While many experts have predicted the impending doom of the traditional brick-and-mortar store, the high percentage of sales still taking place in-store at the point of sale (POS) is proof that old channels don’t have to die—they simply need to be modified to complement and seamlessly interact with new channels. In fact, a recent report from Nielsen, “Brick by Brick: “The State of the Shopping Center,” revealed that despite the boom in online shopping, consumers are still making the majority of their purchases within a physical store. It’s their expectations of what they want from a shopping experience that are transforming.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to the fact that when consumers want to buy something, it doesn't matter how retailers get it to them - they just want to be able to find it, and find it fast – and the store is usually the fastest means of acquiring the product.
That mentality is driving retailers to focus on delivering a superior in-store omnichannel shopping experience that integrates seamlessly across all other channels including web, mobile, catalogue and call center.
To deliver a true omnichannel experience within the physical store, retailers need to have the following capabilities to meet the needs of today’s savvy shoppers.
- Offer conveniences such as the ability to buy online / pick up in store, and buy online / return to store
- Achieve a 360-degree view of the customer across all channels to deliver personalized service
- Gain enterprise-wide inventory visibility to satisfy shoppers and save the sale
- Increase cashier productivity and speed employee training with a personalized, easy-to-use touch screen interface
- Improve efficiency and reduce fraud with built-in security, biometrics, and return and refund management functionality
- Service the customer anywhere at any time by extending the POS to a mobile device
- Create more loyal and profitable customers with a single commerce platform that unifies all channels and touchpoints.