Investing in a retail software system requires serious thought and consideration. Though you may desperately need a system to manage your chain of stores, you should seriously consider some important factors before making that big investment. Take some time to think about what works for your organization, your employees and your customers. You should do your research in finding a well built, powerful, customizable retail software system.
1. Customizable and Easy to Use
When you have a chain of stores that differs, you will need a retail software system that is customizable and easy to use. Your employees should be able to access resources easily without assistance from management or the corporate office.
2. Role-based Communication
Many retail organizations have departments, such as sales, purchasing, customer service, and public relations. Having a retail software system that provides role-based communication for each department will streamline communication. Each department will be able to communicate directly with their staff through emails and text messaging. This eliminates miscommunication between departments and staff.
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3. Provide Marketing Design Templates
A retail business should have a retail software system that provides customizable marketing design templates.
4. Provide Brand and Identity Guidelines
You need a retail software system that presents your company brand in detail. Your employees and staff should have easy access to company policy, rules and guidelines. They should have a system that provides this information on demand. This way they do not have to scramble for company information, question what the brand stands for, or what the company rules and policies are.
5. Provide Digital Retail Manuals
This is the digital age and the days of bulky manuals are no longer necessary. You need a retail software system that is capable of storing all the company manuals and educational tools. Employees and managers will have easy access to manuals, which saves the company time and money. Managers and staff will be able to complete training courses and access company information in a shorter time.
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6. Provide Daily Sales Reports
On a daily basis you will need to run a daily sales report, therefore you will need a retail software system. A daily sales report provides local stores with total sales, itemized sales, shift sales, and product sold. You will be able to compare shift sales and determine which products are selling versus those that are not doing so well.
7. Capable of Managing Content and Resources
Retail organizations need a retail software system that is capable of managing content and resources online. You will need a retail software system that contains a Web Content Plugin.
8. Easy Access to Purchasing Information
Your stores should have easy access to purchasing information, such as pricing, vendor information, and purchase orders. A retail software system should have this information readily available for managers so they can order products and access purchasing information on demand.
9. Email and Text Messaging
Snail mail has no place in the technology age; therefore email and text messaging features should be part of your retail software system. This gives your company constant contact with department personnel and corporate executives. Time is money so the quickest way to communicate is the best way.
10. Capable of Rolling Out Central Campaigns
Customers need to be informed about promotions, offers, and specials for local stores. This is a key when investing in a retail software system. You need one that is capable of rolling out campaigns that will drive customers into the stores.
When purchasing a retail software system ensure that you get as much information as you can before making that investment. You need to know if the system is customizable, if it is capable of providing digital manuals, central campaigns and easy access to purchase information.
These features and more will ensure that your stores run efficiently, without loss of communication between managers, staff and customers.
The retail industry needs to source merchandize from different sources as and when needed. Having advanced retail software in place can help businesses execute business faster and also increase their inventory turns; this can also be done through a manual system but with certain limitations. Retail software provides some benefits to both the customers and the retailers.
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A few key benefits include:
- The opportunity to increase operational efficiency and streamline inventory
- Helps reduce errors as the process is highly automated.
- Real time availability of information helps companies make better and more effective decisions.
- It helps retail companies expand their areas of operation and reach out to a larger audience, thus maximizing sales and profits.
- Using specialized retail management software with inbuilt CRM helps retailers to give better customer service.
- Software also helps in generating extensive reports about purchases, sales, and inventory positions. In many cases it also forecast sales trends.
- The point-of-sales (POS) or the checkout counter is where all the real action takes place for the retailers.
- It is important to ease up the process at this crucial point to make matters easy for both the customers and the staff.
- No customer likes to spend time in long queues at the checkout counters after they have made their purchases.
A perfect retail transaction involves using the right retail software and the corresponding hardware to make sure that the customers are dealt with in the minimum possible time. A good POS system increases productivity of the staff and reduces shrinkage and wastage of inventory while helping in improved footfalls and sales. Customer services can also be improved through various promotional offers, reward points and discount coupons, all of which can be seamlessly integrated into the software.