How the move to ‘phygital’ is disrupting point of sale technology

Retailers are shifting focus from ecommerce to their stores to better serve omnichannel customers. Here's how changing consumer expectations are transforming in-store technology and disrupting legacy point of sale (POS).

For most omnichannel retailers, the growth of ecommerce has meant boosting their investments in physical retail.

That’s because the store is essential to creating and satisfying customer demand - even if the customer ultimately transacts online. Consumers now see both the online and offline shopping experience as part of the same buying journey and not as one versus the other.

With the ability to see, touch and feel products and assess alternatives, stores are important for marketing and customer acquisition. Store conversion rates are typically 20-40% - around ten times more than ecommerce channels (only 2.5-3%). The store remains the dominant sales channel, still generating more than 70% of sales. and continuing to grow at 4% year on year.

And with pressure on consumer spending plus inventory, pricing and interest rate uncertainty, retailers want to leverage their existing investments in stores and staff - 71% cite store operations as top-three driver for their tech investment strategy. 

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As the store shifts to become the hub of the omnichannel customer journey, the point of sale must shift as well. 

But many retailers have hit a wall because their POS technology can’t support their customers’ current omnichannel demands, let alone the ‘phygital’ shopping journeys now expected by digitally savvy consumers.  

They’ve been focussed on ecommerce initiatives, delaying important POS hardware upgrades and the shift to modern operating systems. Some retailers have POS systems that are end of life and about to be sunset, and others are hamstrung by legacy in-house solutions that require custom integrations with modern technologies or are no longer supported. 

And at a time when 75% of retailers can’t connect their online and in-store transaction data, they struggle to deliver the cohesive, consistent unified experiences customers now expect.

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If you’re upgrading your point of sale to modernise your customer experience, here are the important shifts in functionality to consider: 

EX aligns with CX  

Today, any store innovation must reduce friction for the store teams, which in turn will drive a great customer experience. Speed and simplicity are now the priority to help people be as productive as possible, wherever they are in the store. 

However, many retailers run multiple systems within stores, forcing their teams to juggle between different apps and screens as they serve customers.  

Retailers are consolidating store technology onto a single POS-based retail system that lets their teams do everything, from sales transactions, customer loyalty, pricing, product and promotions through to virtual appointments and endless aisle access to stock. 

Clienteling gets personal 

Clienteling is becoming more sophisticated as consumer expectations for a frictionless ‘one brand’ experience rise. However, many retailers still have channel silos that mean any interaction or activity that the customer had with them online is not available to the customer or staff within the store. 

Leading retailers are helping their in-store teams deliver more personalised experiences by using AI and data from across online and offline channels to create timely and relevant communications, recommendations, offers and rewards.  

Initially provided for customers visiting stores during click-and-collect pickups, retailers like Cue Clothing are extending customised recommendations into other communications with customers, such as e-receipts and shipping notifications. 

They’re taking advantage of the unparalleled knowledge of their store staff to boost digital sales and service by giving in-store teams the tools to connect with shoppers virtually. By integrating video commerce platforms with POS solutions (like Infinity) they’re automating the end-to-end process, from customer communications and data insights to seamless sales transactions and fast delivery. 

Store experiences go digital 

Retailers know that consumers now expect more from stores and are working to match those expectations with new experiences – such as events, service offerings, customisation, resale, repairs and so much more. 

That also means extending digital experiences into stores, such as the ability to look up loyalty points, explore product information or browse and order from the entire inventory. 

Mobility is a high priority and retailers are providing fast and flexible self-service checkouts, mobile point of sale and contactless payments everywhere the customer is - in the store, out in the yard, at trade shows and pop-up stores.  

They’re using multichannel wishlists to let customers add items to wishlists in stores. By capturing both in-store and online shopper interactions they’re able to retarget customers with personalised marketing campaigns that build engagement and grow sales. 

Fulfilment a competitive advantage 

Today consumers make their purchasing decisions based on shipping costs and timings.  They expect options – from slow to fast, and everything in between – plus visibility, communication and tracking, no matter the fulfilment solution. 

However, most retailers struggle to quickly deliver new fulfilment experiences via their POS. 

With modern point of sale systems, retailers are using their stores to support the fulfilment options consumers now expect and positioning inventory closer to customers – the source of demand.  

