Recent Posts
Turn Challenges into Opportunities with Retail Training
Aug 24 / Samantha
Most of us in the retail industry is faced with a Catch 22 situation: Customers are becoming more and more demanding, and employees kept leaving just when we needed them the most. To stay in the game, you’ll need a solid retail training strategy. ♦ Turn High Employee Turnover into Loyal Brand Ambassadors High employee turnover has always bugged the retail industry, and it hurts, driving up recruitment costs and reducing productivity. The solution to this is simple: online retail training. You see, when your workers sense that you are investing in their growth and advancement, they feel appreciated and valued. In return, they offer you the greatest gift of all - their loyalty and advocacy. ♦ Turn Customer Expectations into Customer Experiences By making buying anything just a touch away, the rise of online stores and automated shopping has made consumers more demanding. Consumers today want to be able to do everything themselves, while also having access to help when they need it. They want the in-store experience, but also the option of shopping online. They want immediate gratification, but also to feel special and understood. In short, they want the best customer experience at every point of the purchasing journey. Retail training, when done right, is a great tool you can use to turn this problem into an opportunity: by training your staff on how to help customers get the most out of your products and services, like how to use them, and what features are available. ♦ Make great customer service your competitive edge Your front-line employees are in direct contact with customers. This gives them the power to influence customer decisions, for better or worse. Whether customers purchase from you or your competitors depends on their experience in store. So, how do you turn this challenge into an opportunity? You guessed it! Online retail training. Whether it is how to handle unhappy customers or a full-day session on the latest best practices in sales techniques, online retail training provides your employees the knowledge and skills to provide exceptional customer service. If they succeed, so do you! ♦ Help Training-Resistant Employees Invest In Their Own Growth One of the issues everyone in retail can relate to is the cost of training. Training takes time to develop, time to deliver, and time away from work. Time, of course, costs money. If you have multiple branches, getting your employees to a classroom for training is a logistical nightmare. Online retail training makes learning more efficient, cost-effective, and personalized. For example, each employee can be assigned to the modules or courses that are most relevant to their job and experience. Plus, mobile accessibility means that employees don’t have to travel for training, and don’t have to be pulled away from their jobs, either. Instead, each employee can use the downtime between shifts and sales to learn what they need, when they need it. In conclusion, retailers can leverage on the power of online retail training to turn industry-wide challenges into opportunities to their own advantage. Have you done so yet? If not, why not?
New Retail Redesigns the Consumer Journey in China
Aug 17 / Samantha
Coined in 2017 by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, the concept of ‘new retail’ has proven to be revolutionary. With New Retail, the consumer’s shopping journey is no longer defined as either online or offline but is now simultaneously both. In this article, we will take a look at what results when online merges with offline strategies. ♦ The ultimate store – immediate and hyper-connected In China, consumers use their phones for everything and scan dozens of QR Codes every week. In New Retail stores, you can try on clothes virtually, fill a virtual cart that will then be delivered to your home or pay via facial recognition without going to the checkout. New retail also enables immediate shopping, tapping to consumers’ need to “See Now Buy Now”. You see a product, you scan it, you leave, and it arrives at your home. Or even more agile, while watching a showcase of products, you can directly choose to have one on your plate or shopping cart. ♦ Quality Products that are traceable With New Retail, retailers are able to meet consumers’ increasing demand for quality products while improving their product range and optimizing space design. For example, at a Hema supermarket, you can watch short reports on the origins of items just by scanning the QR code of a product. This report will show you the product’s circuit, its origins, and its transformations. The information includes audits such as pictures of the distributor’s operating permits and food safety certificates. ♦ In-store displays that generate a strong desire to buy In China, stores are now lively: crustaceans wiggle in their tank, images on screens scroll, and staff assertively manoeuvre between customers. Your 5 senses are enhanced: taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing. At a New Retail store, the clever use of sensory marketing aims at seducing the consumer by stimulating the senses in order to influence buying behaviour. ♦ Not a store anymore but an authentic living space New Retail is based on the concept of “Retailtainment”. In Hema supermarket and Carrefour Le Marché in Shanghai, in addition to the grocery section, cooks work every day to prepare freshly purchased products for those who wish to consume on-site. With New Retail, the store is no longer just a place to buy products but a place to live where you like to spend time. Consumers need a reason to leave their homes and go shopping. New Retail is that reason.