Retail & Distribution

How four retail brands plan to make things easier for shoppers in-store and better for staff in 2022

17 February 2022

4 min
The advent of omnichannel in retail requires having the right tools: to streamline the checkout process and ensure a better customer experience in stores. Here’s how four retail brands of very different sizes and sectors are seeking to transform in-store shopping for both their customers and staff alike.

Omnichannel is no longer optional. Consumers today expect higher levels of service and more personalisation, which means re-thinking the way stores and staff work and investing in new tools for greater agility and real-time prowess. Such a forward-thinking approach has encouraged brands like Courir – an international sports and sneaker retailer – YellowKorner, – a leading publisher of art photography – Beauval Zoo and Picture Organic Clothing – an outdoor clothing brand – to introduce Cegid Retail Live Store – retail’s latest generation of omnichannel and collaborative applications for stores.

“With Cegid Retail Live Store, we’re hoping to help the everyday lives of staff in stores and introduce new and better ways of serving and selling to customers. This will speed up the shift towards more omnichannel and digital services in physical retail,” says Nathalie Echinard, Director of Cegid’s Retail Business Unit. Here’s what the four brands have to say

” Cegid Retail Live Store allows us to smooth out busy trading peaks and generate new sales opportunities. “

Sylvain Spodar – IT Director, Beauval ZooParc

#1 Smoothing out the checkout process to minimise customer pain points

YellowKorner, the French photographic art retailer, is no stranger to this conundrum – especially during peak trading periods – and turned to Cegid Retail Live Store in a bid to improve the checkout process at 130 of its stores around the world.

“Our stores are a mix of art gallery and boutique and we needed to streamline order-taking and cut down on waiting times at the checkout for customers,” says Thibault Kummer, Director of IT at YellowKorner. “Cegid Retail Live Store’s ‘queue busting’ and mobile order-taking features were the ideal solution.”

Three boutiques at the much-visited Beauval Zoo in France have also turned to mobile solutions to cut down on waiting times at many of its installed tills. The objectives are to prevent queues and avoid customer frustration, not to mention maximise sales.

“Integrating Cegid Retail Live Store solution means we’re better able to manage the peaks and surges at the end of the day when everyone is leaving the park, as well as generate new sales opportunities,” says Sylvain Spodar, Director of IT at Beauval ZooParc.

 

#2 Offering endless aisle and extended ranges and never miss a sale

For the retailers piloting the Cegid Retail Live Store solution, the ability to offer extended ranges and items sometimes not always available in stores, is a ‘must have’. Staff should always be in a position to respond favourably to customer requests and offer endless aisle by giving the opportunity to order items, even if the desired product is not actually physically present.

“We don’t have enough space in our stores to display our entire catalogue,” says Kummer. “But thanks to Cegid Retail Live Store we can now offer endless aisle, ship from store and easily place orders and schedule deliveries using mobile devices. Mobile devices also speed up adoption of new software or apps and free up time for better customer service.”

” Smoothing out the shopping experience in stores and avoiding queues at tills using mobile tools is essential for our teams today and we rely on Cegid Retail Live Store to solve these issues. “

Julie Karsenti – Digital Marketing Director, Courir

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#3 Simplify store processes to increase agility

As well as developing omnichannel services and extending ranges thanks to mobile, it’s also important to make sure that any new procedures are relevant, and that staff are well versed in using the tools.

“Smoothing out the shopping experience in stores and avoiding queues at tills using mobile devices is essential for our teams today and we chose Cegid Retail Live Store to solve these issues,” says Julie Karsenti, Marketing and Digital Director at Courir, an international sports and sneaker retailer with 300 stores in Europe.

At Picture Organic Clothing, a snow sports and surfing apparel brand, staff will soon be equipped with tablets and smartphones to more easily look up sales, track customer and inventory details as well as browse entire product catalogues.

“At Picture, we’re driven by our passion for sport and proud of our ability to advise customers on their purchases and our products,” says Vincent André, co-founder of the brand. “With Cegid Retail Live Store, we can ensure our sales teams can remotely access a product’s availability in real-time.”

” Being able to checkout customers from anywhere in the store saves them having to wait at tills, but also allows our salespeople to stay focused on providing top-notch support and service. “

Vincent André – Co-founder, Picture

#4 Accelerate your digital transformation and allow staff to stay focused on customer service

The move towards more digital and omnichannel services in stores has brought about a number of improvements, including reduced waiting times at tills, extended aisle, real-time inventory and customer management for staff. However, it has made the job of the sales associate more complex

Equipping staff with the appropriate tools can simplify sometimes complex scenarios. At Picture, André believes that “being able to checkout customers from anywhere in the store saves them having to wait at tills, but also allows our salespeople to stay focused on providing top-notch service and advice and fulfil their roles as brand ambassadors”

Finally, Nathalie Echinard, Director of Cegid’s Retail Business Unit concludes: “At a time when digital transformation of a store is fundamental to improving a customer’s overall shopping experience, we’re delighted to be helping these brands seize new growth opportunities.”

To go further, discover Cegid Retail Live Store

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