Endless aisle access to all inventory via the POS lets them offer the fulfilment options consumers expect – such as click-and-collect, store-to-door and scheduled delivery, plus innovative new delivery solutions, such as 1-hour delivery via Uber and Shippit. 

Future proofing an imperative 

In the past, retailers who got behind on their store tech investments frequently focused on catching up to current standards.  

Now, the focus is on future proofing – choosing platforms that speed up innovation, with the flexibility to change direction as opportunities develop, competitors act and customer expectations evolve. 

When it comes to POS solutions that can support omnichannel experiences, look for a platform that provides a unified hub for all your channels – reducing integration, complexity and overheads, and increasing efficiency and accuracy.  

With agile methodologies and APIs to easily plug-in new apps and systems, your new POS will be your platform for innovation – a springboard for adding new channels and services at a speed and scale that would be unachievable within a traditional omnichannel model. 

This blog was originally published on 28 Feb 2023 and updated 7 August 2024

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Want help to modernise your point of sale?  

As you transform your customer experience to deliver the seamless and personalised buying journeys your customers crave, your point of sale system must transform as well. If you’re looking for help to shape your strategy and extend your omnichannel capabilities, get in touch. We’d love to help you develop the solutions you need now and guide you to where you’re headed next. 

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For more on how a move to a unified commerce strategy gives you the flexibility and agility you need to keep in step with consumers’ changing needs, download our new ebook: 

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The critical role of stores in digitising the retail customer experience

There’s been a massive shift in consumer expectations around convenience, connected shopping experiences and personalisation. Here’s how to use your stores to elevate and differentiate your customer experience.

For most omnichannel retailers, the growth of ecommerce has meant boosting their investments in physical retail.  

That’s because the store is essential to creating and satisfying customer demand - even if the customer ultimately transacts online. 

Consumers now see both the online and offline shopping experience as part of the same buying journey and not as one versus the other. Investments in unified commerce to unify the store and online experience are gaining momentum, with 20% of retailers heavily investing in it, 32% beginning to invest and 36% considering doing so. Retailers who used unified commerce in 2022 saw a 7% revenue boost over those who did not.  

Omnichannel retailers now see their stores as critically important assets to invest in.

• Store loyalty captures more share of wallet 

Today’s shoppers are purposeful and discerning. They don’t just compare your service to that of your competitors, but to the best service they’ve ever received, anywhere, any time. They want consistency across your channels, recognition wherever they shop with you and a relationship with your brand.  

With the ability to see, touch and feel products and assess alternatives, stores are important for marketing and customer acquisition. Store conversion rates are typically 20-40% - around ten times more than ecommerce channels (only 2.5-3%). And the store remains the dominant sales channel, still generating more than 70% of sales.  

• Stores shorten delivery times 

Stores support ecommerce fulfilment and place inventory close to customers - the source of demand. Click and collect, ship from store and return in store are now routine ways to fulfil online orders. Without a store, many online orders would not happen, and would be unprofitable.  

• Stores set the stage for experiences 

Stores can amplify brands by adding a tactile experience and human factor that isn’t possible online. Store staff build trusted relationships with customers through personalised recommendations. They are often better at acquiring customers and stimulating repeat purchases than digital channels. And self-service technologies can create an easy and fast experience at transactional moments of the in-store journey.  

Our client, Cue Clothing, is a remarkable example of how to use stores for competitive advantage. Around 20 percent of its sales are online, but over 60 percent are fulfilled by stores instead of a dedicated warehouse. The introduction of endless aisle increased access to inventory eightfold to 80,000 items, leading to a 70 percent increase in conversions and 130 percent increase in overall sales. And Cue has also launched a range of award-winning in-store initiatives – including virtual styling and in-store wishlists - that are driving up conversions, increasing revenue and boosting customer loyalty.

So how can your stores play a bigger role in your CX transformation? 

Here are 3 areas to focus on to differentiate your store experience: 

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1. Bring digital convenience to stores

Many retailers have relied on convenient physical locations and knowledgeable store staff to entice customers to visit them. But today’s digitally savvy consumers want a ‘joined-up’ omnichannel experience that doesn’t stop when they enter a store.

