OMNI RETAIL: IT’S ALL ABOUT CONNECTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE

We will analyze the reality and potential of connectivity in the retail and catering sectors and offer some ready-to-use solutions from our LS Retail development team.

More and more retailers in the US are using new technologies and expect to increase 50% of store sales by the end of the year. The effect of digital media is having a positive impact on in-store commerce, conversion, shopping basket and loyalty. Retail leaders have a unique opportunity to harness digital power, integrate it into their organisations’ DNA, enhance the customer experience and increase profits.

Furthermore, as has become clear from numerous presentations by retailers and IT experts, this year at the “NRF Big Show” in New York, a clear divide separates the needs of digital consumers and the experiences that retailers are actually experiencing. able to provide. Breaking this divide requires a strategy that looks beyond the rigid boundaries of “in-store” and “online” to offer a much more integrated approach, one that puts digital at the heart of the modern shopping experience. To innovate in an omni-channel world, retailers need to free themselves from the constraints of thinking by channel, but also testing and learning concepts – and paying attention to what’s happening outside the retail industry. One of the most persistent problems for retailers is that they are late offering what consumers want. Mobile uniformity is not yet guaranteed, and there is still a lot of progress ahead when it comes to pairing it with the desktop experience.

David Bakke, retail specialist for MoneyCrashers, says ensuring quality is one of the biggest challenges for retailers in adopting omni-channel selling strategies: If you quickly make an application with the goal of increasing sales, but that doesn’t work properly, not only will the consumer not have a good experience, but it will also damage your brand on other channels.” An article by Software Advice, a company that studies and compares sales systems, shows that many retailers are slow to adopt web-based software. Retail was compared to other market sectors, where buyers’ preferences for web-based software have increased tremendously in recent years. In the human resources market, for example, more than 70% of buyers want to evaluate web-based software applications.

Retailers are following, too. According to the “Software Advice”, 42% of software buyers want to replace their POS Terminal software or other retail software. Software replacement is driven by buyers’ need for more robust features (37%). Customer-facing features (eg CRM, loyalty programs) were requested by 49% of buyers. Many retailers offer free Wi-Fi in stores and responsive websites, optimized for different types of devices. Wal-Mart, eBay and Amazon have already created useful mobile experiences for consumers.

“Software Advice” expects the preference for web-based products to increase, especially among careful shoppers who are aware of the savings associated with these services. Mobile and portable devices will drive this retail trend. Some pertinent numbers:

• it is estimated that 65% of the world’s population will use mobile phones by 2015;
• over 80% of internet usage will be via mobile devices;
• over the next three years, global mobile sales will reach $638 billion. This is the amount of sales for the entire e-commerce up to a year ago.

This fundamental change is also gaining ground in the catering sector. Many of us have been to restaurants and used a tablet to order and/or pay. Earlier this year, “Software Advice” realized that 15% of buyers want Termianis POS software that is compatible with iPads, and other mobile devices. At the same time, 54% of restaurant owners say they would be willing to use a tablet to take orders, pay the bill, or both.

The millennium generation, which grew up with the internet, is rapidly spreading and ingesting product information. By the next decade, Millennials will become the largest consumer group, generating a projected spending of $1.4 trillion by 2020, according to a study by Accenture.

This is where LS Retail comes in with its omni and mobile solutions for retail and catering. Our update for LS Nav 2015 has many features aimed at both customers and business owners. LS Nav POS is a fast, reliable and powerful application with a graphical user interface and enables online and offline operations, combining great resilience with online benefits. POS now stands for Point of Service. It only takes one click to install the POS Terminal on a new device. All functionality and process configurations are done centrally. They are then distributed to the terminals without the need for any data entry in the stores.

LS Nav POS offers the traditional POS fixed terminal and the mobile POS, where employees can complete transactions. Mobile POS offers employees not only the closing of the transaction but also important information about the consumer, products, prices and promotions available. The global POS search tool makes it possible for even the most recent contributors to easily find products and their relevant information.

Now, sellers can take the POS Terminal with them to the consumer instead of sending the consumer to the POS device, creating a great in-store consumption experience. With the new LS Omni Channel, consumers can create an order whenever and wherever they want. The POS Terminal in the store is used to pick up the order by the consumer or to send it to the consumer. The POS Terminal supports simple and easy controlled processes. Employees are taken through the processes to ensure productivity and quality of service. All usage is recorded, which gives management the ability to analyse, audit and manage thefts in order to maximize profit. LS POS can be used with keyboard or touch screen equipment, and offers features that make sales transactions easy to use, manage and process. LS POS implements faster, easier to use and error-free standards in retail sales.