After a tumultuous year, retail store owners and managers are beginning 2021 with some degree of clarity on what the year will hold. Hopefully, retail will look more like it did pre-pandemic, but it’s likely that current conditions – capacity limits, mask requirements, and customer hesitation – will persist well into 2021. To help retailers prepare for what’s to come, we’re sharing some of the top lessons of 2020, as compiled by Total Retail.
Curate Individualized Experiences
Many customers will be wary of shopping in-person for some time. To attract customers back into stores, offer personalized and customized in-store experiences. Maintain strict occupancy limits and require appointments to help alleviate shopper apprehensions.
Create Videos
Instructional or promotional videos are a great way to demonstrate product benefits, and to increase customer interest. Keep videos short and in a vertical orientation for optimal viewing on mobile devices.
Engage with Social Issues
Millennial and Gen Z customers increasingly expect brands to take a stand on social issues, ranging from racial justice to climate change. Don’t be afraid to take a bold stand, and weave it into all business operations and marketing materials.
Train and Empower Customer Service Staff
Customers are dealing with stress and unanticipated circumstances. By offering compassionate customer service, you’ll help people in a time of need. In addition, you’ll create an exceptional experience and lasting positive memories of your store and your brand.
Make E-Commerce Easy
After experiencing the relative ease and safety of e-commerce, many customers will continue shopping online long after the pandemic is over. Make the process as smooth and transparent as possible. For example, add a shopping cart icon with a real-time total – including tax and shipping – to the top of the site. This will avoid cart abandonment and customer frustration.
Use Customer Feedback to Improve Merchandising
To improve product descriptions, seek out and incorporate customer feedback. The more specific you can be on fit, size, color, etc., the more comfortable customers will be when making purchases. Also, returns and exchanges will likely decrease.
If you’re looking to build off the lessons of 2020 and make 2021 more efficient and profitable, consider upgrading your point of sale system. Contact Retail Tech to see how your POS system can help you incorporate those lessons and better meet your store’s needs.
Retail Tech carries a wide variety of new and refurbished point of sale hardware and equipment. We offer installation and staging, retail POS system repairs, and more. If you need help choosing a hybrid POS solution, contact our POS systems specialists for help finding the perfect point of sale solution for your retail store, restaurant or other small business.
