Macy's and a lucky handful of other retailers have seen rising profits and, more importantly, rising margins in the last two years. The reason? Online sales. These companies are capturing more value from goods sold online, on a per-unit basis, than they are doing with bricks and mortar.

Macy's is the trend leader on this issue. The firm rolled out its omni-channel sourcing platform early and was able to be ahead of the pack because, paradoxically, it came late to the e-commerce game and had no  experience as a catalogue retailer.

"They've taken their one thousand retail stores and turned them into one thousand distribution centers. They actually will ship merchandize to an online order, directly from a store," says Mark Burstein, President of Sales, Marketing, and R&D at NGC, a provider of PLM and other enterprise solutions.

Macy’s in-store associates have access to the company's total inventory, so when a customer asks for a product they can get it delivered to their home the next day, delivered in store, or they can be told where they can find it. This minimizes lost sales.

Greg Davis, VP of Product Management at Starmount, a mobile POS solutions provider, says, "This transparency allows a retailer to really be agnostic with regard to channel. It's all about driving a consistent  experience to a customer, allowing them to buy where they want, when they want, how they want."

Because online sales can be sourced from any inventory stock, the company is able to fulfill orders from stores where the item is least popular, or most overstocked, minimizing discounting and helping guarantee Macy's receives full price for every item sold. "The goal of every retail store is to sell their inventory quickly and at full price, because the one constraint they have is their square footage," says Burstein.

"It's probably increasing profit per square foot anywhere from 10 to 15 percent."

On the back end, the company is seeing somewhat higher costs in terms of pulling and shipping their goods, since a retail storeroom is not laid out like a DC. Despite higher costs in some aspects, it's clear that the strategy works across the balance sheet.

Burnstein says, "They'll take an online order that comes in from their website and they will forward it to the closest store that has product, so now it has also reduced their transportation costs, it has reduced their storage costs, and it has actually enabled them to increase the profit for every sale they make online.

What this does is it eliminates having to maintain that online inventory in the distribution center, versus having it on the retail floor where customers can see it and buy it."

More importantly, it increases customer satisfaction by guaranteeing a seamless experience.

Online is inherently cheaper than bricks and mortar because of lower overhead, but not all companies are fully capitalizing on its potential. Eventually, most firms will have to make the same transition, says Burstein, "If the online segment is more profitable and you own retail stores, probably the smartest move is to start migrating and using those stores as your distribution centers."

These efficiencies are only possible with total inventory transparency across all channels. It's affecting sourcing, as companies are able to translate real time shop floor information into purchasing decisions on the fly.

"The number one topic on people's radar right now is supply chain management, or supply chain visibility. If something goes into a retail store and it's not selling and they have to mark it down, that's not good. What they want is the transparency to know if it's not going to sell, so they just don't make it," says Burstein.

At Urban Outfitters, which uses a mobile POS system that interfaces with their enterprise solutions, their marketing strategy hinges on quick feedback. "They buy a lot of merchandize, but they don't buy very much of anything, so out of stock is a very significant concern for them," says Davis.

"They can track in real time what sales they're missing and how allocations and products were off, so they can react much quicker to what's happening. It's much more forgiving on the allocation side if you have the ability to fulfill from other stores and from e-commerce."

So is online cheaper than bricks and mortar? Yes, but companies need to take the next step in order to get all the benefits. Davis says, "Solutions like ours really unlock data that has never accessible before on the store floor, to enable that associate to be more of a participant and less of a bystander. It gives them tools that really get them back into the game."

Written by Patrick Lamson-Hall.

Read the article on the Sourcing Journal Web site here (registration required).

Perry Ellis International, a designer, distributor, licensor and retailer of apparel and accessories for men and women, has set its sights on providing a higher level of customer service to its shoppers. The retailer was in search of a solution that would not only help improve the customer experience, grow in-store sales and increase brand loyalty, but also provide a 360-degree shopper experience with the opportunity to upsell, creating additional revenues.

In May 2012 the 65-store retailer selected Starmount Engage to provide customers with a more connected in-store shopping experience by enabling associates to access detailed product information, cross-channel inventory and customer profiles — all via mobile devices.

Associates can perform transactions that include both in-person and online orders in a single credit card swipe, anywhere in the store. The solution will also open up selling space for merchandise within the store and eliminate ongoing POS operational costs.

