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9 Easy to Implement Tips to Increase Sales in a Retail... If you are keen to increase sales in your retail store, here are some easy to implement tips: 1. You should have a lot of signages that indicate to the shoppers where different types of merchandise...

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How can a retail POS system help me run my business... Are you looking for a way to operate your business more efficiently? Are you finding it hard to deal with increasing shrinkage issues? Is unnecessary paperwork and time management a big concern for you?...

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Retail Marketing Success with Enhanced Customer Experience It is considered to be 7 times easier to get the customer back in your shop than to get a new customer in. So what are you doing to make your customers come back to your outlet? Here are some simple...

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Home Delivery of Food: Bon Appétit At The Doorstep... Some of India’s top sit down eateries are building on the wisdom of fast-food chains, saying bon appétit at the doorstep of patrons who are cutting expenses by eating out less. What is...

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FusionRetail enters Minus 6° Minus 6° chooses FusionRetail to be its IT Partner to drive sales and manage business. It is located at Swabhumi, Kolkata's (read East India's) very first Ice Lounge Bar "Minus 6°" Everything...

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9 Easy to Implement Tips to Increase Sales in a Retail Store

Posted by Nilesh Shah on 09-05-2013 in Point of Sale (POS), Simplifying Retail Businesses, Smart Tips

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If you are keen to increase sales in your retail store, here are some easy to implement tips:

1. You should have a lot of signages that indicate to the shoppers where different types of merchandise is displayed. This helps to direct them to the right area where they can look at and buy the products they are wanting to buy. A lot of people are shy and if they cannot see what they want, they will leave your store rather than ask for directions.

2. When you are displaying some off-beat items, it helps to put some literature besides it that explains what this is and how is it to be used. While one may be curious about a new item, one may not understand the use and leave without buying even though it may be useful to one. You can list multiple ways to use it for different types of folks, where possible.

3. If you accept credit cards, you must display a notice right on the glass entrance or in a prominent position after the entrance so that the shoppers know that they can pay by cards even if they are not carrying much cash. This may encourage them to buy some high value items that they might have skipped for want of cash in hand. This notice can also be displayed at prominent places in different departments.

4. You should display some nick-nacks that are small value and impulse buy items like small gift cards, toffees, small soft toys. The patrons may pick up a few of these while they are waiting for the bill and this will add up to a good amount of extra sale at the end of the day.

5. Don’t greet the customer with “What are you looking for?” immediately upon entering the shop as most people find it very irritating. Several of us are just browsing and will buy something if it piques our interest. However a knowledgeable sales person must be around to attend us if we look for one to ask for some details or want some item to be displayed.

6. I went to a shop today with a flight of about 10 steps to eter the shop. This looked quite challenging, specially for older people. The mind of the person can be diverted by displaying some stickers on the vertical side of the steps announcing offers or latest additions to the range. The steps can be used as free promotional space in this way.

7. The display in the store should be well spaced out to give the impression of a luxury boutique shop. When things are stacked on top of each other, it creates a cramped out and devalues the products on display. You can charge a premium price when you exuberate luxury and you have to offer low prices when you create a wholesale atmosphere.

8. Similarly, if you are selling products at low prices, you might like to leave less space around to give the impression of a bargain joint so that more people are interested in checking out your wares.

9. By strategically placing your displayed items, you can create well defined walk ways and place the items you want to push along these. Thus most of the customers will be able to see them while walking around and the sales for these will eventually go up. Similarly, always put the popular items along these channels so that people can easily locate and pick up those items without having to search for these.

Bonus tip: If you are not already using a computerised billing solution, you should seriously consider installing FusionRetail™ to improve your billing speed, increase accuracy of billing and maintain accounts and inventory much more easily. A free demo copy of the software is available here.

How can a retail POS system help me run my business more efficiently?

Posted by Nilesh Shah on 07-05-2013 in Inventory Management, Point of Sale (POS), Simplifying Retail Businesses

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Are you looking for a way to operate your business more efficiently? Are you finding it hard to deal with increasing shrinkage issues? Is unnecessary paperwork and time management a big concern for you?

A POS software (Point Of Sale software can take care of all of the above issues. The point where a retail transaction is completed is called a POS or checkout. There are several advantages of a retail POS system. It’s all about you choosing a correct program that will suit your business needs. A good choice of software is half the job done. POS software is not restricted to a retail shop but even there are customized POS for restaurants and food courts.

When choosing a POS system, ensure that the retail software you choose can automate all of your process-oriented tasks, such as physical count, purchasing, label printing and customer loyalty monitoring. Apart from increasing your efficiency, it can help you manage the entire business as a unit. It simplifies the work, eliminating unnecessary chores and also keeps a track of everything.

Advantages of a good retail Point Of Sales software:

    Everything being recorded instantaneously, from sales to inventory, it is easier to reduce shrinkage.

  • With the help of barcode scanner, every item in the store is sold at correct price.
  • With detailed sales reports, it is easier to keep the right stock on hand leading to managing inventory in a better way.
  • POS software, be it for retail store or a restaurant, will increase the efficiency of the transaction by streamlining the process. It also speeds up the process resulting in more accurate service.
  • A POS ensures price consistency if you have store across multiple locations.
  • POS system can replace the lengthy but important paperwork. Thus it saves a lot of time.