By reimagining the store customer experience and giving staff tools to connect with customers digitally, you'll bring a rich mix of human and digital interactions into stores.

• Start by revamping the checkout experience. Offer fast, digital, contact-free point-of-sale transactions wherever the customers are - in the store, out in the warehouse or yard, at trade shows and pop-up stores. Ensure you can provide quotes and take cash sales or charge-to-account orders anywhere, with the flexibility to handle complex split orders, sales and returns. 

• Put customers in charge of their in-store experience by integrating digital services, such as the ability to look up loyalty points, access product information and add items to digital wishlists in stores. People who use digital while they shop in-store convert at a 20 percent higher rate compared to those who do not use digital as part of the shopping journey. 

• Localised pricing will let your team offer up-to-date, competitive pricing and empower them to make better, on-the-spot decisions.

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2. Use store fulfilment to increase ecommerce profitability

Retailers are working to optimise their processes and remodel stores into fulfilment centres to meet the explosion in demand for online orders fulfilled in stores. 

However, many retail systems weren't built to provide real-time inventory so the challenge of knowing where stock is located across the store network causes missed sales and cancellations of online orders.

• Create a single view of inventory across stores, online, mobile and warehouses to improve your return on inventory and maximise selling opportunities. 

• Use your stores as mini-distribution centres to give your customers a variety of delivery options, such as click-and-collect, store-to-door, drop ship and returns anywhere. 

• Endless aisle capabilities let you sell products not stocked in your current location and have them delivered to or collected by the customer.

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3. Personalise customer experiences by extending digital into stores

With more customer journeys beginning online and store visits become more focussed and deliberate, customer expectations for a frictionless ‘one brand’ experience are rising. 

However, many retailers have channel silos that mean any interaction or activity that the customer had with them online is largely unknown to store staff. 

By connecting all your customer engagement points in near real time, you can deliver a holistic and personalised customer experience more consistently. That means treating each customer as the individual they are all the time – one person with one account, interacting with one unified brand.

• Combine your customer, inventory and sales data from all channels and touchpoints and analyse your customer preferences. Use these insights to develop personalised communications, experiences and offers that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

• Make this data available to your store staff. For example, provide your teams with access to relevant customer information, such as loyalty, wishlists and sales histories. Use AI technology to provide personalised upselling recommendations during click-and-collect pickups. 

• Extend these personalised recommendations into your other communications with customers, such as e-receipts and shipping notifications.

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This post was originally published June 2022 and updated on 25 September 2023.

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As you transform your stores to be the centre of your omnichannel experience, your POS and retail systems must transform as well. If you’re experiencing technology challenges that prevent you from unifying store and digital experiences, get in touch. We’d love to help you make stores play a bigger role in your CX strategy.

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If you’re driving the CX transformation at your retail business, our unified commerce maturity model is the perfect tool to create your roadmap. Learn about the capabilities you need to create a rich mix of omnichannel experiences.

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How a unified commerce platform solves retail inventory problems

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From endless aisle and click-and-collect to self-serve and returns anywhere, customers expect a seamless and unified experience. But if you can only access rudimentary sales and inventory positions, you’re prevented from offering the ‘buy anywhere, fulfil anywhere’ services that are best for customers and most profitable for you.

Managing inventory is one of the most challenging processes for retailers – no matter their size. It’s also the largest cost. It’s a balancing act to strike the right stock levels and adjust those levels as your business changes. Understocks lead to missed sales and dissatisfied customers, and overstocks tie up your capital and result in markdowns that can hurt your margins.

Some retailers struggle with the fundamentals of inventory control, such as stock taking, demand forecasting, planning and receipting.

And in a world where online and offline channels are blending into a single brand experience, customers expect access to products wherever and whenever they want.

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Unify your inventory

To provide the purchasing and fulfilment options you need for frictionless experiences that delight customers and reduce costs, you first need to get tight control of your inventory.   

A unified commerce platform gives you a single, accurate and up-to-date view of inventory so you can be sure that you have the right product at the right place at the right time. 

With unified inventory management across all locations, you can make better decisions about what stock to order and how to make it available in your physical, mobile, online stores and call centres.  

