Store to web: The 8 rights and wrongs of Order in Store
What if we took a step back in time to the days before Store to Web and Order in Store? The times when your customers came to your stores to shop and left, sometimes with their bags full, and sometimes empty-handed. In those times, stores simply served as a showcase for the items available, but if a size, colour or reference was missing… nothing could be done! The customer was left to turn to another store, to e-commerce or worse, to a competitor to find the item they wanted.
Then the Order Management System (OMS) along and with it a plethora of Store to Web and Digital in Store solutions that have revolutionised the in-store experience. Among all these solutions, Order In-Store is THE staple solution when it comes to giving power back to stores!
“+6% turnover in the first month of use, with forecasts between 10 to 12% by the end of 2021” (ba&sh)
Surely you’re not going to tell us that you haven’t implemented this leading omnichannel solution yet? These eight true or false facts will doubtless convince you of the importance of in-store order taking!
To implement Store to Web, I need to recruit new store associates
FALSE. Order In-Store, or Endless Aisle, is a solution that is easy to use, intuitive and accessible to all your store associates. A simple demonstration is enough to understand the basics and training is relatively quick.
Remember that one of the goals of Store to Web is to empower store associates and ultimately improve your in-store performance. It would be counterproductive for recruitment to be necessary to implement this omnichannel solution instead of capitalizing on your current resources.
Store to Web expands the scale of my store
TRUE. If you are a rational thinker, then we’ll concede that of course Store to Web will not extend your store walls in the physical sense of the term. However, virtually it will. This is referred to as Endless Aisle or Range Extension (yes, there really are a lot of terms for this concept, bear with us).
Thanks to Unified Stock and Order Management, Store to Web offers your store associates and, above all, your customers, access to the entire product catalogue. This presents two immediate benefits: a solution to in-store stock shortages AND a favourable answer to your customers’ purchasing desires, whether or not the items they want are on the shelf at your point of sale.
All store types are winners, small and large! Order in-Store is a profitable solution no matter the initial size of the sales area.
Store to Web means deploying tablets in stores
TRUE. Deploying Order in Store does mean that you will need to equip your store associates with digital tools that will allow them to carry out their new tasks in the best possible conditions. The store associates’ tablet is therefore essential for accessing the unified stock, browsing it and placing orders for customers.
The devices deployed in stores can be in a variety of formats, from mobiles to regular tablets. In any case, it is a relatively small investment and is cost-effective given the turnover generated as soon as the Order in Store is activated: +6% turnover within the first month of activation for ba&sh!
“The customer experience is the same whether they are in a 50 or 200m² store!”
Store to Web improves customer relations
TRUE. Taking orders in-store is a solution that is particularly appreciated by your customers as it is seen as a type of special favour: “You can’t find the reference in store, no problem, I’ll order it for you!”.
Taking orders empowers your store associates, who are fully aware of their customers’ needs and can respond immediately by consulting the unified stock. The experience offered to customers is the same, whether they are in a 50 or 200m² store, regardless of the different product ranges. The customer journey is thus improved and in line with the services offered by the leading clothing companies and perhaps even by your competitors!
If my shop assistants place orders in the store, my customers will no longer come to the shop.
FALSE. Ordering in-store should not be seen as an omnichannel solution that undermines the store experience. On the contrary, it simplifies the shopping experience and puts the point of sale at the heart of the customer experience! By accessing the items they are looking for, your customers are more likely to come back to the store again, are they not?
In addition, there are various delivery methods associated with in-store ordering. It is possible to have items delivered directly to the customer’s home, subject to payment of postage costs; or for them to collect their orders from the store, free of charge, thanks to Click & Collect. To be clear, the implementation of Store to Web solutions has no negative impact on in-store footfall.
“Unified commerce and Store to Web unite business departments around a common goal: profitability !”
Store to Web only benefits e-commerce
FALSE. Store to Web and, more broadly, all omnichannel solutions do not create a split between physical and online commerce. On the contrary, the aim is to create a synergy between the two.
In the specific case of an Order in Store order, either the stock from the DC or the stock from another store (this is known as a stock transfer) can be used to service the order. The distribution of the turnover (incentives) is then done according to your own rules, usually by rewarding the store from which the order is issued and the stock point that will carry it out equally.
Order taking must be the result of a comprehensive approach to unified commerce
TRUE. In-store order-taking is based on unified stock: the stock quantities of all the stock points in your network (stores, warehouses, future stocks, etc.) are visible from the store associates’ tablet when the order is taken.
To put it simply, before implementing Order in Store, it is necessary to understand how unified commerce works and the benefits associated with it. It is a truly company-wide project that must unite the various business departments around a common goal: profitability! A solution such as OneStock, for example, allows for significant growth in overall sales – 25% more web sales and an ROI achieved within 4 months.
Store to Web is complicated to set up
FALSE. With the OneStock Order Management System, it’s easy! Since a picture is worth a thousand words, why don’t we schedule a demo so we can explain everything to you?