FusionRetail is a very user-friendly software for your retail POS and will help you generate lots of profit from your retail store. Download a FREE demo software and see for yourself how streamlined the retail POS can become so easily!

Retail Marketing Success with Enhanced Customer Experience

Posted by Nilesh Shah on 03-05-2013 in Customer Loyalty, Point of Sale (POS), Simplifying Retail Businesses, Smart Tips

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It is considered to be 7 times easier to get the customer back in your shop than to get a new customer in. So what are you doing to make your customers come back to your outlet?

Here are some simple tips to keep them connected to you and to convert one-time shoppers to repeat buyers:

Make their shopping a pleasant experience.

Work on the ambience of your retail outlet, display the wares in a well organized fashion, have clear directions to the different sections (clear and ample signage), have knowledgeable salespersons, who won’t bother the “just checking out” people but will have clear explanations for the curious customers.

Work on Quick and easy checkout.

Once the buyers are done with their shopping, they want to check out fast. Have enough billing points and use technology tools like bar code scanners for quick billing. Keep ample change at each counter. Have several payment options like credit and debit cards in addition to cash.

Have courteous staff.

Nothing irritates a shopper more than staff with bad manners. All your touch points like sales persons on the counters, billing counter staff and even the security people at the doors should be well trained in customer relations with polite manners (no harm in being strict with politeness). A soft ‘thank you’ from the security person at the exit adds lots of value to a customer’s experience with your store.

Continue the relationship.

Try to maintain contact even after they have left your store. If you have captured their contact information like email or phone number, thank them for the purchase and write to them at a decent frequency.

This needs a fine balance. You don’t want to bother them with too many emails but want to retain your brand in front of them. Develop a workable frequency with some experimentation.

Actively watch what they could not find.

Sometimes people don’t find what they are looking for. Your sales people should intently watch such reactions and help the patrons locate those items if they are in stock. If many people are asking for something and you don’t have that in stock, consider adding these items soon.

Connect on the social networking sites.

You should handout a simple card with your social networking addresses like those for Facebook and Twitter, to all buyers along with the invoice. Actively request them to connect with your brand to get the latest news, offers and promotions. Ask them to post reviews on Google local, Review Centre and other review sites. This will engage them, attract their friends and also develop a simple bond which you can work on solidifying.

These simple tips will enhance your customer’s shopping experience and they will be tempted to come back to your shop or store rather than waste time at the crappy competitor’s store.

Of course, if you want to take the first big step in streamlining your operations, you can consider taking a demo of our flagship FusionRetail software which will make your billing counter work at wonderful speed.

Home Delivery of Food: Bon Appétit At The Doorstep Of Foodies

Posted by Navin Ladha on 28-02-2013 in Simplifying Restaurant Businesses

Some of India’s top sit down eateries are building on the wisdom of fast-food chains, saying bon appétit at the doorstep of patrons who are cutting expenses by eating out less.

What is making home delivery preferred over full-service restaurants?

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FusionRetail enters Minus 6°

Posted by Nilesh Shah on 11-01-2013 in News and Events

Minus 6° chooses FusionRetail to be its IT Partner to drive sales and manage business.

It is located at Swabhumi, Kolkata's (read East India's) very first Ice Lounge Bar "Minus 6°"

Everything inside is made out of crystal clear ice which is harvested especially from the frozen Torne River in Jukkasjärvi, Northern Sweden. Be an Eskimo of Ice Age inside the Ice Lounge at a temperature of minus 10° and you can enjoy your favourite mocktail in special ice glasses. The Ice Lounge is a stunning experience that truly turns an evening from memorable into unforgettable. Guests are provided with overalls, gloves and boots to stay warm and comfortable while they enjoy the lounge experience.

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RanceLab® participated in Kenya Foodex 2012

Posted by Nilesh Shah on 24-12-2012 in News and Events

RanceLab® has recently participated in Kenya Foodex 2012, to increase the awareness about its Point of Sale, Retail Management software and POS hardware products, for businesses in East and Central Africa.

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5 tips for sweet shop owners to increase sale in the festive season

Posted by Nilesh Shah on 17-11-2012 in Simplifying Restaurant Businesses, Smart Tips

 

A popular sweet shop (name withheld) in Kolkata is well-known for their sweets and unique concepts of gift for festive occasions like Diwali. This Dhanteras, I along with my wife went to shop some sweets and gifts for our family and relatives.
 
The shop is well-spread in 4000 sq ft area of a newly constructed residential complex. The shop was reasonably packed with Diwali shoppers either waiting to collect their pre-ordered items or for a fresh buy. Sharing the experience I had and felt pity for the business-owners as they could have made the most, if they would have taken certain measures.
  1. There was nobody to attend us as we roam inside the store for good 20 minutes. We approached the store-staff to help us find the right items to which we were asked to wait for at least 30 minutes. 
  2. Most of their staffs were busy packing the trays and gifts that were pre-ordered. Whichever counter we went to, we were redirected to another counter for help.
  3. The items put on display were rotten and we were advised not to purchase them.
  4. There was no price tag on any sweet so the idea of self-help also failed. 
  5. Asked a gentleman at the cash-counter who justified with the saying that "we are working overnights since last couple of nights so bear with us" 
We looked for the owner, who too were busy instructing his team for deliveries.
 