You can react to trends quickly, and forecast demand based on historical data, sales forecasts and seasonal variations. And with the platform’s open architecture and APIs, you’re free to add new features, channels, apps and services that will increase customer satisfaction and benefit your business in many ways: 

• Increase sales with ‘endless aisle’ capabilities that let you sell products stocked in any location and have them delivered direct or collected by the customer

• Reduce inventory costs by moving stock to the right location when it’s needed and cutting your overall stock requirements

• Lower fulfilment costs by delivering direct to the customer using store-to-door, warehouse-to-door, click-and-collect, kerbside pickup or optimised sourcing

• Reduce overselling or underselling with real-time inventory updates that remove the issues of selling unavailable stock or having more stock than listed online

• Turn locations on and off for endless aisle fulfilment based on the stock mix and quantities or surges in online shopping

• Offer more purchasing and fulfilment options to customers so they can locate items in-store, buy online, collect in-store, reserve online, receive the same day or at a time and location of their choice

• Optimise your product range by matching stock to each store’s location, community and demographics while still giving access to your complete range via endless aisle

• Extend your range across more sales channels such as marketplaces, in-store kiosks, shoppable screens, pop-up stores, concessions and mobile devices.

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Retailers reaping inventory benefits with the Infinity unified commerce platform:

GAS optimises inventory for improved profitability

GAS completed a lightning-fast nationwide Infinity point of sale implementation. Site owners now have the tools to manage inventory and run more profitable businesses.

Night ‘n Day gets tight control of inventory

By simplifying inventory management with Infinity, convenience grocery retailer Night ‘n Day cut costs, freed up time and increased net profit to around $12,000 per store each year.

This post was orginally published January 2020 and updated on 18 July 2023

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If you’re struggling with inventory accuracy and are looking at how to build a foundation for frictionless customer experiences, talk to us about how to start with a single view of inventory.

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For more on how a move to a unified commerce strategy gives you the flexibility and agility you need to keep in step with consumers’ changing needs, download our new ebook. 

The critical role of stores in digitising the retail customer experience

There’s been a massive shift in consumer expectations around convenience, connected shopping experiences and personalisation. Here’s how to use your stores to elevate and differentiate your customer experience.

Omnichannel retailers now see their stores as critically important assets to invest in.

Last year, US online sales grew faster than ecommerce for the first time ever - with physical stores growing at 18.5 percent versus ecommerce growth of 14 percent.

And while ecommerce growth is predicted to outpace growth through physical stores in future, the spotlight will remain on stores. For most omnichannel retailers, the growth of ecommerce actually means boosting their investments in physical retail.

That’s because the store is essential to creating and satisfying customer demand - even if the customer ultimately transacts online.

Stores can amplify brands by adding a tactile experience and human factor that isn’t possible online. Store staff build trusted relationships with customers through advice, service, support and sales. They are often better at acquiring customers and stimulating repeat purchases than digital channels.

Stores support ecommerce fulfilment and place inventory close to customers - the source of demand. Click and collect, ship from store and return in store are now routine ways to fulfil online orders. Without a store, many online orders would not happen, and would be unprofitable.

Our client, Cue Clothing, is a remarkable example of how to use stores for competitive advantage. Around 20 percent of its sales are online, but over 60 percent are fulfilled by stores instead of a dedicated warehouse. The introduction of endless aisle increased access to inventory eightfold to 80,000 items, leading to a 70 percent increase in conversions and 130 percent increase in overall sales. And Cue has also launched a range of award-winning in-store initiatives – including virtual styling and in-store wishlists - that are driving up conversions, increasing revenue and boosting customer loyalty.

So how can your stores play a bigger role in your CX transformation? 

Here are 3 areas to focus on to differentiate your store experience: 

---

1. Bring digital convenience to stores

Many retailers have relied on convenient physical locations and knowledgeable store staff to entice customers to visit them. But today’s digitally savvy consumers want a ‘joined-up’ omnichannel experience that doesn’t stop when they enter a store.

By reimagining the store customer experience and giving staff tools to connect with customers digitally, you'll bring a rich mix of human and digital interactions into stores.

• Start by revamping the checkout experience. Offer fast, digital, contact-free point-of-sale transactions wherever the customers are - in the store, out in the warehouse or yard, at trade shows and pop-up stores. Ensure you can provide quotes and take cash sales or charge-to-account orders anywhere, with the flexibility to handle complex split orders, sales and returns.

