How To Boost Your Retail Store Sales

The story of Robert Ilijason

It was the middle of night in a small, sleepy Swedish village of Viken. After accidentally dropping the last jar of baby food to the floor, Robert Ilijason drove around the town for 12 miles in search of a convenience store that remained open at night. Frustrated by the ordeal, he then decided to open a shop that remains open round-the-clock, and thus, was born the first 24*7 smart store in Sweden. The specialty of this store is it does not have even a single staff and is entirely automated. The only thing that the customers need is a smartphone, in order to enter the store and carry out the transactions.

Choose your pick

While it is true that today’s capacity-crunched market, teeming with online and mobile stores, has given varied choices to customers, and added to the already existing woes of the retail industry; the good news is that the tide is slowly turning, with more and more retailers embracing technology. Automation, IOT, self-service pos and smart-technology are some of the new-age features that allow the retailers to offer services at par with their online counterparts, and lure the customers back to the stores.

Boost your sales with unmanned stores

An unmanned store, as the word suggests, can operate on its own, with little or no assistance from humans. For example, a smart store will help you run your store even after hours, in a secure way, so that your store never stops generating revenue for you. Similarly, virtual stores, such as digital walls, are location independent, and can be placed in a crowded area. The customers can scan the QR code on the screen to look up the product/catalog, and place the order. Placing kiosks in strategic places with catchy messages and offers will boost your sales and build greater brand identity.

Here are the other ways your store will benefit from tech integration:

• Improved customer shopping experience: Self-service technology provides the customers with information such as product pricing, availability, and feature comparison, which saves their time and improves the customer experience.
• Broader product reach: Planting self-service kiosks/ virtual walls at strategic locations is a cost-effective way to generate additional revenue without spending extra on advertising.

Improve your bottom-line with self-service pos

These stores are not only helpful from customer’s perspective, but also shore up your profits by cutting out unproductive outlays. Some of the major challenges faced by retailers, such as long wait times during peak hours, under-trained workers due to high-turnover rates, and theft, can all be addressed by implementing self-service technology.

In a fragile economy, businesses seek to trim costs on all fronts. A self-service kiosk becomes extremely handy in such a scenario due to its cost-effectiveness. After all, self-service kiosks work every day; never call in sick, and don’t need supervision. Once plugged in, the kiosk will work on its own, and continue to do so as long as the components work fine.

On a serious note, according to a research conducted by Summit Research Associates, kiosk transaction costs are one-tenth of a manually-assisted transaction. With the rising minimum wage rates and increasing employee attrition, self-service technology has presented itself as a reliable alternative to help retailers tide over the inconsistencies in the labor market.

Win-win proposition for retailers

Self-service technology is a boon for the languishing retail business because it serves the twin purpose of curtailing excessive manpower requirement, while simultaneously improving customer service, thus resulting in improved profits for the store.

Source: Boost your retail sales with self-service stores