store currently operates seven different kinds of in-store hospitality and a total of more than 200 eateries and coffee bars. For example, Nordstrom tested a contemporary diner called Sixth & Pine and espresso bars.
Tools of the trade(s)
Here are three POS peripherals that are necessary when combining retail and hospitality:
Kiosks
Chances are that your retail space is already a busy one, with customers coming in and out all day. So when you add a restaurant or food options to the mix, things could get even more hectic (especially because the goal of combining retail and hospitality is to increase brick-and-mortar traffic). Kiosks can help streamline service and keep both businesses running smoothly at the same time.
Rather than having several customers pile up at the POS counter, kiosks allow customers to gain information, browse menus, place orders and check themselves out – making the shopping experience as easy as if they were shopping from home on their smartphone. This also provides an added benefit to retailers, who can collect valuable customer data (such as email addresses and item preferences) in order to leverage more effective marketing campaigns.
Flexible printing options
The point of adding food and drink options to your customers’ shopping experience is to make it more memorable, enjoyable and convenient – not more complicated. So why implement separate printers for the food and drink area of your retail store? Your employees are accustomed to using your current POS printers and may need some time and additional training to adjust to new technology. And when you’re managing two businesses concurrently, the last thing you want is unnecessary confusion or downtime.
Your POS printers should be flexible enough to route receipts – or in this case order tickets – to the kitchen or bar to streamline food and drink preparation.
Another thing to keep in mind: when taking what was once just a retail space and turning it into a multifaceted shopping experience that includes a bar or cafe, the additional equipment needed to accommodate your new functions can cause crowding or clutter. It’s also important to choose a printer that will easily integrate with your POS terminals, housed in a compact printer base that allows you to save counter space and reduce cable clutter.
Digital signage
It’s important to effectively and attractively advertise the new additions to your store. A great way to do that is to show off your new menus with digital advertisements and digital menu boards. When customers enter your new-and-improved brick-and-mortar store, they will be able to navigate through your new offerings by viewing dynamic slide shows and videos on a digital signage screen.
How will you use retail and hospitality POS technology to create a memorable shopping and eating experience?
