Retail staff hampered by archaic digital solutions

Friday, October 12, 2018 - 09:11 by Mike Price

Retail is becoming more digital all the time, with technology making it easier for consumers to carry out safe shopping online wherever they are.

This trend has also raised expectations as to the experiences which should be available to consumers at bricks and mortar stores. Yet a new study from REPL Group has shown that too few outlets are adopting up to date systems in order to empower staff and cater to customers.

44 per cent of store workers who participated in the survey said that they were either limited in their ability to help shoppers as a result of the technology on tap being outdated, or as a consequence of not being trained in its effective use to a suitable degree.

70 per cent said that it made sense for high street retailers to start embracing a more malleable approach to pricing, allowing them to keep pace with sites that offer safe shopping online, rather than rigidly sticking to a predetermined RRP.

Almost a fifth of respondents said that they would be better equipped to do their job if they were able to review the kinds of products that customers had purchased in the past, much in the same way as e-commerce sites have access to a wealth of information.

This would help physical stores to offer improved levels of customisation and personalisation, giving them more power to compete at a time when online shopping is continuing to gather momentum.

Report spokesperson Mike Callender said that many firms were not doing enough to keep their digital systems up to scratch, according to the research by Internet Retailing. This means that investing in the latest technologies will bring the in-store experience in line with consumer expectations, without compromising web-based sales for multichannel operators in this marketplace.