Have you ever been frustrated when you couldn’t find your favorite items in a retail store, or it was “out of stock”? Or was that pretty new dress wasn’t in your size or choice of colors? This happens to several people every day while shopping, and it’s frustrating.
While the growth of e-commerce in India has been impressive, many shoppers still like to shop for branded products in physical stores as they get to check the quality and feel the product before buying. Some shoppers also like to check out various branded products online but then make a final purchase from a retail store. This can pose a challenge if and when the store runs out of stock for that particular item your customer wants.
Thanks to the advancements in technology, new IT solutions for the retail industry are coming up to solve such challenges. One of the best retail IT solutions so far is Wipro’s Endless Aisle for Retail.
What is an Endless Aisle Solution in Retail?
Retail stores are getting a lot of mileage from the strategic combination of online and offline customer experiences. An ‘Endless Aisle’ allows retailers to give their customers the virtual experience of browsing through out-of-stock products on popular retail websites and buying them for in-store pickup if desired.
The ‘Endless Aisle’ solution works well when combined with a concept known as “Dropshipping,” in which retailers do not have to stock all the inventory items their customers request, instead of allowing suppliers to provide their orders directly to clients.
Benefits of Wipro’s Endless Aisle Solution for Retail Industry
There are multi-fold benefits of this “buy anywhere-fulfill anywhere” solution for retailers, such as –
Saving Costs Incurred Due to Low Inventory
Physical stores score on giving a superior customer experience, but they have limits to the amount of inventory they can keep on hand. Whenever a product goes out of stock too often, customers will simply go somewhere else where they can quickly find and order what they want and have it delivered in two days or less. This customer dropout adds up quickly, costing retailers nearly $1 trillion a year in lost sales. And many times, customers who leave don’t come back.
By combining virtual technology with physical retail space, endless aisle solution provides an enhanced customer experience. Retail brands can showcase their full product line and quicker turnaround time between restocking events. Customers can order the products virtually using the Click & Collect (C&C) mechanism and come by later to pick up their findings from the store or get it home delivered.
Expanding Customer’s Reach
An endless aisle solution gives customers, associates, sales teams, and suppliers real-time visibility into product availability across the entire supply chain. This includes stores, warehouses, distribution centers, transport, and product in transit. Once customers select, the solution supports timely fulfillment through store pickup and deliver-to-home shipping. There is no need for retailers to “rip and replace” existing systems as they can easily integrate endless aisle solutions into the existing back-end, distribution, and in-store systems, as well as supplier and partner systems.
Wipro Endless Aisle for Retail offers easy scalability and the ability to gradually bring on new functionalities, such as store fulfillment, online commerce, and personalization, as needed.
Retaining Customers and Keeping Sales from Plummeting
With the Wipro Endless Aisle solution, retailers can give in-store and online shoppers access to inventory from stores, warehouses, and partner companies. This gives them more time to find the products they want and get them shipped to their doorstep without knocking on a competitor’s door.
By offering more choices in your product line, retailers can create a sense of brand loyalty for consumers that could ultimately lead to an increase in-store sale. To keep your customers happy and engaged with your retail outlet, store managers must be tech-savvy and trained on questions about newer technologies connecting the online world to the offline world.
Conclusion
Despite the challenges, Endless Aisle technology can be a major boost for brick-and-mortar retail stores, particularly as it faces a major challenge from the growth of online retail in India. Omnichannel solutions that combine the benefits of online and offline retail are enhancing retail customer experience and brand loyalty.
Overall, Wipro Endless Aisle for Retail can be a valuable tool for providing the right customer experience, which is the key to selling more and keeping customers coming back.
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