Consumer Expectations Driving Change in Retail Technology Deployment
Announcement posted by AdvanceRetail Technology 22 Oct 2014
PANDORA Sales Up with AdvanceRetail SmartStore Mobile Solution
The changing expectations of consumers in Australia and New Zealand are having a significant impact on retail investment in mobile and online technology which in turn are driving a profound change in the way retailers connect and communicate with their target markets.
That’s according to Mark McGeachen, CEO, AdvanceRetail Technology, a panel speaker at a retail media round table staged in Sydney today. “Today’s technically savvy consumers expect retailers to utilise technology that will improve service, speed up processing and provide them with purchasing options. Customers are often better informed than store staff with information and price comparisons literally in the palm of their hand while shopping.”
“The future is no longer about online or bricks and mortar – it’s now an omni-channel world, a seamless path-to-purchase spanning whatever channels each customer chooses to utilise. Consumer expectation is driving innovation in our business to ensure we can offer our retail clients the world’s most up-to-date and innovative technology that can add value to their business,” he added.
Leading jewellery retailer, PANDORA, whose products are sold in more than 80 countries on six continents through approximately 10,000 points of sale, has seen rapid growth in Australia and New Zealand since establishing its flagship store in Pitt Street, Sydney, in 2008.
The company is currently in the process of an aggressive store-opening program and by the end of 2014 will have opened more than 40 stores in the last two-and-a-half years alone. Its wider vision is to provide consumers with an omni-channel customer experience, including in-store and online options to be made available within the next year.
Supported by its expanding retail presence, PANDORA's sales have grown by a minimum of 16 per cent per quarter (like for like) during the last 18 months. Four of those quarters have seen growth in excess of 20 per cent.
While the results have been consistently good, there are three particular times of the year when PANDORA staff handle exceptionally strong demand. Every Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and in the lead-up to Christmas, staff are rushed off their feet as hundreds of people convene on each store. Customer queues stretch out into the street as they search for the perfect gift.
Until recently, the pressures of serving so many people could inevitably lead to delays and problems for both customers and staff. To speed customer service and provide a better consumer experience, management decided to trial AdvanceRetail SmartStore, a mobile retail solution that could integrate with PANDORA's existing AdvanceRetail POS system and which would enable staff to serve customers from anywhere on the floor.
Brien Winther, Vice President, Sales & Business Services, PANDORA said, “What we were after was a queue-busting system, something that would make it easier and faster for staff to service customers.”
“We were already using AdvanceRetail’s fixed POS system which had provided us with exceptionally rich data. In fact, the quality of the data we are able to obtain is unsurpassed by PANDORA globally. Therefore, I had no hesitation in trialling AdvanceRetail SmartStore across all PANDORA company stores, to run on Apple iPods. The timing was deliberate. It would give staff an opportunity to become familiar with the technology prior to one of our busiest times – the Mother’s Day rush!”
AdvanceRetail’s SmartStore, provides a comprehensive, intuitive and scalable POS system, that has been developed in response to today’s changing retail landscape. It’s a next generation multi-platform software solution for retailers delivering a contemporary customer service experience solution that will easily adapt to future technological advances. In addition, the solution enables staff to serve customers from anywhere on the floor with full product and customer information at their fingertips, and the small hardware footprint also frees up valuable store space.
Winther says he fully expected teething problems with the deployment but was surprised when the biggest hurdle turned out to be operational rather than technical. “We had a lot of staff resistance to using the devices. They were comfortable with the old manual processes and didn't want to change,” he commented. “Many felt the new technology would slow them down and there were concerns that this would negatively impact their ability to reach their sales key performance indicators.”
“In the end we had to be very tough about getting staff to use the mobile devices. Once they started to use the iPods however, all the fear was gone and we got immediate buy-in,” Winther adds. “In fact the original intention was to have two to three devices per store and for staff to share them, however they insisted they needed a device each to fully reap the benefits, which has certainly been delivered and proven to be well worth the investment. They now do up to 100 percent of sales on the devices including returns.”
PANDORA's AdvanceRetail SmartStore trial has proven to be a very positive one with no customer problems and an increase in sales across Pandora’s company stores. The technology has proven its value and Winther is now keenly pursuing a wider roll-out to its franchise stores. It is a roll-out he would like completed by February 2015.
“Our strategy is to continue to grow the retail sector. We have a fresh product range and a brand people trust. We intend to make PANDORA’s jewellery available to customers across all channels by 2015,” Winther concluded.
About AdvanceRetail Technology
AdvanceRetail Technology Limited is a leading provider of retail software throughout the Asia/Pacific region, developing and implementing a suite of applications designed to enhance the customer’s in-store retail experience.
The company launched its first retail POS system in 1990 and today is focused on the needs of the multi-site retailer. It provides full business process consultancy, implementation, training and support services with the ultimate aim of designing software to transform the in-store retail experience.
At the same time, AdvanceRetail Technology has partnered with a number of merchandising and ERP software vendors to provide clients with an integrated end-to-end retail management solution.
