To stay competitive in 2023 and beyond, retail businesses need to face emerging consumer trends head-on and focus on creating compelling, loyalty-winning, omnichannel experiences.
At the same time, rising costs and inflationary pressures mean increased efficiency is key. Luckily, automation tools can help with both.
As Square’s Future of Retail report notes, in-store shopping is enjoying a revival, as customers continue to embrace in-person experiences post-pandemic. However, they have also become accustomed to the convenience and flexibility of shopping online and via social channels.
This means it’s up to retailers to meet their customers wherever they are—on their phones, the computer, and in-store. In other words: omnichannel selling is the way forward.
We’ve already covered tips for setting up an online store, so here is some advice for businesses experimenting with social media selling:
See how you can power your retail business with Square
Omnichannel selling isn’t the only new consumer trend to consider. According to the Future of Retail report, customers these days also demand convenience in terms of payment options, shipping, exchanges and rewards.
Automation tools can help in all these areas. For example, digitising your loyalty program against mobile numbers allows customers to easily stay up to date and engage with their rewards via their phone.
Automation tools can also increase efficiency in other ways, streamlining back-end tasks such as stock management, which 38% of retailers find the most time-consuming, according to the Future of Retail report.
“While automation technology seems like something saved for the biggest businesses, the reality is that this technology is accessible to businesses of all types and sizes,” says Jarrad Brownfield, Square’s Retail Product Marketing Manager in Australia.
“Retailers are turning to Square for automation technology, like automatically generating purchase orders based on your sales and customer behaviour, in order for them to reduce administrative burden and invest their time in more valuable projects, like improving customer experience and growing their business.”
In tough times, like those we’re facing now, building resilience is critical to long-term sustainability. And it just so happens that a great way to do this is by increasing efficiency and agility via new tech, and by creating multiple income streams through omnichannel selling. Both of which cater to changing customer preferences while also being good for business.
Just ask Duncan Paterson, owner of Dive Centre Bondi in Sydney. During the pandemic, he and his team started up an online store and upgraded their clunky old POS system to an all-in-one product, Square for Retail. This quick and clever thinking saw Dive Centre Bondi through lockdown, and it’s since bounced back better and stronger than ever.
“For my business I’m always looking for new ways to make the administrative tasks easier to manage across the team,” Paterson says. “These tools allow us to divide and conquer, save time, reduce errors, and focus on our main passion: scuba diving.
“Since using Square, we have saved hours per week that we can invest in the thought process of our website. Our old system was a lot more labour intensive, taking up a lot of our precious time. Square has been a positive influence on our productivity, time-management and creative processes. We could not do without anymore.”
Read now: Leveraging tech to maximise efficiency and unlock new sales
Square creates tools that help sellers start, run and grow their businesses. Their free point of sale service offers tools from accepting card payments to invoicing, inventory, analytics and employee management.