• Put customers in charge of their in-store experience by integrating digital services, such as the ability to look up loyalty points, access product information and add items to digital wishlists in stores.

• Localised pricing will let your team offer up-to-date, competitive pricing and empower them to make better, on-the-spot decisions.

---

2. Use store fulfilment to increase ecommerce profitability

Retailers are working to optimise their processes and remodel stores into fulfilment centres to meet the explosion in demand for online orders fulfilled in stores.

However, many retail systems weren't built to provide real-time inventory so the challenge of knowing where stock is located across the store network causes missed sales and cancellations of online orders.

• Create a single view of inventory across stores, online, mobile and warehouses to improve your return on inventory and maximise selling opportunities.

• Use your stores as mini-distribution centres to give your customers a variety of delivery options, such as click-and-collect, store-to-door, drop ship and returns anywhere.

• Endless aisle capabilities let you sell products not stocked in your current location and have them delivered to or collected by the customer.

---

3. Personalise customer experiences by extending digital into stores

With more customer journeys beginning online and store visits become more focussed and deliberate, customer expectations for a frictionless ‘one brand’ experience are rising.

However, many retailers have channel silos that mean any interaction or activity that the customer had with them online is largely unknown to store staff.

By connecting all your customer engagement points in near real time, you can deliver a holistic and personalised customer experience more consistently. That means treating each customer as the individual they are all the time – one person with one account, interacting with one unified brand.

• Combine your customer, inventory and sales data from all channels and touchpoints and analyse your customer preferences. Use these insights to develop personalised communications, experiences and offers that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.

• Make this data available to your store staff. For example, provide your teams with access to relevant customer information, such as loyalty, wishlists and sales histories. Use AI technology to provide personalised upselling recommendations during click-and-collect pickups.

• Extend these personalised recommendations into your other communications with customers, such as e-receipts and shipping notifications.

---

As you transform your stores to be the centre of your omnichannel experience, your POS and retail systems must transform as well. If you’re experiencing technology challenges that prevent you from unifying store and digital experiences, get in touch. We’d love to help you make stores play a bigger role in your CX strategy.

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If you’re driving the CX transformation at your retail business, our unified commerce maturity model is the perfect tool to create your roadmap. Learn about the capabilities you need to create a rich mix of omnichannel experiences.

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Turbocharging delivery: why you start with unified inventory

As supply chain disruptions and logistics issues kick in over the critical holiday trading period, how well is your business geared to deliver the fast omnichannel experiences consumers expect? Retailers with a single view of inventory across all locations can slash delivery times, profitably.

During two years of extraordinary change, retailers have adapted to changing consumer demands, evolving channels and rising customer expectations around convenience, choice and speed.

And now they’re in a race to turbocharge their digital and physical fulfilment.

Why is delivery speed so important? Research shows that when delivery times are too long, almost half of omnichannel consumers will shop elsewhere. As for how long is too long, they reveal that over 90 percent of consumers see 2- to 3-day delivery as the baseline, and 30 percent expect same-day delivery.

And retailers know speed matters: over 75 percent of specialty retail leaders have made 2-day delivery a priority and 42 percent are aiming for same-day delivery by 2022.

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The challenges of omnichannel delivery

Compressing delivery times requires great execution across all parts of the supply chain.

However, with the explosion in online shopping during lockdown restrictions it has been a challenge for supply and delivery networks to keep up with accelerating customer demand. Ongoing pandemic restrictions will continue to disrupt last mile services in 2022 and beyond.

And while courier and delivery companies are taking a lot of heat for slow deliveries, many of the delays are due to retailers’ own dispatch times.

Services such as ship-from-store, click-and-collect, endless aisle and returns anywhere are all just table stakes today. Yet many retailers can only access rudimentary sales and inventory positions, and have complex systems that are fragile, inefficient and costly to integrate.

While retailer innovators have raised the bar for best-in-class omnichannel operations - our client Cue Clothing fulfils click-and-collect orders within 30 minutes - it’s not unusual for items to take 1 to 2 weeks just to be picked and packed.

So how can technology help compress delivery times?

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Unlock the value in your inventory

To provide the speed and convenience consumers expect, retailers are moving from multichannel silos to unified commerce platforms that provide a unified view of inventory across all stores and DCs. This means they can quickly see where inventory is and therefore the fastest place to fulfil from.

