How Some Retailers Are Increasing Growth by Almost 150%
Omnichannel is becoming what Millennials were years ago: A catchphrase that took hold in the market during a time of flux and reinvention. These popular nuances find a foothold while retailers and brands continue to search for silver bullets to resolve the onslaught of challenges and money pits devised from outdated software to change-resistant, c-level executives.
And yet the early adopters of new technologies — in this case, available mobile functionality in physical store locations — are securing huge growth. According to a recent survey conducted by enterprise-managed mobile services provider, Stratix and IHL Group, retailers that deployed in-store mobile capabilities are predicted to have 146 percent sales growth this year.
“At Stratix, we’re not surprised by these findings,” said Stratix president and chief executive officer, Gina Gallo. “We work with enterprise customers daily on providing scalable deployment and support models for their line-of-business mobile environments. And, as the use cases and complexities for mobile has grown exponentially over the last ten years, we see that most retail customers are seeking help with staff and support challenges.”
As Millennials and Generation Z shoppers continue to build their spending power, customer service features like enhanced personalization will continue to grow as a top priority – for both consumers and merchants. This necessitates proper training for in-store staff — 60 percent of those surveyed said that there was a lack of sufficiently trained staff in physical stores.
This shouldn’t discount that maintaining mobile checkout options within bricks-and-mortar locations should go unattended — or not attempted at all. “Based on the survey’s findings, it is clear that mobile point-of-sale is an integral part of the planned enhancement of the customer experience at the store level in 2018 and 2019,” said Greg Buzek, IHL Group principal analyst. Despite the strong potential financial improvements that have been experienced by retailers enjoying the technology, there have been many reasons why other retailers have delayed the deployment of mobile devices due to the many challenges being able to do deployments effectively and achieving ROI targets.”
As shoppers begin to visit physical retail locations for experiences — more than a venue for transactions — delivering frictionless checkout options that are powered by artificial intelligence and offer intuitive delivery options will rise. Removing long lines in lieu of one-on-one engagement alternatives that mobile POS systems provide can inject a crucial face of personalization needed to bolster brand loyalty — and increase growth by 146 percent.
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