The company is totally committed to the retail market and invests heavily in research and development. Today, AdvanceRetail Technology is a member of the 3Q Holdings Group of Companies.
That’s according to Mark McGeachen, CEO, AdvanceRetail Technology, a panel speaker at a retail media round table staged in Sydney today. “Today’s technically savvy consumers expect retailers to utilise technology that will improve service, speed up processing and provide them with purchasing options. Customers are often better informed than store staff with information and price comparisons literally in the palm of their hand while shopping.”
“The future is no longer about online or bricks and mortar – it’s now an omni-channel world, a seamless path-to-purchase spanning whatever channels each customer chooses to utilise. Consumer expectation is driving innovation in our business to ensure we can offer our retail clients the world’s most up-to-date and innovative technology that can add value to their business,” he added.
Leading jewellery retailer, PANDORA, whose products are sold in more than 80 countries on six continents through approximately 10,000 points of sale, has seen rapid growth in Australia and New Zealand since establishing its flagship store in Pitt Street, Sydney, in 2008.
The company is currently in the process of an aggressive store-opening program and by the end of 2014 will have opened more than 40 stores in the last two-and-a-half years alone. Its wider vision is to provide consumers with an omni-channel customer experience, including in-store and online options to be made available within the next year.
Supported by its expanding retail presence, PANDORA's sales have grown by a minimum of 16 per cent per quarter (like for like) during the last 18 months. Four of those quarters have seen growth in excess of 20 per cent.
While the results have been consistently good, there are three particular times of the year when PANDORA staff handle exceptionally strong demand. Every Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and in the lead-up to Christmas, staff are rushed off their feet as hundreds of people convene on each store. Customer queues stretch out into the street as they search for the perfect gift.
Until recently, the pressures of serving so many people could inevitably lead to delays and problems for both customers and staff. To speed customer service and provide a better consumer experience, management decided to trial AdvanceRetail SmartStore, a mobile retail solution that could integrate with PANDORA's existing AdvanceRetail POS system and which would enable staff to serve customers from anywhere on the floor.
Brien Winther, Vice President, Sales & Business Services, PANDORA said, “What we were after was a queue-busting system, something that would make it easier and faster for staff to service customers.”
“We were already using AdvanceRetail’s fixed POS system which had provided us with exceptionally rich data. In fact, the quality of the data we are able to obtain is unsurpassed by PANDORA globally. Therefore, I had no hesitation in trialling AdvanceRetail SmartStore across all PANDORA company stores, to run on Apple iPods. The timing was deliberate. It would give staff an opportunity to become familiar with the technology prior to one of our busiest times – the Mother’s Day rush!”
AdvanceRetail’s SmartStore, provides a comprehensive, intuitive and scalable POS system, that has been developed in response to today’s changing retail landscape. It’s a next generation multi-platform software solution for retailers delivering a contemporary customer service experience solution that will easily adapt to future technological advances. In addition, the solution enables staff to serve customers from anywhere on the floor with full product and customer information at their fingertips, and the small hardware footprint also frees up valuable store space.
Winther says he fully expected teething problems with the deployment but was surprised when the biggest hurdle turned out to be operational rather than technical. “We had a lot of staff resistance to using the devices. They were comfortable with the old manual processes and didn't want to change,” he commented. “Many felt the new technology would slow them down and there were concerns that this would negatively impact their ability to reach their sales key performance indicators.”
“In the end we had to be very tough about getting staff to use the mobile devices. Once they started to use the iPods however, all the fear was gone and we got immediate buy-in,” Winther adds. “In fact the original intention was to have two to three devices per store and for staff to share them, however they insisted they needed a device each to fully reap the benefits, which has certainly been delivered and proven to be well worth the investment. They now do up to 100 percent of sales on the devices including returns.”
PANDORA's AdvanceRetail SmartStore trial has proven to be a very positive one with no customer problems and an increase in sales across Pandora’s company stores. The technology has proven its value and Winther is now keenly pursuing a wider roll-out to its franchise stores. It is a roll-out he would like completed by February 2015.
“Our strategy is to continue to grow the retail sector. We have a fresh product range and a brand people trust. We intend to make PANDORA’s jewellery available to customers across all channels by 2015,” Winther concluded.
About AdvanceRetail Technology
AdvanceRetail Technology Limited is a leading provider of retail software throughout the Asia/Pacific region, developing and implementing a suite of applications designed to enhance the customer’s in-store retail experience.
The company launched its first retail POS system in 1990 and today is focused on the needs of the multi-site retailer. It provides full business process consultancy, implementation, training and support services with the ultimate aim of designing software to transform the in-store retail experience.
At the same time, AdvanceRetail Technology has partnered with a number of merchandising and ERP software vendors to provide clients with an integrated end-to-end retail management solution.
The company is totally committed to the retail market and invests heavily in research and development. Today, AdvanceRetail Technology is a member of the 3Q Holdings Group of Companies.