Retail Technology
www.timberdisplays.co.uk
Why more Gardening Retailers need to adopt a Bricks & Clicks approach to boosting sales
With reports that online retail sales are continuing to soar, Editor, Cheryl Taylor, asks Scott Storey, MD of CTS Retail, how more garden retailers can combine their online and offline activity in order to maximise sales in 2011.
I
think most retailers will agree that the modern gardening consumer is more independent than ever and most of them understand and adopt technology easily. With the increasing presence of such an informed customer, it is crucial that retailers have an online presence to support their offline business, as without it, the retailer will lose market share to the competition that can deliver both.
In the current environment, a seamless integration between online and bricks & mortar offerings is key to building customer loyalty and truly understanding your target audience. Industry recognised statistics show that retailers can expect to see an increase of 7% in overall sales when they include a web store as part of their retail estate, plus increased footfall of 22% in store. The reality is that if the customer does not receive the same level of experience through the various shopping channels available, then the retailer runs a significant risk of losing market share.
Typically retailers have managed web stores and bricks & mortar stores with different management structures and disciplines. Both independently delivering customer service, but ensuring the level of service not only is maintained but increased is a crucial component to the success of this integration. In the first instance this is about the retailers personnel, aligning their working processes and values to deliver a true cross-channel customer experience. Stock availability and customer service at local store level is critical. With technology evolving daily, consumers are expecting more from a retailer. They want to purchase a quality product, receive independent affirmation that their purchase will be a good one, and they expect the same high quality customer service regardless of their preferred method of purchasing. When a retailer can deliver the same experience through a cross-channel, multi-channel or bricks & mortar transaction, customer loyalty will increase and therefore a true commercial advantage can be obtained. Todays’ consumer is informed and has access to various sources of information via the internet to research and buy products, but the bricks & mortar store will always exist for the following reasons; • Having researched the item ‘ I want it now’ so whether this is reserve & collect or just drive to the store and purchase, immediacy will drive bricks & mortar sales.
• Some products are very personal and therefore the product needs to be seen and considered in person even if it has been researched previously.
• Customers look to the retailer to have expertise and knowledge so speaking to a member of staff in a store will again instil confidence in the customer purchase. Customer centricity is the true driver of the need to integrate online / offline systems. In my opinion this leads to the seamless integration of many systems - accounts package, POS solution, inventory management, web store(s), warehouse management system, ERP and CRM. To truly deliver the customer experience, the EPOS solution and webstore(s) need to be completely integrated delivering a strong message to customers from a marketing perspective through social media applications such as Facebook or Twitter. Front End or customer facing solutions must be the first components on the road to customer centricity followed closely by all traditional back office applications supporting this activity.
In essence, a truly cross channel experience means that your customers have total choice in the way they shop with you. Competition is mounting and I believe only those companies that embrace technology to reach out to their customers, will be successful. Scott Storey is managing director of CTS Retail, a company with over 27 years’ experience in offering a range of IT products and service solutions for all sizes of retail business in many different retail sectors. CTS Retail is a Microsoft Gold Partner reseller of Microsoft Dynamics and the only UK reseller of Cervello. For more information visit
www.cts-retail.com
Another company worth considering is Easitill. Established 20 years ago, Easitill has a number of customers nationwide from all retail sectors, including Garden Centres, Retail Nurseries, Pet & Aquatics Retailers and more. It aims to assist small to medium sized retailers to apply Electronic Point Of Sale (EPOS), Web Sites, Stock Control, Plant database, Labelling, Mobile, and Mail Order Solutions in the most cost effective manner, to improve the profitability and quality of their business operations by the application of information technology. Ed
18 GCU AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
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