The retail industry is constantly changing, and the players in this competitive industry always face new challenges. This year, after COVID-19, more and more retailers have closed their businesses. Therefore, there needs to be further management related to the retail company and how the industry is developing at this time, which can be helped by using integrated retail technology software. Companies need to consider implementing this system to help them grow. To find out more about this software, get the retail software pricing scheme calculations here before implementing the software in your business.
However, not all retailers are experiencing the same adversity amid this global pandemic. When some retailers are experiencing a decline in their revenues, some are gaining profits through the use of automated retail software. Those that sell masks and medical supplies, staples, and furniture (especially during lockdowns) are getting the spotlight. Furthermore, knowing the market and projecting leads, maintaining customers, and boosting productivity are all possible with the help of the right retail system.
Table Of Contents
- Undergo the New Normal Protocol to Prevent Covid-19 Transmission
- Keeping up with ever-changing customer expectations
- Maintaining customer loyalty
- Managing internal communication
- Retaining and engaging employees
- A high-stakes global game of digital disruption
- Finding the best technology solutions for the retail industry
When the quarantine ends and shopping centers have reopened, retailers should be ready to face new challenges. Companies can run good retail management with the help of the most complete retail software. Here are some of the major challenges facing the retail company management today and ways of dealing with them, which we’ve summarized from various well-known business articles.
1. Undergo the New Normal Protocol to Prevent Covid-19 Transmission
Consumers have started shopping at the mall. Isn’t this good news for all retailers? However, have your store followed the new normal protocols properly? Here are a few things you must include in your new normal procedure list:
- Limit the number of customers in the store to better manage the flow of customers
- Ensure customers are keeping a distance from other customers
- Ensure your staff and customers are always wearing masks
- Maintain the hygiene of your products
- Provide hand sanitizers and measure the body temperature of customers entering your store
- Implement cashless payment to avoid the spread of the virus
2. Keeping up with ever-changing customer expectations
Customer preferences will always change, sometimes even faster than you can imagine. Therefore, you must be able to keep up with consumer demand. Apart from seasons and trends, several other factors such as economic circumstances, advertisements, and competition in the retail company have a huge impact on generated leads and consumer demand. Therefore, pay attention to these factors to help you get accurate forecasts.
3. Maintaining customer loyalty
Good customer experience is a key factor in creating brand loyalty. One of the common mistakes made by retailers is letting their existing customers go and thinking they can easily replace them. If you keep this mindset, you will find it hard to sustain your business growth.
While promotions and special offers are still the mainstays of the retailers to retain their customers, personalization is the real key to an amazing customer experience. To keep your customers loyal, you need to use a personal approach, for example, by sending them emails that have been adjusted to their preferences and needs. Therefore, a good CRM system can help you maintain your customers’ details and send personalized emails more easily.
4. Managing internal communication
Retail has complex operations, and managing its internal communication is not easy. Large-scale retail companies mainly face this challenge with multiple divisions. For example, inefficient communication between divisions can disrupt the business processes.
Retailers should opt for a system that can streamline their internal communication. A cloud-based ERP system can be the perfect solution for managing internal communication within retail company. The software can centralize all business operations, generate real-time and comprehensive reports from each division, automate the task distribution across divisions, and ensure the entire process runs correctly.
Also read: 7 Common Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Retail Business
5. Retaining and engaging employees
Retail is one of the industries with the highest employee turnover rates. Therefore, retaining staff is one of the toughest challenges in the retail company. Meanwhile, replacing employees requires a lot of energy and costs.
The solution to this challenge is to increase employee engagement within your company. Provide regular training to optimize their competencies. To make it easier for you to cultivate and maximize your potential, consider utilizing the help of automated solutions such as an HR management system or a competency management system.
6. A high-stakes global game of digital disruption
Consumer behavior changes very quickly. With the growth of eCommerce, consumers have plenty of choices before making a purchase decision. Although eCommerce has a dramatic impact on consumer behavior, reports show that consumers still love to purchase most products in-store. They usually go to the internet to search for product information and compare the price, but buy it offline.
The phenomenon of eCommerce growth shouldn’t be considered a threat but an opportunity. Retailers can merge online and offline businesses. Deloitte reported that 56% of in-store retailers involve a digital website and web-influenced physical store sales are about 5X online sales. Therefore, an omnichannel marketing strategy can help retailers reach a broader brand audience.
7. Finding the best technology solutions for the retail industry
Many technologies are developed for various businesses that offer different prices and benefits. Therefore, retailers have been looking for the best automated retail software solutions to simplify their business processes, yet their choices often fall on the wrong software. Either they’re challenging to use or don’t have the abilities to overcome retail challenges. Additionally, different retail stores will likely face unique problems, some may benefit most from software integrated security for retail stores, others may need to prioritize inventory management. HashMicro provides the most comprehensive retail software and various other systems that can help the development of your retail business.
We recommend that you choose a specifically created system for the retail company to help you automate all your retail operations, from managing a good inventory system and sales to managing prospects and customers. In addition to being easy to use, the software should also provide ease of integration with other systems, such as barcode scanners and POS. Most importantly, you need to understand your requirements very well to help you control your budget wisely and find the right software faster.
