Retail surgery: How can retailers choose the right technology?

Almost every industry, retail included, is going through an accelerated digital transformation, but could some businesses be buying in technology for tech’s sake?

First Data Merchant Solutions general manager Raj Sond says: “The right technology can be the making of a business, but ill-equipped decisions when purchasing technology can lead to costly errors.

“To run a successful business you need to know your customers’ needs and purchasing habits.

“With the ability to dive into data and view their purchasing history, retailers can tailor offers and promotions and avoid making costly errors by guessing in what their customers would be interested.”

To achieve this retailers must have the right technology in order to better connect with their customers.

Investing in business development employees is essential to ensure retail innovations are carefully chosen and well implemented.

“It’s all very well having the right technology to collect data to tailor promotions but if there is no time to spare, which is often the case in retail, it can be a futile exercise,” said Sond.

“Retail employees need time away from the shopfloor to review data and consider which campaigns and promotions will be successful, but concerns around productivity and a general unwillingness to overhaul legacy systems can hinder business development.”

By investing in integrated EPoS, owners and managers can gain an oversight remotely of what transactions are processed by which employee, removing the necessity for store owners and managers to be the eyes and ears on the shopfloor.”