Real-time data on stock levels can benefit your business in many other ways too:

• Reduce inventory costs by ensuring you’ve got the right inventory available in each location, without carrying the cost of overstocking or ‘buffers’

• Optimise your product range by matching stock to each store’s location, community and demographics

• Create dark stores for online order fulfilment, turning physical locations into temporary or permanent fulfilment nodes to enable faster delivery and keep retail staff working

• React to trends quickly and forecast demand based on historical data, sales forecasts and seasonal variations

• Extend your range across more sales channels such as in-store kiosks, shoppable screens, pop-up stores, concessions and mobile devices.

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Become omnipotent in omnichannel

And that’s just the start. Once your inventory is under control, you’re free to blend physical and digital channels to create seamless experiences for customers across all channels and touchpoints.

By using your stores for fulfilment or pick-up, you can increase the amount of inventory for sale while reducing inventory cost and slashing delivery times. The return on investment can be spectacular. With endless aisle fulfilment, our clients are achieving at least 200 to 300% growth in online revenue.

You can also build genuinely meaningful customer experiences. With a single view of customer, order and inventory data, you can deliver each customer a powerful, tailored, one-of-a-kind experience across all channels and touchpoints. That will create rich emotional connections, drive up conversions and send your transaction values soaring.

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If you’re urgently revamping your omnichannel delivery capabilities and want advice on which projects to tackle first, our checklist could help. It will let you assess where you are at against retail leaders and decide what you need to improve. Download it here.

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Video: Cue creates award-winning customer experiences with Infinity

Cue Clothing is a retail disruptor. Recently awarded the ORIAS ‘Best Multichannel Retailer’ for the second year running, Cue is unleashing innovations that are building a disruptive competitive advantage.

Watch Shane Lenton, Cue’s Chief Information & Digital Officer, and Lauren Cantwell, Cue’s eCommerce Manager, talk about how the retailer is blending digital and physical channels to reduce friction from every aspect of the customer experience.

With the Infinity unified commerce platform as its core, Cue is creating rich emotional connections, driving up conversions and sending transaction values soaring.

Shane Lenton describes why Cue moved to unified commerce, how he uses Infinity to deliver frictionless commerce across all of Cue’s channels and the business outcomes achieved, saying: 

“It's the nirvana that a retailer looks for - a single view of inventory, a single view of customer and harmonised pricing across channels. And for us, it's become a real game changer.”

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For more on how Infinity is enabling Cue to create industry-first innovations,  
read the full case study.

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If you’d like help to reduce friction from your customer experience, get in touch. We’d love to explore how Infinity can help you develop a unified customer journey.

How our clients made the top 25 of Australian CIOs

Two of our amazing clients have been recognised in the latest CIO50. Shane Lenton of Cue Clothing is ranked #8 and Rohan Penman formerly of T2 Tea is ranked #23 on the list of Australia’s most innovative technology and digital leaders.

We’re very proud of the partnerships we’ve built and how Infinity supports each retailer to deliver frictionless customer experiences that are driving engagement and growing revenue. And we feel very fortunate to work with such inspiring leaders and their talented teams to deliver game-changing customer experiences.

Here’s why Shane and Rohan made the cut:

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Shane Lenton – the innovator

Shane is among the first retailers globally to pioneer unified commerce to create immersive and “zero-friction” experiences for customers across all channels and touchpoints.

That meant that Cue was able to find entirely new and now bursting pockets of opportunity during the pandemic, with the CIO50 judges saying: 

“The results have been spectacular, with Cue establishing itself as a true innovator in transforming the retail experience at a time when most companies in the sector were on their knees if they hadn’t yet closed their doors.”

Read Shane’s CIO50 story where he shares his approach to delivering award-winning customer experiences.

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Rohan Penman – the change agent

Rohan’s ranking is fantastic recognition of his success driving a major digital transformation over the past 24 months, revamping enterprise systems including the implementation of our Infinity unified commerce platform.

Rohan and his team also managed the global rollout of Infinity point of sale, saying: “This has transformed inventory management as well as customer loyalty and voucher tracking, giving customers more immersive and frictionless experiences.”

