How to Combine On-Site Sales with Online Orders

The world of retail has changed. Several surveys seem to suggest that consumers intend to continue doing much of their shopping online. However, on the flip side, footage of post-lockdown queues at “bricks and mortar” stores proves that there’s still a considerable craving for the in-store shopping experience. So what do you do about this, as a retailer? The answer is simple: You must give your customers what they need online and in-store. This article gives you six pointers to help you achieve that effect and demonstrates how a well-chosen POS system can assist. Let’s begin.

1. Ensure you Provide a Consistent Experience

There’s one thing you absolutely must get right: consistency. This applies to everything from your product range to your branding. Every time a customer wants to buy something, they have a choice: They can venture to the shops or open their web browser. If you want to please your customers, you need to offer the same, fluid experience, regardless of the choice they make. With this in mind, it’s well worth choosing a POS system that can handle both the in-store experience and the eCommerce side of the business. Lightspeed is a good example of a point-of-sale system built with this in mind. You have the option of building an eCommerce store within the solution or using integrations to link up with your existing web presence. Having your systems all within one solution (or well-integrated) helps you ensure you don’t offer an inconsistent experience. For example, you need to ensure customers can easily access the same products regardless of how they decide to shop at any given time.

2. Show Stock Availability

A big part of offering a seamless customer journey is providing accurate and up-to-date stock availability. Customers who can easily see that their nearest store has what they want may well decide to make the trip (and hopefully buy other things during that visit). With this in mind, it’s well worth looking at what inventory management facilities are available when choosing a POS system. A good example of this done well is the UK retailer, Lightspeed. By basing all their availability checks on the customer’s location, they offer a whole range of options – from same-day deliveries to “click and collect” services.

3. Offer “Click and Collect”

“Click and collect” has become increasingly popular recently, and provides a useful hybrid option between online shopping and having customers visit your store. Thankfully, POS system manufacturers have been alert to this trend, with many now offering specific features to assist. Mobile payment processing facilitates curbside collection, for example, and gives customers a way to visit stores that they may be more comfortable within this “new normal.”

4. Learn About your Customers

Every time a customer browses your online store, you have the opportunity to learn more about them. You can see which products interest them, and with wish list functionality you can take this even further, knowing exactly what they’d like to buy at some point. You can use this knowledge to delight your customers. After all, who wouldn’t want to know if something on their wish list was available at a reduced price? Some POS systems really excel in this area, with Oracle’s SuiteCommerce InStore being a prime example. (This can be an internal link – I’ve written the review – but I can’t include the link here as the review isn’t published yet).

4. Encourage Visits to your Store

There is much to be said for actually getting customers through the door of your store. They can feel the products, immerse themselves more in the brand and – let’s face it – be more inclined to opt for impulse purchases! You can always build on your online relationship with customers by encouraging in-store visits too. Options include sales, special events, and exclusive opening times for loyal shoppers. Once again, the more your POS system can help you learn about customers, the more you’re in a position to offer the right incentives to tempt them.

5. Offer Delivery

Offering delivery services is obviously a “no-brainer” when it comes to eCommerce, but it is possible to take things a step further. If you run a shop that primarily serves a local area, there’s nothing to stop you from offering a local “in-person” delivery service. Plenty of businesses have had huge success doing this during lockdowns. If you choose a point of sale system with mobile payment like POS nation, you can even process transactions on people’s doorsteps. And there’s also nothing to stop you from running this kind of local delivery alongside a nationwide or international option that uses couriers and postal services.

6. Make Use of Loyalty Features

Customers love to be recognized and rewarded for their loyalty. Almost every modern point of sale system offers some level of customer loyalty functionality – but it’s well worth taking the time to see exactly what’s provided. Most specifically, you’ll want to ensure that you implement a loyalty system that’s effective both online and off. For example, you don’t want to have to tell customers that the points they’ve accrued from online purchases are meaningless in-store or vice versa. That’s a surefire way to turn a loyal customer into an irritated customer. It’s wise to try to make this all as seamless as possible, to ensure that a high-spending online customer is always recognized as that if they decide to visit a physical store. It’s likely not hard to think of your own examples of companies that do this well, and others that really don’t.

Conclusion

With customers becoming increasingly comfortable with online shopping, it’s likely it will take more to get them through the door of your physical premises. The answer to this is to make your brand experience as flawless and consistent as possible, regardless of how a customer chooses to shop at any time. By choosing the right POS system, you can access features specifically designed to respond to these evolving trends. Your competitors are probably upping their game, so it’s important that you do it too.