There is one adage each retailer has to follow – keep the customer happy. Earlier, it meant stocking every product that the consumer may need or want. Today, it is equivalent to considering the hectic lifestyle of the patron and offering quick services. To this end, retailers have started working on tactics that leave the customer happy and fulfilled. The most common attempt to reach this goal is incorporating management software to their shops or supermarkets. In this article, we explain the what and the why of retail management systems.
Understanding Store Management Software
Retail management is the process of increasing sales and consequently customer satisfaction. It is done by comprehending the product, service, and customer better. An organisational software for a retail shop is a system that ensures these goals are achieved. The network makes shopping easier, leaving the patron more satisfied and the merchandise store more profitable. This is the central definition of a management system. Our next step is to grasp how they benefit a department store chain.
Benefits of A Retail Chain Software
The advantages of a point of sale software for shops are innumerable, but two of them are the most important.
- The software guarantees that the outlet is organised. For example, a customer comes to your general store and asks for X brand of shampoo. The POS System can be used to check if you have the shampoo in stock, where it is kept and how many of them are in your inventory. Thus, guiding the patron directly to the shampoo becomes quick and easy. The consumer never has to wait too long in the store or leave without purchasing anything. This is possible because the software allows the shop manager to save detailed information about each item in stock. One can even group product according to the type of customer (age & gender) who purchases it.
- The second gain of a billing and inventory system is the tracking ability. Each time merchandise is added to the store, or an item is purchased, it is recorded in the software using a unique SKU (stock keeping unit). It signifies that a manager can regularly keep track of:
o all the products – how many are in stock and which need to be re-ordered?
o the sales of the store
The continuous record-keeping of goods also averts shoplifting and pilfering.
Knowing what is a merchandise management software and how it can help a retail chain is half the battle. The other half is to identify the precise features the software should have.
Must-Have Features of Retail Software a Manager Needs
Fashion Retail Software or supermarket system, some essential applications should be included in all of them. These elements keep the business running seamlessly and efficiently. Hence, before investing in a POS software for a retail outlet check for these components:
- Payment: A good billing system for any retail store extends the ability to pay in any mode. Cash, debit card, credit card, gift vouchers, coupon codes or digital apps, the customer has the convenience of transacting in any manner they wish. The system doesn’t just offer flexibility but also speed. Instead of an employee manually tallying the total of the entire cart, the software does it in nanoseconds.​
- Inventory: The fundamental part of management software for retail outlets is registering every sale and material purchase. It is meant to reduce the time it takes to physically trace the products in stock and keep a tally of what has been sold and what not. This is accomplished by scanning the barcodes attached to each SKU or via RFID. The freed-up time can then be used to make the shop more productive and fatten the profit margin.
- Promotion: Because the software has a history of all products that are purchased by shoppers, it can be used for promotion. Goods that are selling faster can be promoted further while products that are lying on store shelves can be discounted to boost sales. The information the POS system extends can necessarily be applied to push items to patrons.
- Loyalty Programs: A store software is not limited to tracking purchase history. It also records which buyer bought which item and how many times. It can show you which patrons are repeat customers. The information can be applied to create loyalty programs that reward frequent buyers. It also helps in making targeted marketing campaigns. For example, patron A is known to purchase chicken soup every 14 days. This data can be utilised to sell a higher priced soup to the customer who turns to increased profit for the store.
An excellent billing software, a useful inventory feature that tracks purchasing and receiving plus a proper customer relationship management application are the requisite components of any retail shop software. If the system comprises of reporting, scheduling, sales order organising, and dashboard applications, it becomes even better.
The Take-Away
Pick a system that factors in all the needs of the retail store plus gives the customer a finer shopping-experience. Greater consumer satisfaction means thicker bottom line for you.