It’s no secret that retailers have focused on enhancing their e-commerce channels as they faced a dramatic shift to online shopping starting especially during the pandemic. Even though it can’t be considered a wrong move, retailers who totally ignored the in-store experience and invested online only to keep up with the trend will actually be losing in the long run. Why? It’s because customers now are not only do shopping online but blend online and offline who are “omnishoppers”. 

Omnishoppers are more demanding compared to ones who only shop online or from a physical store. Retailers need to take those customers seriously and build experiences to meet their demands while maintaining profitability as they are now not insignificant. In that case, let’s take a look at what retailers can do to build more efficient operations.

How to create an intriguing online & offline experience

Physical stores still occupy an important place but if retailers have the right strategy to turn them into space to attract customers. Customers get the best service in the fastest way possible which is only possible through adopting the right technology. While a customer does online shopping, engines find them where they can find the product, the availability and suggestion. Physical stores need to provide that service to keep customers coming back. Digitizing the store with omnichannel POS and clienteling solutions makes a big difference from the moment a customer comes in the store. Store associates can complete registration processes without leading customers somewhere in the store that completely distracts them. By empowering store associates with the right tools, they can provide an experience that can compete with online shopping. Customer information and purchase history can be kept and accessed within seconds, and most importantly store associates don’t get tied in cashiers and complete checkout anywhere which improves customer experience. 

What if customers face stockouts…

Let’s suppose a customer gets the best and most personalized experience from sales assocaites but if the sales associates can not access the accurate stock data, the shopping journey ends up being a disappointment. At that point, there should be a robust system that provides real-time inventory visibility to enable store associates to access the most accurate data. With a system that connects all the inventory of online and offline channels, store associates can share the stock availability confidently, complete checkout right away in the aisle, or even better, they can provide various fulfillment options including click and collect, and send to address as they are sure that the item is available at that store. 

Does in-store inventory need protection?

Another aspect to consider is that there are a lot of physical stores retailers have to manage and each has a different size, busyness, and a number of employees working. In order to provide the same service in each store, retailers need a robust order management system that enables retailers to manage even the smallest detail, SKUs, the daily order assignment limit for each store, and give them the ability to turn on/off click & collect and send to address options in seconds. The answer is yes. For busy stores and trend products, there should be options to enable retailers to set buffers that minimize out-of-stock problems, their stress, and unsatisfied customers.

If you want to serve the best possible experience out there, meet Shopi’s ORP! With Shopi’s core capabilities, you can manage the entire operation confidently while maximizing profit and customer loyalty. Turn your stores into a place where “omnishoppers” get the speed and convenience they get from online channels. This way, increase the foot traffic to unlock cross-sale opportunities and offer convenient payment and fulfillment options. To find out more about how to transform your operation and how to do it easily with Shopi, get in touch with us!