New retail methods are constantly being developed to make the industry faster and more organised. Failing to keep up could have you losing out on custom. Here are just a few methods of improving your retail business’s efficiency.
Accept card
More and more retail outlets are accepting plastic. Even market stall owners are buying card readers. Not accepting card in this day and age could be causing you to lose business.
Contactless reader and Apple Pay readers are the next level of tech slowly being introduced. You don’t have to take this step quite yet, although it may better prepare you for the future when such devices are the norm.
Digitise your pricing
Digitising the price of every product can make it easier to record what is being sold and what isn’t. Barcodes and printed labels can be used to stock and scan items. Going digital is important when expanding and can allow you to create a centralised system so that warehouses, stores and head offices can all check the pricing and stock of items.
Speeding up accounting with software
Accountancy is a time-consuming and tiring task for many business owners. However, you can speed up the process by using software that can automatically calculate taxes and expenses. There are multiple programmes out there, some available as app so that you can even do your book-keeping from your phone. Such software can minimise costly errors and keep your books presentable so that if the taxman comes knocking round, they can clearly get to grips with your expenses. It’s as effective in some cases as hiring an accountant.
Automate stock replenishing
There are many other ways to digitise your business, one of the most revolutionary being the ability to automatically replenish stock. Computer programmes can now read which products have left the shelves each week and place automatic orders for these items. There are some cases where you may want to tweak an order (such as ordering more summer stock for a hot week ahead) but for everyday use, such a system may be all you need. It certainly beat the slow and painstaking process of a manual stock take.
Introduce loyalty schemes
Loyalty schemes are a way of enticing shoppers back by giving them rewards after a certain amount of visits. The most common form of this is a loyalty card. Shoppers can build up points on a loyalty card and use them to get items at a discount or for free. Some companies are even building loyalty card apps that can be used by scanning one’s phone. There are other incentive schemes that you can introduce such as gift cards and vouchers. These can either be available by the counter or purchased online and redeemed with a code. Another option may be to contact your local newspaper or a local magazine and get them to sell vouchers with their publication, which you can then make commission on.