After spending the summer building out the solution, it was rolled out in October 2012. Following its success, the retailer decided to pilot the mobile POS solution at 17 stores prior to Black Friday 2012, enabling sales associates to provide a higher level of customer service during the busiest shopping days of the year.

The mobile POS and mobile selling solutions will help Perry Ellis increase customer engagement throughout the store, provide access to customer loyalty information, and enable associates to use mobile devices for product and price lookup, product recommendations and clienteling. The solution also allows sales associates to check the inventory of out-of-stock items in other store locations and channels, fulfilling the order without leaving the customer.

“Innovation is something Perry Ellis has always been known for, so the adoption of mobile selling in our stores is a natural evolution for our brand,” says Luis Paez, CIO of Perry Ellis. “Our clients expect something different when they walk in and our goal is to use mobile to deliver an exceptional, unique customer experience that will keep them coming back.”

On A Roll
During the first quarter of 2013 Perry Ellis will roll out Starmount’s Connect and Engage chainwide. The updated solution allows the retailer to access multichannel inventory lookup as well as view reviews and ratings, images, returns and gift cards. It will also integrate loyalty and provide a modified customer search function.

The solutions will “help sales associates sharpen their focus on our customers by engaging with shoppers on the sales floor,” says Paez. “By making our sales associates more accessible throughout the store, we can consistently provide the kind of innovative, customer-centered brand experience that Perry Ellis is known for.”
 

Written by Nicole Giannopoulos.

Read the article on the RIS News Web site here.

Consumers are utilizing a wider variety of technologies and communication touch points to browse inventory, compare prices and complete purchases. To keep pace with these omnichannel browsing and buying strategies, retailers are investing in innovative tools and technologies such as mobile POS (mPOS).

Unicomer Group, parent company to 10 brands that specialize in appliances, consumer electronics and furniture, has partnered with Starmount to bring mPOS to hundreds of store locations in Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador and the U.S. Leveraging the Starmount Connect and Engage solutions, Unicomer employees can better connect with omnichannel shoppers and create more educational and satisfying brick-and-mortar interactions, according to Mario Ferman, VP of Technology at Unicomer Group.

“Unicomer is a customer-centric organization, and we strongly believe that mPOS will provide an excellent experience to all our shoppers,” Ferman said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “We continuously are seeking and considering ways we can keep being leaders in the markets in which we operate. One of the ways to do this is by leveraging mobile technologies in an omnichannel retail environment.”

Store associates will leverage the Starmount solutions to initiate and complete transactions anywhere within a store, which will help decrease wait times during high-demand periods. In addition, mPOS will empower employees to deliver a higher level of service by ensuring instant access to credit applications, credit terms, payment plans, product information, inventory data, cross-border trading data, and delivery options.

Detailed product information will be at store associates’ fingertips as they use the mobile devices, which will impact bottom-line results significantly, Ferman explained. “Using Connect, Unicomer´s sales associates will be able to access product comparisons, recommendations and reviews, product availability, and more, allowing them to save in-store sales and provide a more positive and informed shopping experience.”

Furthermore, the mPOS applications will help Unicomer handle internal complexities, such as managing multiple currencies, languages and countries across brands, according to Ferman. Unicomer also will be equipped to process all brand orders in a single platform through the Starmount solutions.

“Unicomer serves more than two million credit customers throughout the region,” Ferman said, “and Starmount´s technology is critical for us to provide the highest levels of customer satisfaction while streamlining our overall application platforms."

Implementation will begin in early 2014, with Unicomer initiating a limited mPOS rollout in flagship stores, Ferman explained. “Given the geographic presence in 19 countries, and their individual multicurrency, fiscal, and legal requirements, the implementation will take at least two years.”

Written by Alicia Fiorletta.

To read the article on the Retail TouchPoints Web site, click here.
 

Nurturing customer relationships has become crucial for companies that want to remain ahead of their competition in today's weak economy. Because consumers are the backbone for future success, brands must continuously evolve their customer engagement techniques in order to provide the optimal customer experience and renew satisfaction levels during each interaction. But for Perry Ellis International, an enhanced customer experience initiative means turning the average approach upside down.

