Our shopping habits have changed dramatically over the past few years. Not so long ago shopping meant a trip to town and much frustration when you couldn’t find exactly what you were looking for. Now it is easy to source the things you need online and you can either order them right there and then or, if you need to try something on, you at least know where to find it. Whilst online shopping has been a fabulous boon for shoppers it has thrown up all sorts of complications for retailers, particularly those in the fashion industry.

A New World for Retailers

You may not have given the plight of the retailer much thought but it is a subject that is worth thinking about.  It is hard for shops and brands to survive these days unless they have a presence online but imagine what it is like to have to manage all those orders and to keep accurate stock records when you are selling your goods both in store and online. You wouldn’t survive very long if you couldn’t fulfil your orders and if you couldn’t offer competitive prices. Competitive pricing is not possible if you are spending all of your potential gains on staff to manage the orders!

Complications

Things get complicated when you are selling both in store and online and even worse if you have more than one website or sell via eBay and Amazon.  Retailers must maintain accurate stock records, order new stock before they sell out, fulfil orders quickly and maximise sales by contacting their customers with special offers and news of new arrivals. Fashion retailers have the additional challenge of coping with all those different sizes and colours!

Solutions

The big brands and chains are in the position to create bespoke systems that manage everything for them and have the financial clout to purchase amazing websites that have been designed to meet their needs. Independent retailers are in a different position entirely but they too can benefit from fabulous systems in the form of packages created specifically for their needs.

EPoS

EPoS systems (electronic point of sale) include electronic tills, software packages and websites that offer an integrated system to manage sales in store and online across multiple platforms. Stock is automatically updated when a sale is made and the best packages include a raft of additional features. These can help retailers to know and contact their customers, to upload their products to their selling platforms and to identify their best sellers. The software enables retailers to upload and sell items with variants in size and colour and sometimes even to sell variants that they do not hold in stock but which they can call down from their suppliers.

If you place your order online and you receive your goods in timely fashion, your choice is in stock for you and the right style and size is despatched, this level of efficiency is made possible by the sophisticated systems that retailers must use to run their businesses. Without these the world would probably descend into chaos and online shopping would not been the phenomenon that it is today. Your favourite brands may produce great fashion but without the best EPoS systems you wouldn’t be wearing it any time soon!

Article by Sally Stacey