While some brick-and-mortar retailers are struggling to compete with ecommerce sites that offer the same or similar products, others are finding that what works for online retailers also works for them: personalizing the customer experience.
For years, online retailers have been able to craft landing pages for customers re-entering their sites with promotions of items and brands that the customer had shown interest in before, items related to those in their shopping carts to add to the sale, and personalized messages through email or text of new items in stock.
To be sure, brick-and-mortar stores can’t change their floor plan for every customer coming through the doors, but they can make the shopping experience unique to each customer through mobile phone apps tied to the company’s ERP system.
By tying the mobile phone user to their purchase history in the ERP system, the app alerts the user to pertinent promotions whenever they enter a store. Given their previous purchase history, the app suggests other items that may interest them.
When picking out items for purchase, the app can suggest other related items that complement the purchase – a scarf to go with the blouse, a carrying case to go with that laptop, or a cable to go with the DVD player.
Some stores can even use mobile apps to help customers locate items within the store and even handle checkout.
The key is tracking the customer’s purchases and recommending items that have interested them in the past – just like the online retailers do – complete with sizes, colors, and styles.
Even something as simple as thanking them after the sale can make the app appear more personal, as if the app was that customer’s personal buyer.
Making the customer experience personal through mobile applications tied to powerful data found in the ERP system can greatly enhance the customer’s experience and result in return business for retailers.
by ArcherPoint LLC
