Preparing Your Workforce for a Leaner, Greener Holiday Shopping Season
Haunt the Competition with a Spooky Good Curbside
Curbside pickup and BOPIS sales have skyrocketed in the last year. Over 70% of retailers now offer either a curbside pickup or a BOPIS option, nearly a 20% rise from 2019. At this point, shoppers expect retailers to provide curbside and BOPIS options that are seamless and easy to use or else customers may ghost them for good. The key is to make your customers feel comfortable by ensuring your processes are consistent, and preparing your workforce. Offering contactless pickup, posting clear signage at your stores to reduce confusion, sending real-time order updates and making the actual pickup process as quick and efficient as possible are great ways to build loyalty with your customers. Tractor Supply Company invested in Theatro’s mobile communication technology to optimize its curbside and BOPIS services last year and saw a 75% increase in digital sales. Moments after receiving a new digital order, an associate is alerted and acknowledges the order. Once products have been pulled, they are placed into a BOPIS locker. After the customer arrives, an associate is alerted to bring out the order, and they can even access information on the location, color, and model of the car . This process allowed Tractor Supply to reap the full benefits of their BOPIS and curbside offerings and built trust and loyalty among their customers in the process., and preparing your workforcde
Give Thanks for Your Frontline and Preparing Your Workforce
The significant labor shortage problems facing retailers have not subsided, forcing some businesses to cut store operation hours due to a lack of staffing. Or worse, overwhelmed teams are beginning to show signs of burnout, putting the business at risk of losing sales during their most critical shopping season or their valuable talent altogether. The best way to combat these issues is to invest in the workforce you do have and automate as much as possible. When solving pain points at the store level, as Andrea Farris, VP of Stores and Corporate Applications, Bed, Bath & Beyond, shared in a recent webinar, “it is essential to listen to the voice of the associates, bring them along the transformation journey and make sure they are influencing that roadmap.” Therefore, show your frontline how much you appreciate them this holiday shopping season by equipping them with communication technology they need that allows them to instantly locate coworkers, call for backup or find answers within seconds. These capabilities will optimize daily workflows and make your team feel successful this holiday season and beyond.
Help Your Customers Find Everything on Their Wish List by Preparing Your Workforce
While the holiday season brings an uptick in sales, inventory shortages often come along with them. The holiday in-store experience can be stressful for shoppers and employees alike, and a popular item going out-of-stock has the potential to cause mayhem. Running to the back to check the shelves for a particular item wastes valuable time for associates; they need the ability to instantly check inventory statuses from anywhere in-store. Integrating inventory systems with your frontline’s communication platform is preparing your workforce to stay on top of what items are available or allows them to search for additional stock at other stores. They then can communicate this information with their team to keep them prepared and with the customers to be transparent and helpful. The faster you can update your customers on the status of the items they want to buy from their wish list, the better.
Wrapping It All Up
Theatro’s voice-controlled mobile communication platform connects store teams to the information and people they need to deliver on shoppers’ demands this holiday season and year-round. Our platform removes communication roadblocks to help you free up resources and drive alignment across your entire enterprise. If you’d like to see it in action, connect with our Sales team today to learn how we can help you unlock your Frontline’s full potential this holiday season!
