Retail SOP

If your mid-sized business has anywhere from three to fifty locations, you can benefit from the new technology of a retail point of sale software system. You may have looked into this technology and thought that it was cost prohibitive. However, there are some suppliers out there that understand the challenges of the current economic climate. They do not require expensive retail point of sale terminals. They use low-cost ?Thin Client” platforms that allow for web-based implementation. Such suppliers also provide web-based training, which reduces expenses up to 80% over companies who require you to have expensive on-site training sessions.

Another benefit of such suppliers is the short-term or ?pay as you go” mentality. This is much preferred over expensive long-term licensing commitments. Retail point of sale system suppliers also have the flexibility to work with your existing hardware, software, and operating systems. Whether you have retail point of sales systems, PC or Mac systems, they can integrate with what you already use and know, thus eliminating the huge learning curve that is often created by the implementation of new hardware and software systems.

The simplicity of many of these state-of-the-art retail points of sale systems is part of their beauty. Because they are easy to use and work around your schedule for training, your new system can be up and running in a matter of days rather than weeks. Using the latest technologies, these suppliers allow you to manage your operation in real-time from wherever you are. Never again will you have to wade through End-of-Week or End-of-Day reports ? you will have all the information you want at your fingertips when you are ready for it.

Retail point of sale companies are truly unique in the products and services they offer as well as their management styles and their workforces. Whether you sell apparel, footwear, or electronics or have 3 stores or 25, your company can benefit from a system that provides you with real-time information. This is why it is important to find a supplier of software systems that can work with your needs and tailor the system to fit you and your company. Individualized systems and training will ensure that your business needs are being met and that solutions to your company’s problems are being determined. Working with your current resources will assist you to stay on target with the implementation of the new technologies without disturbing your current workload.

Benefits of a retail point of sale software system include increased sales, reduced costs and higher profitability. In other words, your bottom line is what is at stake. By knowing what you have at each location, you will be better able to order additional merchandise in a timely fashion, which will help to reduce costs. Knowing where each item is, whether it is at a specific store location, in transit, or on order will help you to respond accurately and efficiently to customer requests. A happy customer means increased sales. With sales up and costs down, profitability rises. Using new technology to build your retail point of sale business is a smart move to make.

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It is absolutely vital that you spend the time and effort developing effective packaging. Packaging can be the difference between a sale and a buyer walking away. There are so many amazing product concepts that just don’t get realized by Major Retailers because of packaging that isn’t working for the product inside.

If you put yourself in Buyers shoes an think about your own shopping habits, packaging is the first thing a customer sees when entering into a store or looking online. If the packaging isnt attractive or clear, customers wont be interested and therefore won’t buy – its as simple as that. Understandably, this makes spending time on packaging essential to Major Retail success.

But how do you know if you are on the right track with packaging your product?

Here’s three great questions to ask yourself and really think about when preparing your product for Major Retail success:

1. Does my packaging convey a clear message of what the product is or does?

If someone picked up your product in its current packaging would they know immediately what it was and what it does? If not, then you know you have a problem. You’ve got to make sure that your message is clearly conveyed on your packaging. Many people decide within a few seconds as to whether they want to buy your product or not, so it is vital that you display a clear visual experience for the customer as to what the product is and how it can help them.

2. Does the packaging look good? Is it appealing?

You might think that you’ve created the most awesome packaging ever, but if no one else agrees, then bam, you have another problem. Your packaging must be attractive, concise and enticing. How do you know that you are on the right track? Ask people! Ask your friends, family, colleagues, people on the street ask anyone who can give you an honest answer. Tell them you need the truth, not a compliment. Youd be amazed at how brutally honest people can be!

3. Is the package size comparable with its competition?

If you go to a store and see that your competitors’ packaging is 3 times smaller than yours, then you know you have a problem. Make sure your product aligns with how much space a buyer has to work with. There is a reason why buyers chose to layout their space in a store in a particular way – they are allotted limited space for their category or categories. So pay attention and be respectful for how much room a buyer has to work with. If they love your product but can’t fit it in, you’re just hurting your own sales.

If you know you have a problem, or even if you are not 100% convinced that you are on the right track with packaging, then don’t be shy and get some help! Look for a company or packaging expert that specializes in product packaging for your product type. Working with an experienced packaging expert can save a tremendous amount of time, money and headache!