Read Rohan’s CIO50 story where he shares his milestones over the past year, and approach to leadership and agile working.

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If you’d like help to develop a unified customer journey, get in touch. We’d love to explore how Infinity can help you give customers more personalised and frictionless experiences across all channels.

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Find out how a move to a unified commerce strategy gives you the flexibility and agility to keep ahead of consumers’ changing needs. Download our ebook.

GET THE EBOOK

How a single view of customer and inventory data translates to happier customers

“A lot of established retailers are struggling with legacy systems and have bolted on solutions for the digital space that don’t easily integrate. The reason unified commerce resonated with me is that it focuses on having one core platform to do the heavy lifting and having a single source of truth to manage the customer data, inventory and order orchestration. Rather than relying on too many systems to push and pull data everywhere.”

This is how Shane Lenton, Cue Clothing’s CIO and number 8 on 2020’s Australia CIO50, described  the Infinity unified commerce platform. Infinity’s single view of inventory and customer has helped Cue launch many inventive, connected and personalised experiences that delight customers, build loyalty, drive growth and improve profitability.    

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So how does a single source of truth translate to customer satisfaction and new revenue streams?

If your retail management system has been built up organically and relies on complex dependencies, you’ll know how difficult, slow and expensive it can be to integrate with modern technologies and create new customer experiences.

A unified commerce platform can take that pain away. It bypasses the limitations of legacy and omnichannel systems by linking internal channel silos and letting you easily share data and services across all areas.

With one platform, you gain the single source of truth that gives you real-time visibility of your customer, inventory and fulfilment data across all your stores and channels. 

Combine Infinity’s data accessibility with its open platform, integrations and APIs, and you can offer customers the easy purchase, convenient delivery, and stress-free return options they want while recognising and rewarding the shopping they do with you. Here’s how:

One view of stock leads to increased sales

Infinity lets you consolidate your inventory from all locations – warehouse, individual store, on order – and make it available for customers to buy anywhere, at any time by website, app, store or via your call centre. You’ll increase margins while reducing your inventory holding.

Improve profitability by fulfilling orders the way customers want

When your data is unified, you can offer a range of fulfilment options no matter what channel an order comes in from. Click-and-collect, store-to-door delivery, drop shipping and ‘endless aisle’ fulfilment are all possible. You choose what’s best for customers and most profitable for you.

Make ‘buy anywhere, return anywhere’ a reality

With Infinity’s simple and cost effective returns capability, you can manage the entire process including return payment transactions, price validation, inventory re-allocations, notifications and customer record updating. 

To know them is to love them

Whether a staff member or a customer enters the customer’s details into your system or loyalty program in-store or online, that information is captured and stored in one place so you can recognise them consistently wherever they shop with you. Using that data and Infinity’s loyalty capabilities, you’ll know which customers are most profitable and what their preferences are. Store teams can see this information as well to offer personalised service and encourage conversion at point of sale.

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See what a single source of data truth can do for your business

If you want to expand your ability to offer a seamless blend of physical and digital customer experiences, it’s time to unify your data. Contact us to get started now.

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For more on unified commerce and why it’s the future of retail, download this free ebook. 

GET THE EBOOK

Power your retail innovation strategy with APIs

Connecting channels and personalising the shopping experience is vital to meeting consumers’ rising expectations. One major advantage of using a unified commerce platform as your retail management system (RMS), is its open architecture that lets you easily make those connections with APIs.

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are present in every part of our digital world. Every time you use an app like LinkedIn, make a Skype call or listen to Spotify on your phone, there’s an API in action.

APIs let you add specialised functionality to a website, application, platform or software without having to write all of the back-end code. By using APIs, you can connect tools and expose data in real time, rather than having to replicate or move it. The result is one set of functions that’s available across various systems, plus an easy way to plug in and deploy new services, channels and devices. 

These improvements let you shift your team’s priority from maintenance to innovation. By using APIs to access existing solutions in the market, you are free to focus your development efforts on the front-end. You can be more agile and create a community of third-party apps and systems that work together in an ecosystem. As a result, you’ll reduce integration and maintenance overheads, increase real-time accuracy and enjoy virtually limitless scalability and agility.