While most companies focus on establishing the 360-degree view of their customers, Perry Ellis has implemented mobile point of sale technologies that allow the company to bring the 360-degree experience right to their brick-and-mortar patrons. Many brands now recognize the average consumer's multichannel journey across touchpoints throughout the purchase process, yet most focus on collecting and analyzing the incoming data in order to target their efforts based upon how customers choose to interact. Perry Ellis, however, has infused its brick-and-mortar retail stores with the ability to swiftly bounce between channels and achieve high satisfaction levels.

"As a company, we always work to improve the customer's engagement in order to provide the best shopping experience possible," says Luis Paez, CIO at Perry Ellis International. By implementing the Starmount Connect and Engage platform, the apparel and accessories retailer plans to bring mPOS technology to their associates in all 45 Perry Ellis locations nationwide. The pilot program, which set the stage for this chainwide integration, equipped sales associates from the 17 top-selling retail locations with iPads to enable a higher level of customer service. The technology went live just before Black Friday, allowing employees to test the platform's ability to enhance the busiest shopping days of the year.

"First, instead of adding an additional register to our larger stores over the holidays, we were able to provide multiple mobile POS devices for line busting," Paez notes. "Second, it allowed Perry Ellis to get feedback on the use of the mobile device in the stores before rolling out company wide. This feedback has helped to guide Perry Ellis in the direction of our continued development, training, and rollout of the mobile solution in order to make sure this project is a success."

Initially, these iPads were intended to streamline the checkout process and manage transactions via the mobile application provided by the Starmount platform. However, this mPOS technology also allows associates to combat the biggest challenge facing brick-and-mortar stores today—showrooming. Employees are no longer tied to their cash registers, allowing them to interact with customers on the floor and provide relevant, timely assistance without ever leaving the customer's side.

"During the rollout to the initial 17 stores, the use of the mobile POS device was almost second nature to the store associates and proved even easier than our initial thoughts," says Mark Colbert, director of retail systems at Perry Ellis International. "These mobile devices allowed the store associate to leave the cash wrap and engage the customer anywhere in the store and throughout the transaction."

These mobile touch devices empower employees to engage with customers across the buying cycle by putting every channel right at their fingertips. This customer-centric engagement initiative's primary goal lies in providing customers with a 360-degree shopping experience and view of the brand. Customers can access product and price information, ratings and reviews, and item recommendations based on their personal taste and preferred styles. This strategy helps ensure each shopper has a memorable, relevant shopping experience, all without ever needing to leave the store to complete her journey.

"This will empower the store associate to provide a much higher level of service to the customer and a more consultative sale," Colbert highlights.

Educated and empowered, sales associates can pull up side-by-side product comparisons on their device, check the store's inventory, and fulfill out-of-stock orders by accessing cross-store and cross-channel data to locate and ship the right item to the customer's door. By never needing to leave the customer's side, they also reduce the need for numerous cash registers, thereby using the added space to display even more merchandise in-store. By bringing every channel together within brick-and-mortar retail locations, Perry Ellis puts all relevant information within the customer's reach, increasing engagement and improving satisfaction. This approach also has the potential to rescue the brick-and-mortar world by boosting sales, breathing new life into the in-store experience.

Written by Anna Papachristos, Staff Writer at 1to1 Media.

Read the original article on the 1to1 Media Web site here.

 

Mobile devices are slowly but surely replacing the traditional cash desk to provide a more personalized customer service experience, finds Retail Focus.

Fixed till points and long queues are soon to become a thing of the past, according to BT, as mobiles and tablets become a ‘normal’ part of the shopping experience. Mobile technologies are increasingly being used in retail to simplify and enhance the in-store experience, and to bridge the gap between online and offline. Mobile POS solutions, in particular, are enabling forward-thinking retailers to provide a more personalized experience on the shop floor that strengthens customer satisfaction and loyalty.

‘The store is becoming a collection point, a customer service point and an assisted service point that offers more theatre and interaction for the customer,’ says Mark Denton, head of consulting at BT Expedite & Fresca. ‘The concept of being able to be served anywhere will make visiting a store easier and will allow all stores to raise the quality in their customer service. The power of the tablet devices, combined with the flexibility of what a mobile POS offers, will allow retailers to introduce new retail concepts and new layouts in store, culminating in new customer experiences.’