At the end of the day, the more energy and time you put into having the best packaging the better. So take the time to prepare your packaging and you will be on your way to Major Retail success!

Visit Design your own for more free advice and information.

If you were presented with only the following two options and you had to choose one of them, which one would you choose?

OFFLINE TRADING – If trading offline is your intention, you simply cannot just concentrate on the building premises alone as that’s just the start of it. Before acquiring retail business premises you’ve got to give consideration to an extensive list of other important issues…

Rent Rates Insurances Lighting Display Stands Shop-Fitting Flooring Cleaning Contracts Maintenance Contracts Security Contracts Staffing Health & Safety Fire Prevention Fire Fighting Equipment Fire Alert Devices Anti-Theft Alarms Theft Prevention After-Hours Alarms Communications Devices; telephones (landline & mobile) Computer Systems Utilities Staff Training Facilities Point-Of-Sale Equipment Bags & Wraps…

…and that’s just the beginning as we haven’t even got around to the subject of your actual stock, yet!

Also, with business premises, you’re guaranteed that for each and every month you’re in business you’re going to be paying out two sets of bills;

Business Premises Expenses; electricity bills, water bill, gas bill, rates, rent, insurance, etc. AND your regular Household Premises Expenses; electricity bills, water bill, gas bill, rates, rent, insurance, etc.

Before the true costs of ‘retail’ premises can be fully realised, a great deal of small businesses go under simply because the owners have allowed themselves to fall heavily in love with the ‘idea’ of owning business premises without taking into account all the ‘hidden’ expenditures involved. To tell the truth, it might make far more financial sense to invest in a second home and here’s why…

Open or Closed?

Let’s say you operate a retail store that opens its doors from 9am to 6pm each day, 7 days a week. At 9 hours per day, that’s a maximum trading time of 63 hours per week or…

…3276 hours per year.

What this really means is that your store is closed for 15 hours per day, 105 hrs per week or…

…5460 hours per year.

You’re paying one whole year’s rent, rates, insurances, wages, etc, for a store that’s closed for over 227 days per year (not including calendar holidays). That’s two thirds of the year! Does this make economic sense? At least you get the choice of using your second home 24 hours a day!

ONLINE TRADING – If the idea of online trading sounds a little more ‘risk-free’ to you, you’ll be happy to know that with online-based income projects you rarely have to experience the same staff, premises, stock or insurance-related issues as you would with a regular ‘bricks-and-mortar’ business.

Open All Hours

With an online business you’re operating 24 hours per day – so you’re not only minimizing your initial set up outlay, you’re also maximising your trading time. Do the math – less expenses and more exposure leads to greater earning potential.

Your ongoing business mission? To minimize your outlay in ALL areas, maximize your trading time and promote widespread awareness of your offers. In future articles, you’ll hear real-life examples of ‘WebCrafters’, (as I like to call them), who regularly use their web presence to save time, money and effort whilst continuinally increasing their business revenue through automation.

Managing your business is one of the most important, yet hardest things that you can do. There are so many different things that go into running a business that sometimes it is hard to know what you have done and what you need to do. Something that may help you in keeping organized is a POS retail system.

A POS retail system, also known as a point of sale system, is basically a cash register that performs many other functions as well. These POS retail systems are used widely in the sales industry for business like retailers of apparel, clothing, sporting goods, electronics, and even the food service industry. A POS retail system can take your business to the next level especially if you have multiple store locations. POS retail systems make it possible to communicate between stores and keep track of things like inventory and hours worked by employees giving you a central source of information and streamlining the process of data collection. With a POS system that links your stores together you will be able to tell a customer which store has an item that may be sold out or unavailable at your current location.

If you own a company that has multiple business locations, you know how important it is to maintain organization and manage your operations at each individual store. POS retail service providers can help make your job a lot easier by managing your store operations for you. If you are interested in working with a POS retail service provider you need to do some research and learn about the best companies in the industry. First, you will want to make sure that the company offers a service instead of just software. This means that the POS retail provider will be managing your store operations in real-time. This is a huge advantage over POS retail providers who only offer software.

