How Can Retailers Lean on Tech to Operate Effectively?

https://www.sdcexec.com/software-technology/emerging-technologies/article/22918915/teamwork-commerce-how-can-retailers-lean-on-tech-to-operate-effectively

By Amber Hovious, VP Marketing and Partnerships at Teamwork Commerce

Labor shortage is a pressing concern for the retail industry. According to Statista, 3,053 employees working in retail went on strike in the US last year. Not only can low staff numbers impact retailers, they can also result in long queues and slow operations, ultimately hindering customers’ shopping experience.

To mitigate the impact of labor shortages, retailers must aim to improve efficiency at the point-of-sale (POS) and be able to seamlessly serve customers with reduced staff numbers. With technologies such as RFID-powered self-checkout and mobile POS, brands can reduce checkout queues, prioritize customer needs and free the time of in-store associates, enabling them to serve more customers in less time.

Enhancing Self-Checkout With RFID

According to CapitalOne, 79.3% of consumers use self-checkouts regularly and an estimated 10,000 global retailers will have installed self-checkout systems as of 2024. However, despite the popularity of self-checkouts, numerous problems are coming to the surface. Customers are constantly faced with product scanning errors, bagging area weight issues and product registering challenges. A process that is intended to be quick and easy can cause unnecessary wait times for in-store visitors, leaving shoppers feeling frustrated at the final touchpoint of their shopping journey.

One technology that is combatting this issue lies in RFID-powered self-checkout. Aside from significantly improving the speed of checkout, RFID-powered self-checkout can reduce queuing times and minimize customer frustration by making the process seamless. Once items are placed into a designated area at checkout, RFID readers automatically scan all items in a customer’s basket, immediately and accurately. This allows shoppers to complete checkouts in 30 seconds or less, providing a seamless shopping experience. Importantly, the technology requires minimal assistance from staff.

Without being tied to checkout terminals, in-store staff can better spend their time on providing value to customers, personally assisting them with queries and building healthy relationships. In turn, this can significantly boost consumer loyalty.

How Mobile POS Helps Optimize Flexibility

To cater to customers who desire human-led checkout experiences, retailers can empower their staff with advanced mobile POS solutions, enabling them to serve customers from any part of the store. With this level of flexibility, staff are no longer restricted to stationary kiosks, giving them the freedom to meet customers on the shop floor, answer any queries and complete checkouts on the spot.

The ability to complete transactions on the move significantly reduces wait times for customers. However, alongside optimizing operations, mobile POS can also enable staff to offer a range of payment options and provide a more bespoke and personal service that demonstrates flexibility and leaves customers feeling valued. With a plethora of information at their fingertips such as inventory data, customer purchase history and their buying preferences, in-store staff can provide high-quality experiences quickly and with ease. From a customer perspective, they can experience a seamless shopping experience that is tailored to their unique needs.

The Key to Operational Efficiency 

POS technology plays an important role in helping retailers on the shop floor during labor shortages. However, from an operational perspective, retailers must also deploy innovative technologies to streamline wider operations such as inventory management and order fulfillment. RFID technology can significantly enhance inventory management, enabling retailers to automate stock counts. This can free hours of valuable time of human associates that is spent in conducting manual stocktakes.

RFID-powered stock counters can streamline inventory management by updating stock-level records in real time. With the right solutions deployed, in-store associates can complete these tasks in seconds, simply waving a handheld RFID reader over inbound stock, and near-instantly scanning all products, each equipped with RFID tags at item-level.

Armed with this information, retailers can make better decisions, faster. They can control the entire inventory process, relocating stock where necessary and ensuring all locations can keep shelves replenished efficiently. For customers, this also relieves the pressure of going into stores and being left disappointed when faced with out-of-stock items.

This enhanced visibility and improved decision-making capability can play a significant role in building trust between brands and customers and helps to create customer loyalty. RFID deployment also creates the foundation for omnichannel capabilities, facilitating Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS), Buy Online, Ship from Store (BOSFS) and Buy Online, Return In-Store (BORIS) fulfillment options. Not only does this allow customers to shop in ways that best suit them, but each of these options creates an efficient transaction that, once again, streamlines the time of in-store associates while delivering improved customer experiences.

Labor shortage is a pressing challenge for retailers and technology can play a critical role in helping them minimize its impact. By leveraging innovative technologies such as mobile POS and RFID, brands can significantly improve their operational efficiency and empower their staff to serve more customers in less time seamlessly. Ultimately, this allows them to operate during busy shopping periods despite reduced staff numbers.