First Annual Shopper Experience Study

This is the second half of the First Annual Shopper Experience Study  published 16 months ago that was about future shopper mega-trends that have now become part of the selling landscape. As my previous blog stated, these are trends you should seriously consider implementing if you haven't already.

Generation Y Changes the Behaviour of All Previous Generations
The massive adoption of shopper-friendly technologies forces retailers and other generations to adapt to Generation Y shopping styles. Think online. Think mobile.

The Death of the Task Worker
In order to deal with the dramatic increase in shopper product knowledge, retailers will transform their workforces into knowledge-based workforces. They will dramatically increase the hours employees spend with customers while increasingly automating back-office tasks.

Real SKU Rationalization Takes Hold
Retailers will continue to reduce supplier and SKU counts. Cross-channel order management will allow retailers to pinpoint the best locations for their SKUs - shipping slow-moving products into the warehouse or back to the supplier and increasing inventory for key items. Slow moving items that can't be returned to the supplier will get price reductions (sooner rather than later).

Shoppers Demand Consistent Cross-Channel Experiences
A divided organization drives separate strategies and experiences - and this will be increasingly unacceptable to Generation Y shoppers. Customer service, merchandising, pricing, inventory and supply chain business processes will be seamlessly integrated within the organization.

Death of Static POS Becomes as Possibility
Increasing customer acceptance of out-of-queue check-out and mobile check-out, and the cost benefits associated with it, will enable retailers to finally have an alternative to the tyranny of massive, future POS investments. By-products include reduction of employee-based shrink, lower capital expenditures, increased sales per square foot, and reclaiming premium store space.

So there are your 10 mega-trends. The good news is that if you are using CounterPoint Point of Sale software, you have the tools to implement these changes now - if you haven't already. If you aren't using CounterPoint, I would strongly suggest you take a look to see the advantages you will gain by using this forward looking product.

CounterPoint is not an old-fashioned point of sale system. It has embraced the features that customers are looking for.

• Mobility? It has it.
• Integration for all phases of retailing? It has it.
• Customer connection? it has it.

I could go on, but instead, I'll simply state again, take a look. See what CounterPoint can do for you.  Contact us so we can help you see CounterPoint's Great Feature Set.

Talk to you soon.  ~Norma