Frustrated and felt left-alone at that point, decided to step out of the showroom. Before leaving the shop, I wanted to leave a gentle note on the counter that we were here to purchase but nobody attended us for almost 35 minutes, so we are leaving. Meanwhile, the owner came to desk to rescue and called up one of the store-staff and instructed him to attend us. Finally we were happy that we got the sweets from our favourite shop. This inspired me to write down 5 tips for sweet shops to improve customer satisfaction and increase sale in the festive season. 
 
Price Tag with Item Name: When asked the price from store-staff we were given different prices for same items. 3 people gave 3 different prices for same item. A simple price tag along with the item name could have reduced the number of customer queries by at least 90%.
 
Computer Generated Bills: Hand-made bills with random discounts. After we were done with the purchase, 4 handmade estimate-slips were given to us from different counters. We ware asked to re-check the total of different slips totalling Rs.6010 which he rounded off (discounted) and made it Rs.5575. Fortunately, there was no totalling mistake. A simple point of sale billing software for sweet (mithai) shops could help to make faster sale.
 
Separate Order and Delivery Counter: The overall buying involved much interaction with staff like asking for price, placing the order, asking where to make payment, actually making the payment and coming back for delivery. What if they can have an ordering counter where order is taken along with the payment? The order is then sequentially communicated to the packing staff who packs and send it to delivery counter. Proper signage will help the customer to understand and adapts to the system in no time. 
 
Independent Cash Handling: I went to the cash-counter and paid the Rs.6000 to settle the invoice of Rs.5575.The gentleman (one of the family member, not operator) at the counter was busy, noting down slip number and amount. He refunded Rs.625 instead of Rs.425 [excess Rs.200]. I returned the same to him and told that this is excess to which he said this is Diwali time and it happens. What if there is a way which allows them to hand over the cash handling to a staff instead of depending on a family member. This will ease out the pressure of festive season and increase sale.
 
Order Management: In the festive season, it is common for customers to place the order in advance. These customers come back to store to take the delivery on that particular festive day. What if a home delivery can be arranged, if asked for? 

The customer globally has become more demanding. These tips will help you to adapt to the growing expectations of customer and deliver them round-the-clock service and more personalized product offerings. FusionRetail protects you from price-cutting and competition pressures and helps you remain fit and lead the race.

Efficient Automation of Restaurant, Kitchen and Billing: Challenges, myth and facts.

Posted by Navin Ladha on 06-06-2012 in Simplifying Restaurant Businesses

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In a typical mom and pop restaurant, the waiter takes order on a handwritten KOT (kitchen order ticket) pad. Typically the traditional KOT pad contains 3 copies i.e. Red, Yellow and White paper and waiter takes order using carbon paper. The order process is like….
 
  • The Red goes to kitchen to process the food. Kitchen keeps this copy and ideally should send all the KOTs to the audit team after the day end.
  • The Yellow remains with the waiter until the food is served. Once the food is served, this copy is sent to the billing counter. The cashier enters the KOT in the system. Finally all such KOTs are sent to audit department to create their jobs. Kidding?. But somehow this is boring task and often ignored and delayed for this very reason. Most of time the entire audit process is stopped.  Moreover if the audit function exists then the report comes after 15 days. The action is delayed. You cannot go to that customer and ask that you have forgotten to bill 2-3 item which was consumed by them.
  • The White remains in the KOT pad. Loads of such pads are created and stored. Finally all those pads are sent to recycle bin. 

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Customer Service: Delivering the ‘WOW’ Experience

Posted by Nilesh Shah on 10-03-2012 in Customer Loyalty, Simplifying Retail Businesses, Smart Tips

When it is business that one is talking about, there is just one God – that is the customer. A business concern’s primary duty is to look after customer satisfaction. It must provide the customer with an experience so good and satisfying, that the customer is bound to return time and again to the same brand.

Whether it is the stress of the competition or a desire to profit more and more, for some reason, businesses have somehow forgotten what their main focus should be. The customer under all circumstances must be the main focus of any business – big or small. Some people forget about the customer service while competing with other businesses and cutting down prices like there is no tomorrow.

Hence the important thing to keep in mind to survive in such cut throat competition is to actually look after the customer. In other words, a business concern must be customer- driven. That will definitely give the business an edge of its own.

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How to Sell Your Products through an E- Commerce Strategy?

Posted by Nilesh Shah on 24-01-2012 in Point of Sale (POS)

We are living in a world that is tuned to being superfast. Every little aspect of our daily life is made to depend on machines and the Internet. Therefore, there is no way as to why marketing should be left out from the cyber world hence, the birth of E- Commerce.

Naturally, a question arises. What exactly is E- Commerce?

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