Mobility is indeed a buzzword these days and the biggest beneficiary of this boom is the retail industry. Powerful, feature rich Smartphones & tablet devices in the hands of the consumers coupled with much improved Internet technologies are forcing the retailers to adopt mobility in their business environment.
Retailers are today extending brand & product information, ordering capabilities and payment options on mobile platforms to consumers. These mobile platforms are either smartphones or tablet-based devices, which are either consumer owned or employee operated. A recent report shows that over 45% retailers are most likely to adopt mobile platforms to cater to rapidly changing customer expectations.
iVend POS running on iPad & iPhones
Given the nature of these devices, it is far more likely for an electronics retailer to adopt a mobile platform to increase customer satisfaction and use this as a shopping differentiator. A consumer would use a mobile device for placing an order, looking for ratings, reviews, redeeming coupons, use passport services to store all loyalty points, coupons, gift certificates, etc.
A retailer would use a mobile platform to enhance in-store shopping experience by using mobile devices as line / queue busters, marketing functions like dynamic location based messaging for promotions, advertising, etc.
The possibilities are endless and so are the technological options available to both – the retailer and the end consumer.
It is no longer futuristic for a consumer to walk into a store, select an item, order it online using his mobile phone with an option to collect the item form the same store right there. By using the mobile platform, the consumer will be able to get a better deal online, redeem his loyalty points and gift cards and still walk out of the store with the item, as if it were tendered out at the till in the store.
All these points prompted iShops in Egypt to select iVend Retail – a Complete & Integrated Retail Management System in their stores selling amongst other, Apple products.
Retailers in the Electronics Vertical are faced with a unique set of challenges. Hundreds of products in tens of categories, ever changing models and their series including sizes, different types of accessories and all serial controlled make inventory management a herculean task for the retailers to keep pace with the changes and evolution.
Not only this, electronic products are extensively compared for their features and underlying technology before a consumer decides on a particular brand and model. Recording these features with an ability to compare models across a price range is a fundamental expectation from a Retail Solution.
Electronic items are not limited to the ones, which are portable and can be carried away by the customer. These items also include big sized items, which require installation and configurations with custom shipping needs.
iVend Retail Management Suite with its integrated applications allows an electronic retailer to effectively manage these challenges across multiple sales channels – in-store or online. Actually, more so, on the online eCommerce offering that a retailer may have.
