Personalization has become a driving factor behind retaining customer loyalty. Following the pandemic, studies found that over 70% of customers expect personalized shopping experiences, and many will become frustrated and abandon a brand if they don’t find it. While digitized data and automation may facilitate personalization online, brick-and-mortar stores are not exempt.

To meet specific customer needs, most storefronts have focused on improving inventory management and maximizing data accessibility across the facility. This forces associates to implement solutions that deliver real-time visibility to boost inventory accuracy, so they assist customers on the sport with updated insights. Nevertheless, studies show that 85% of retail decision-makers struggle with maintaining real-time visibility of stockouts. The issue of poor visibility is exacerbated by the prevalence of in-store returns. Nearly 8 in 10 shoppers prefer easy returns where they shop, even if products were bought online. Demands for higher inventory accuracy and easier returns are burdensome without the right technology solutions to help associates. Consequently, providing a personalized in-store experience is closely tied to expanding inventory visibility and team communication.

How it’s done:

Empowering your store’s workforce with real-time visibility is crucial to meeting customer expectations for faster service. New retail transactions such as contactless payment, BOPIS, curbside pickup, and click-and-collect have led technology manufacturers to prioritize connectivity and data sharing features within new devices. When associates are equipped with versatile tools operating in a sustainable wireless network, personalizing the shopper’s experience is more seamless since they can…

  1. Ensure shelves are properly stocked at all times to avoid fake stockouts – Improper inventory visibility can cause the impression that your storefront is missing the products your customers want. You can help your store associates prevent these challenges and improve inventory management with intelligent data capture that’s digitally connected to your management system. Intuitive scanning features like the ones equipped on modernized enterprise handhelds enable on-the-go cycle counting and price lookups, so your associates can help customers from anywhere in the storefront with real-time insights on stock counts.
  2. Empower customers to find what they need at their own pace – Giving your customers technology can help make their shopping experience more efficient, which can lead to them returning to your store. Implementing personal scanners, like Zebra’s PS20 personal scanner, achieves this with advanced technology and intelligent imaging to improve shopping. The PS20 empowers customers with quick, hands-free 1D/2D barcode capture in any condition, so they can instantly scan items as they are placed in the cart. The PS20 also comes with a rugged and familiar Android design built for reliable use to help users feel more comfortable. Personalized shopping experiences make your store associates’ jobs easier and reduce return rates with real-time visibility.
  3. Enable flexible checkout for easier linebusting – Flexible data capture solutions and secured data storage can help your workers stay on top of long checkout lanes. Zebra’s enterprise tablets and other mobile computing solutions achieve this with flexible connectivity options and government-grade compliance, so your teams can checkout customers while they wait, ultimately delivering a better shopping experience by modifying your point-of-sale without compromising data security.

As customer demands adapt and change, your technology solutions should empower your teams, not stall them. Prepare your associates for rising retail demands with solutions that deliver greater inventory accuracy. Contact us at Spencer to implement comprehensive inventory management solutions.