You may have grown up hearing that ‘the first impression is the last impression,’ and thus we in some or the other way tend to run the horse race in strengthening our first impression. But do you know, in some cases, last impressions are equally important? Yes, you have heard it right; for your customers, the last point, also known as the checkout point, is a core concern. Despite all the jolly good time that they may have spent in your store shopping, things can go in for a toss if they are not satisfied with the Retail Customer Experience during the checkout process. The last impression should be lasting, and thus here is where the concept of POS outweighs the traditional methods to offer customer satisfaction.
Best POS software is a boon for online as well as brick and mortar stores and has a lot to offer beyond merely being a management solution tool. So here is how POS can excel in the overall experience of a customer:
Catering to customer demands
Many customers prefer to experience the products before they actually buy them. This stands as one of the primary reasons why people are opting for POS systems. A POS System which is integrated with a customer relationship management software can help the customers and shopkeeper go a long way together.
It enables the shopkeepers to track the buying and purchase behaviour of customers to make the Retail Customer Experience better. Once you get to know the needs of your customers, you can always have room for the necessary items in your shop. This will save you from waking up to a day wherein a customer raises demand, and you make them return, showing an ‘Out of stock’ board.
This attribute further escalates the overall customer experience and inculcates positivity inside. Also, it will save the customers from spending extra bucks on buying items for trial or things that they fail to serve their purpose.
Reduction in waiting time and boosting speed
There are high chances for a customer to leave their shopping carts abandoned owing to the long queues. Going beyond 8 minutes standing in a line can compel the buyers to leave the store being dissatisfied with the Retail Customer Experience.
It is said that around 73% of customers find it frustrating to wait for their chance at the checkout point. Additionally, waiting forever in the queue and finally reaching the counter just to hear that the shopkeepers do not offer you to transact with your preferred mode of payment is no less than a nightmare. Hers is where POS systems can be a boon for you! Not only does it offer a speedy method of transactions, but it also offers multiple payment modes to ease your customers at the checkout point.
Adds a personal touch
Caring for your customers wins you a few more new customers and also retains the existing ones. Enabling the personalized shopping mode for your customers will help you to reap the fruits of success, enabling higher levels of Retail Customer Experience. POS loyalty programmes can help you with this; all you need is your customer details, their email id, and their mobile number. And what next? You can send personalized and discounted offers on their special days such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc. to get them shopping again at your stores.
It is said that your revenue can go up to six times if you send personalised messages to your customers, compelling them to walk to your stores. So the power is in your hands, try implementing the POS system, and see how this hack proves to be constructive enough in winning the hearts of your loyal clients.
Resolving inventory issues
A lot of revenue is lost that could be yours owing to the failure in the management of the store inventory. It further makes your clients walk out of the stores empty-handed or by settling down for something that was not in their list. A POS system deems to be necessary in such a case that can take into account the accounting, integration, and reconciliation software together to stoop down the issues arising out of inefficient inventory management, moreover enhancing the Retail Customer Experience. This system helps in coordinating with the staff and database to restock the short items to give importance to customer preferences.
Customer Service optimization
Customer service stands as one of the essential parameters to boost your sales. It is believed that about 78% of people tend to drop down their purchase owing to the lack of Retail Customer Experience and assistance that they receive at the stores. Besides this, it causes a customer drain from your stores, restricting a majority of them to return back to your stores for good.
Thus engaging your customers requires you to be particular about the provision of unmatched customer service at your stores. A warm smile is not enough to lure them; it takes more than that. A POS system in such a case should be capable of integrating with HR data to get the right set of staff working at the right place to traverse that extra mile to assist the customers. This gives a sense of contentment to the customers and also allows them to experience a smoother checkout process.
Checkout points may seem like the last point for your customers to be in your vicinity, but in reality, this point forms the centrepiece of the customer journey. So if you manage to do it properly, your customers will go nowhere else but to you.
Conclusion:
POS can help you in getting an edge advantage to win the hearts of your customers if you get things falling at the right place for them. The more you know your customers, the more you can keep them happy by spoiling them with all that they need. Hence, POS can work out as a powerful tool to help you attain this goal.
You can analyse customer behaviour and update your database accordingly to approach your regular customers with offers making them hop to your stores every now and then. POS can help you go a long way in customizing the shopping experience of your store shoppers, further earning you loyal shoppers on the go.
So what are you waiting for? If you have not yet implemented POS at your stores, you need to start it right now to escalate the in-store Retail Customer Experience.