The widespread adoption of mobile technology in recent years has forced a major technology shirt, causing retailers to rethink the point of sale, according to a new report from US-based Boston Retail Partners. The 14th annual POS Benchmarking Survey found that while traditional registers still play a big role, they will continue to diminish as other technology gains traction. ‘The momentum has already shifted and mobile devices are poised to pervade the retail industry within the next few years — we expect that by the end of next year the shift in point-of-sale hardware will be significant,’ says the report.

The opportunities for mobile POS are far and wide, from impacting the checkout area to assisting consumers on the floor and empowering associates to provide better service, argues Marcia Crosland, director of the Customer Experience Consulting Group at global technology company NCR Corporation. ‘Retailers who have deployed mobile POS can experience a variety of benefits, notably capturing more sales, increasing store capacity and improving operations,’ she says.

NCR recently launched a dedicated mobile POS practice to share its insights and best practices in this growing area with retailers who are implementing mobile POS strategies. ‘There are many elements retailers need to consider when creating a mobile POS strategy that simultaneously delights customers and drives both top and bottom line business results,’ says Crosland. ‘We have seen that planning is critical for success, as an implementation that works for a mass merchant most likely will need to be different for a luxury retailer a boutique or a grocery store.’

Indeed, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to employing a mobile POS system. In the case of queue busting, for example, mobile POS does not work for every retailer, argues Crosland. ‘For retailers who rely on up-selling at the checkout through promotions, warranties or impulse items, revenue can be lost with queue busting,’ she warns. ‘Mobile POS must work in line with all aspects of your business, not sabotage your efforts to add revenue at the checkout. The bottom line for retailers is that you must direct your mobile POS implementation in the areas that will have the biggest impact for your store and your customers.’

Jerry Rightmer, president and CTO of Starmount, believes that retailers with brands built around personal service will benefit most from in-store mobile solutions. ‘Specialty retailers, department stores, and apparel retailers — these companies have staff dedicated to engaging customers and providing a personalized experience,’ he notes. ‘Stores built on self-service models, such as grocery stores, convenience stores and many big box retailers, are better off putting mobile capabilities directly in the hands of their customers.’

Clothing brand Perry Ellis International is one of the latest companies to pilot Starmount’s mobile POS solution. Having successfully trialled the technology at 17 stores in the lead up to Christmas, the company is now rolling out Starmount’s Connect and Engage products across the chain. The system enables Perry Ellis sales associates to provide a higher level of customer service by using mobile devices for product and price lookup, product recommendations, clienteling, and to provide access to customer loyalty information.

In the near future, Rightmer believes mobile technology will allow retail to return to its roots as a person-to-person business. ‘Today, the technology is new and highly visible,’ he says. ‘Eventually, it will be a seamless part of the store experience. Mobile will have a dramatic impact on the store engagement model, down to the level of store format and including areas such as the way traffic flows and the way stores are staffed. It’s also important to note that retail is a distributed industry catering to mobile customers. If you want to be a player in retail, you need a mobile strategy.’

Written by Gemma Balmford.

To read the original article on the Retail Focus Web site, click here.


 

AUSTIN, Texas – Feb. 5, 2013 – Starmount today announced that Unicomer Group, one of the largest retailers in Central America, the Caribbean and Ecuador, is implementing mobile sales order and order management applications to enhance customer service. Unicomer Group operates more than 700 appliance, consumer electronics and furniture stores under different brands in Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador and the United States.

As part of Starmount’s implementation at Unicomer of the Oracle® POS solution, Starmount mobile applications are being tailored to meet Unicomer Group's business model of credit-based, big-ticket retailing. Using the Starmount Engage™ Web-based and mobile POS/Store Systems application, sales associates can initiate and complete transactions directly from the sales floor — taking orders, accepting credit applications, reviewing credit terms and payment plans, and arranging deliveries of appliances and furniture without ever leaving the customer's side.

Unicomer Group also plans to implement Starmount Connect™, an omni-channel shopper engagement platform that helps retailers deliver a more positive customer experience and save the in-store sale. Using Connect, Unicomer Group's sales associates will be able to access product comparisons, recommendations and reviews, product availability, and more information, allowing them to help close the sale and provide a more informed shopping experience.

The Starmount applications will easily handle the complexities of multiple currencies, languages and countries. Starmount will also provide Unicomer Group with a single platform for sales order processing across all of the retailer's well-known brands such as La Curacao, Courts, Lucky Dollar, Almacenes Tropigas, Artefacta and Gollo, with seamless integration to current and future point-of-sale systems.
 
