)
Retail Store
Overview
Current State and Industry Challenges
The retail sector in the UK continues to be significantly impacted by economic events. While some organizations are struggling, others are reshaping their customer propositions. All are feeling the pressures from inflation, increasing labour costs, and supply chain constraints.
Customers affected by the economic climate, are driving retailers to offer a balance of value, ethical trading, and sustainability in their product offerings. The convergence of online channels and physical stores is accelerating, with customers expecting seamless transitions, necessitating integration and changes in processes and systems.
Retailers are experiencing rising operational costs, particularly in physical stores where increased product costs are compounded by higher utility and staff expenses. The acquisition and retention of staff remain challenging, prompting retailers to review tools and strategies to create an attractive work environment.
To manage operational costs, retailers are focusing on improving efficiency and process automation. However, they must also meet customer demands for relevant product information and additional services, such as full disclosure on product sourcing and sustainability.
At Retail Reply, we have the experience to address these issues and provide our expertise to ensure efficiency throughout online channels and physical stores.
POS Journey
Self-Service
Shrink Reduction
Store Digitisation
Loyalty
)
Colleague
Retail Reply support clients with their Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) solutions to maximize value and manage transitions, such as product enhancements, upgrades, and replacements.
We leverage our extensive experience to help retail organizations define their EPOS strategy, gather global requirements, identify suitable products and vendors, and outline an implementation approach.
EPOS systems often have extended operational lifespans due to the high costs and disruption associated with replacements, which underscores the importance of effective operational and end-of-life management.
Retail Reply assist retail organizations in adopting product-based methods to capture, develop, and deliver business capabilities into the EPOS solution, including those nearing the end-of-life stage.
The physical store checkout journey continues to evolve, driven by customer demands for faster transactions and retailers' needs to improve efficiency. This has led to the increasing adoption of self-service solutions.
Retail Reply have extensive experience with Self-service solutions, including self-checkout tills and self-scan on both provided and customer devices. We can plan, design, and pilot test self-checkout solutions, including hardware selection, cabinet design, and process definitions on behalf of our clients.
The increasing adoption of self-service checkout solutions has raised the risk of product shrinkage, both accidental and deliberate, leading to increased demand for supporting technologies. The use of near real-time video and analytics integrated into the checkout journey aims to nudge customers away from errant behaviour or introduce colleague interventions to reduce shrinkage. These solutions are adopting AI capabilities to improve the efficiency of the analysis and optimize the customer self-service journey.
Other more visible technologies, such as security tags, integrated exit gates, and video mirrors, also deliver shrinkage benefits. Retail Reply has experience with these technologies and their integration with self-service checkout solutions.
The digital footprint in physical retail stores is expanding to enhance customer engagement and operational efficiencies. AI and machine learning capabilities, combined with Edge and Cloud-based services, are being utilised to deliver customer information in innovative ways, such as chatbots, digital concierge services, targeted video marketing, and retail media content. Operational efficiency is being improved through AI technology integrated with portable devices and communication systems, featuring intelligent task management and chatbot capabilities.
Retail Reply leverages extensive knowledge of AI capabilities, along with established relationships with cloud service providers and hardware vendors, to support clients in their selection processes.
Retailers are leveraging the enhanced performance of Edge and Cloud platforms for data analysis to improve the personalization and relevance of loyalty schemes. The enhanced analysis drives improved customer engagement and provides new insights into purchasing behaviours. Loyalty schemes are being used as a launchpad for new services. Retail Reply have experience supporting clients with the design and pilot testing of these enhanced loyalty schemes.
Retailers are increasingly impacted by rising staffing costs and high levels of staff turnover, prompting the need for modern digital tools that allow staff to work efficiently in-store.
Retail Reply supports clients with the selection and deployment of technologies to enhance colleague experience, efficiency, and safety. We assist in selecting handheld devices to improve store operations and technologies such as body-worn cameras to enhance colleague safety.
Since 2017, Retail Reply supported Primark by capturing global requirements to roll out a point-of-sale solution that will transform the entire store estate.
)
Retail Reply addressed immediate concerns and completed initiatives following Sainsbury’s-Argos restructuration of their Digital divisions to offer a more integrated cross-group proposition.
)
Retail Reply supported the Sainsbury’s Senior Product owner to transition Checkouts by embedding new knowledge and capability within the team, to create an effective setting for future success, with a focus on re-engineering and configuration.