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APIs in action

Here are just some of the ways APIs help you optimise operations and personalise customer experiences:

Retail anywhere, any time

APIs let you easily expose your product catalogues and other eCommerce solutions to give customers many more ways to engage with your brand, including social commerce.

Deliver anywhere, any how

Shipping and delivery APIs let you integrate third party services to automate everything from the sale through to the parcel being delivered to your customer’s address of choice. Think fulfilment options like click-and-collect, store-to-door and drop shipping.

Payment convenience counts

Give consumers the payment options and ‘buy-now, pay later’ services they want. Infinity was the first in the world to integrate with Afterpay at point of sale and supports Adyen, Smartpay, Laybuy, Alipay, WeChat Pay, and Slyp to name a few payment partners.

Voice and visual to boost personalisation

Visual search APIs help customers quickly find the products they want – like Cue Clothing’s Style Finder mobile app. And you can consider using Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant APIs to further tailor the shopping experience and boosts sales.

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So how do you start making the most of APIs?

Begin by evaluating your company’s value chain. Can you easily integrate and use APIs to access third-party platforms and services to scale your business? Or can you release your own APIs to attract partners and build out your platform? The two options are not mutually exclusive. 

An API-enabled platform like Infinity lets you scale your business quickly by easily adding new apps and services as business requirements change.

We can also help if you’re looking for advice on how to create a strategy and implement an API programme that quickly creates customer and business value.

The end result is the ability to create extraordinary customer experiences that help to capture market opportunities, generate additional revenue and build brand advocacy.

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Find out more about Infinity APIs and our integration partners. Then contact us for advice on how to use APIs to achieve greater agility, faster growth and better margins.

Turning retail experience ideas into reality: meet our new Consulting Lead

Neshma Emile has recently been promoted to Consulting Lead. She’ll be helping more Triquestra clients use the Infinity platform to transform customer experiences. 

Before joining Triquestra, Neshma had ERP implementation roles at construction and building products companies. As a Business Analyst, it was her job to help her clients convert ideas into tangible realities. As Consulting Lead, she’ll be supporting the consulting team to do the same.

“As BA, I was responsible for gathering requirements from the customer and turning them into testable, then usable product. Making sure we’re on the same page and delivering in scope and on time. Now, as Consulting Lead, I also help other business analysts do what they do best. Offering a helping hand so they can become better advisors and get the best results for our customers,” says Neshma. 

“The way Infinity can help retailers digitise and innovate today is really great. How we deliver order management, click-and-collect, how we've integrated with Slyp receipts – we're doing everything to keep our clients in tune with what's modern in the market. It’s our goal to give our clients new ways of connecting to their customers through our product and experience,” she says. 

Because Neshma comes from an ERP background, she understands software and process integration and thinks Infinity is an outstanding retail platform. “With Infinity, because it's designed to meet the specific requirements of retail end users, we always hit the nail on the head. Infinity always gives customers what they need because it's such a mature and stable unified commerce platform. People can innovate off of it really quickly and know that it won't break other systems or processes.”

In regards to innovation, she gives examples like Cue Clothing’s click-and-collect and Z Energy’s Pumped and Sharetank. “For Sharetank, we had Infinity working as it needed to for fuel POS. Then we enhanced the platform and the APIs which are used by the Z app to let consumers find the lowest priced fuel in a 30k radius, prepay for that fuel and then share it with others. And for the Pumped loyalty programme, we proved how stable Infinity is to manage 250 sales transactions per minute.” 

Neshma thinks Triquestra is a good company because of the digital transformations she works on and the company’s culture. She explains, “We’re great at prioritising and we're great at communicating with customers. Our solution and business architects will go in and partner with the client to make sure that the solution is well thought out. 

“We work in a high pressure environment and you'd think you'd have people really anxious and angry but we're not! We're really happy. Even if someone’s role isn’t customer facing, everyone is always looking out for our clients’ best interest and doing what they can to make sure those clients are happy. 

“You’re also really given the opportunity to learn, grow and push yourself every day. I’m young and I don’t have to compensate for that. They hired me because of my skills and work ethic and that’s what they reward me for.” 

Neshma and everyone at Triquestra is very conscious of what retail means today. “While online shopping has definitely changed the landscape, people haven’t stopped going to the shops. It’s the experience the shopper has, whether they’re online or instore, that makes one retailer more successful than another these days.”