“The new applications will help us improve the customer experience and performance of all of our stores, as well as enable us to respond faster to new market opportunities,” said Guillermo Siman, vice chairman and executive vice president, Unicomer Group.
 
“Unicomer Group serves more than two million credit customers throughout the region, and Starmount´s technology is critical for us to provide the highest levels of customer satisfaction while streamlining our overall application platforms," said Mario Ferman, vice president of technology, Unicomer Group.

“Starmount's work with Unicomer Group demonstrates the flexibility of our mobile selling solutions and our ability to help retailers realize their brand’s unique vision for mobile technology,” said Joe Pisano, president and COO, Starmount. ”Unicomer Group is a highly respected brand in Latin America, and Starmount is excited to work with them to adapt our mobile solutions to their unique customer engagement model.”

About Unicomer Group
Unicomer Group (http://www.unicomergroup.com) is comprised of more than 700 appliance, consumer electronics and furniture stores operating under different brands in Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador and the United States. Unicomer Group is the leading retail store group in the region in terms of market share and customer recognition.  Unicomer Group employs more than 12,000 associates and has more than three million square feet of sales area across all its stores. Unicomer Group works under the most stringent corporate ethical standards, while supporting a number of educational, sports, and social responsibility initiatives in the most vulnerable areas of the countries in which it operates.

About Starmount
Starmount software solutions bring the richness of the Web and the power of mobile into the store, where retailers can create more personalized, relevant and dynamic interactions with customers. From mobile selling and cross-channel engagement platforms to digital signage, our retail solutions transform the store environment into a more connected, engaging shopping experience. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Starmount works with a diverse client base of leading retailers around the world, such as Pep Boys, Urban Outfitters and Home Depot. For more information, visit www.starmount.com/news, read the Starmount Blog at www.starmountshare.com, and follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/starmountretail. 


 

More retailers are recognizing the variety of potential benefits they can gain by implementing mPOS in stores. For example, arming store associates and managers with tablets helps retailers improve customer service and increase shopper engagement, leading to a boost in brick-and-mortar sales.

Perry Ellis is among the latest retailers to implement mPOS in stores. Prior to Black Friday, Perry Ellis adopted iPads featuring Starmount Connect and Engage in 17 top-selling locations. Due to the success of the holiday pilot, Perry Ellis plans to bring m-POS to all 45 locations nationwide by the end of Q1 2013.

Using tablet devices, store associates and managers now have more seamless access to brand and product data, as well in-store inventory availability, allowing them to be more educated and empowered. As a result, Perry Ellis effectively has improved shopper satisfaction in stores, according to Mark Colbert, Director of Retail Systems at Perry Ellis International.

With a swipe of their fingers, store associates can tap into a breadth of content, such as product and price information, customer ratings/reviews and item recommendations based on personal tastes and preferred styles. These resources, said Colbert, help ensure that every shopper has a memorable and relevant shopping journey.

“The main reason we pursued mPOS was for clienteling,” added Luis Paez, CIO of Perry Ellis International. “Being able to approach and work with the customer more effectively was very important. Employees and store managers now are equipped with the tools to build that relationship with shoppers and create more interactive experiences.”

In addition, Perry Ellis employees can create more flexible in-store buying processes with the mobile solution. For example, if an item is out of stock, sales associates can order the product online and have it delivered directly to the consumer’s home.

Reinventing The Perry Ellis Brand
The full mPOS deployment is part of Paez’s plan to redefine the Perry Ellis brand experience across channels. In the near future, he explained, Perry Ellis plans to roll out a loyalty program that will help create a stronger synergy between the brick-and-mortar store and e-Commerce site.

“We’ve seen increased sales via e-Commerce in the last three years,” Paez noted, “so we’re working to release a loyalty program — and new loyalty system — and will integrate it with the Starmount mPOS solution.”

Perry Ellis also is developing a mobile app which will link to the loyalty program, Paez explained, and “provide another way for consumers to connect instantly to our stores, the web site, and Perry Ellis products.”

The mPOS rollout, loyalty program and mobile app all are part of “a very ambitious project that we hope to complete sometime this year,” Paez added. “We’re striving to connect all of these touch points to give the customer a 360-degree view of our brand.”

Written by Alicia Fiorletta.

To read the article on the Retail TouchPoints Web site, click here.

To learn more, visit their website here.