Retail Confidential 02
Smart ideas for better retailing
Using the latest digital technology to build customer loyalty during a time of price focussed competition was one of the themes of this year’s National Retail Federation’s annual conference in New York.
The event was called “Retail’s Big Show” and Triquestra’s Head of Global sales Nicole McKenzie, who was there, says it lived up to its name, showcasing the latest trends in retail.
In this edition of Retail Confidential, Nicole highlights one of the exciting new developments that was showcased at the conference. It’s all part of our commitment to sharing the latest trends in retailing with our partners and customers around the world.
We’re also pleased to announce that we have signed a new reseller for our Infinity Retail Management System in the US market, Oklahoma-based SixByte systems.
And as always, we’d love to hear your views on retailing at [info@triquestra.com].
Building customer loyalty in a cut price world
"Boosting customer loyalty using technology was one of the hot topics at the NRF Retail’s Big Show in New York" says Triquestra’s Head of Global Sales Nicole McKenzie.
In today’s retail environment customer loyalty is even more valuable than ever.
However, customer loyalty is under threat with so many retailers slashing prices to drive customers through the door. Offers of 50% or even 70%, reductions or two-for-one deals encourage opportunistic, one-off engagement with customers rather than enduring relationships.
So a lot of the talk at the National Retail Federation’s “Retail’s Big Show” exhibition and conference in New York was about using the latest in digital technology to differentiate and prosper in the face of price-focussed competitors. Retailers are looking to the in-store experience to sustain pricing power by building emotive ties with increasingly value-oriented consumers.
One product creating a buzz was a handheld Personal-Shopper Loyalty Scanner that features a generous colour screen and only six buttons for maximum ease-of-use. Case studies within grocery and general retail showed increased sales per customer per visit. They also showed a higher return to store per customer once this technology had been implemented.
After scanning their loyalty cards, customers are given a scanner that is linked to their buying history and product data when they enter a store. Customers watching their level of spend can calculate the total cost of products scanned into their trolley and ensure they spend up to their level. Customers have traditionally spent less than their budget so as not to be embarrassed at checkout.
The scanner, integrated with other technology, can also identify where in store a customer is and as they pass near products they’ve purchased previously, or which may be of interest to them based on previous purchases, the scanner alerts them to these and any applicable special pricing, presenting up-selling opportunities for the retailer.
In hardware stores and other retailers selling bulky items not easily carried to checkout, customers can scan the barcodes of the products they want and the data is fed directly through to point of sale. While the customer is paying for his or her purchases, the items are packed up ready for collection. Shopping made easy.
Customers can also use the scanners to create or purchase from a gift registry for weddings, birthdays or holiday seasons by scanning items and linking to point of sale.
It was very exciting to not only see the breadth of new retail technology but also how it empowers retailers and customers. Such technology enables key functions within our Infinity RMS to be deployed to the shop floor alongside customers, rather than being tied to the counter. Infinity is designed as a powerful data-capture engine, which collects and feeds the information that enables the new technologies seen in New York. The data capture functionality enables retailers to create a more personal shopping experience as well as maximising the return they have already made in their RMS.
If you’d like to know more about how Infinity can help you understand and recognise your customers better, email us at [info@triquestra.com]
US reseller chooses Triquestra International’s Infinity RMS
US reseller SixByte Systems has chosen Triquestra International’s Infinity Retail Management System as its sole point of sale software offering to retailers.
President of the Oklahoma-based reseller, Christopher Smith, said that choosing Infinity had ended a six-year search for the right retail point of sale software.
“We have looked at a lot of other products for several years. What we like about Infinity is that it is a mature, function-rich product that is going to help our customers overcome the challenges I have seen in the retail sector, including e-commerce, and managing vendors and product,” Mr Smith said.
With many retailers struggling to build a cost effective online presence, Infinity’s web integration capability was a strong reason for selecting Infinity ahead of rival systems.
“The fact that Infinity can be integrated with web applications today is a compelling point of difference,” Mr Smith said.
Infinity Retail Management System is an internationally-proven point of sale and retail management software that operates effortlessly in a wide range of environments. Designed as a powerful data capture engine, Infinity collects and feeds the information to a full range of retail business intelligence and e-commerce applications.
Mr Smith said the ease of getting Infinity up and running, and configured was fantastic. “The training curve is going to be very, very simple for us and our customers.”
Another attraction of Infinity was that it had the versatility to operate across all verticals, which meant it opened up a wide range of sales opportunities," Mr Smith said.
Triquestra’s professionalism and responsiveness had been outstanding and he was looking forward to working with the company to create sales opportunities, Mr Smith said.
Triquestra International’s Head of Global Sales Nicole McKenzie said she was excited about partnering with SixByte Systems to develop opportunities in the key midwestern market of Oklahoma.
“We are delighted to be working with SixByte, which is a nimble and enterprising reseller. We will be working closely with them to help retailers use get the most out of their RMS investment by creating superb customers experiences in store and online, while also effectively managing inventory, vendors and staff.”
About SixByte Systems
Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with affiliates in Dallas, Seattle, and San Francisco, SixByte Systems is an expanding reseller specialising in point of sale solutions for the restaurant and retail industries. SixByte Systems employs information technology professionals with years of experience working with large corporations, law firms, finance, energy, technology startups, higher education, co-located e-commerce facilities, and manufacturing businesses.