The next thing you should look for in POS retail service providers is their history. You want to make sure that they have a track record and have worked with several companies worldwide. In fact, you should research how many installations the POS company has throughout the globe. This will help you better understand the company’s reputation in the industry. Possibly one of the most important things is making sure that the company is using the latest technologies. If you are going to spend money on POS retail, then you need to make sure that you are getting the most affordable, most advanced, and easiest to use retail system available. You should also make sure that the POS retail service provider has a reputation for getting the right items at the right place at the right time.

A POS retail system can be the perfect addition to your business as long as you choose the company and product that fit your needs best. Be sure to compare many different POS retail systems and companies so that you are not limited only to a few different options. Investing in a quality POS retail system may be the thing that takes your business to the next level.

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One of the key determinants of a retailer’s success is the format that they use to present to their target customers. A retailer can chose a format based on the kind of store design they want to render, the locality they would like to establish, the various products and services they wish to provide and the approach taken to pricing. The most important aspect is the format should be ideal to their target demographics.

In the past, the Indian retail sector has been dominated by small independent players such as traditional and small grocery stores. It is in the recent times that organized, multi-outlet retail concept has gained acceptance and has since then gained momentum. As per the study conducted by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), on the subject ‘Impact of Organized Retail on Unorganized Sector’, the retail business is estimated to grow at 13% per annum from US $ 322 billion in 2006-07 to US $ 590 billion in 2011-12.

A report by FICCI on the “Indian retail: on the fast track” shows that various organized retailers are currently experimenting with different formats of retail trade. It is difficult to predict which format will have a winning edge over all others in view of the fact that the Indian market is yet to mature.

The different sorts of retail formats that retailers could adopt are mom-and-pop or kirana stores, specialty stores, department stores, discount stores, convenience stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets, malls, category killers, e-tailers and vending machines.

Mom-And-Pop or Kirana Stores: is a retail outlet that is owned and operated by individuals. The range of products are very selective and few in numbers. These stores are seen in local community often are family-run businesses. The square feet area of the store depends on the store holder.

Specialty Stores: A typical specialty store gives attention to a particular category and provides high level of service to the customers. A pet store that specializes in selling dog food would be regarded as a specialty store. However, branded stores also come under this format. For example if a customer visits a Reebok or Gap store then they find just Reebok and Gap products in the respective stores.

Department Stores: often bear a resemblance to a collection of specialty stores. A retailer of such store carries variety of categories and has broad assortment at average price. They offer considerable customer service. For example: Food World in Bangalore.

Discount Stores: offers extensive assortment of merchandise at affordable and cut-rate prices. Normally retailers sell less fashion-oriented brands. However the service is inadequate.

Convenience Stores: is essentially found in residential areas. They provide limited amount of merchandise at more than average prices with a speedy checkout. This store is ideal for emergency and immediate purchases.

Hypermarkets: provides variety and huge volumes of exclusive merchandise at low margins. The operating cost is comparatively less than other retail formats. A classic example is the Metro in Bangalore.

Supermarkets: is a self service store consisting mainly of grocery and limited products on non food items. They may adopt a Hi-Lo or an EDLP strategy for pricing. The supermarkets can be anywhere between 20,000-40,000 square feet. Example: SPAR supermarket.

Malls: has a range of retail shops at a single outlet. They endow with products, food and entertainment under a roof. Example: Sigma mall and Garuda mall in Bangalore.

Category Killers or Category Specialist: By supplying wide assortment in a single category for lower prices a retailer can “kill” that category for other retailers. For few categories, such as electronics, the products are displayed at the center of the store and sales person will be available to address customer queries and give suggestions when required. Other retail format stores are forced to reduce the prices if a category specialist retail store is present in the vicinity. For example: Pai Electronics store in Bangalore.

E-tailers: The customer can shop and order through internet and the merchandise are dropped at the customer’s doorstep. Here the retailers use drop shipping technique. They accept the payment for the product but the customer receives the product directly from the manufacturer or a wholesaler. This format is ideal for customers who do not want to travel to retail stores and are interested in home shopping. However it is important for the customer to be wary about defective products and non secure credit card transaction. Example: Amazon and Ebay.

Vending Machines: This is an automated piece of equipment wherein customers can drop in the money in machine and acquire the products. This kind of system is currently not widely used in India. For example: Soft drinks vending at Bangalore Airport.

Retailers can opt for a format as each provides different retail mix to its customers based on their customer demographics, lifestyle and purchase behavior. A good format will lend a hand to display products well and entice the target customers to spawn sales.