5 Keys to an ISV’s Growth with Retailers

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Here is the main question at stake: Are you doing enough?

Are your applications meeting the needs of your customers? Retailers need software solutions that meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving, ultra-competitive industry. These individuals are asking for resources to help win over customers and keep their overarching status. ISVs need a deep understanding of the industry. They also require the ability to develop applications that retailers can utilize to execute their business strategies. Make note of these four retail challenges to address when creating the necessary software for the job.

1. Seasonal Help

Retailers are always going to be training new employees and there tends to be a pretty high turnover rate in employment. During the holiday season, seasonal or temporary workers are hired to aid with the busiest time of the year. New employee training used almost everyday and managers seek training equipment and software that is easy and simple to operate. Reports have shown current software takes an excessive amount of time to load and is difficult to navigate, which is rough on new hires. 

2. Omni-Channel Customers

Shoppers from everywhere engage with brands and shops using multiple touch points. From social media, to mailers, traditional ads and even influencers, the eye of the consumer is shaped by the company’s vision. The majority of shoppers double as online consumers and purchase items either directly or indirectly from the brand’s website. Shoppers are always on their phones and are fluent individuals within the online community.

From POS to CRM, it all matters and it’s important that retailers integrate their applications together. This hopes to ensure that the customers who are active on multiple channels will be able to achieve recurring experiences, regardless of how they encounter them. From this, retailers can craft personalized promotions and customer service experiences for their most loyal customers.

3. Retailers & Loss Prevention

 Shrinkage is an issue and it’s not just the result of a consumer shoplifting in a store. Loss Prevention can be seen as employee theft, vendor fraud and even human error. Obviously speaking, software applications that fix these issues could quite literally pay for themselves.

4. Future Proof, Today

Consumer demographics are evolving quicker than you’d think. From Baby Boomer to Millennials to even Generation Z, anyone can identify as a major consumer now. In order to appease those individuals, retailers need to be constantly on the move towards coming across as relevant and trendy. Future proofing is all the craze in the retail industry, for business owners are always trying to prepare for the future of their POS, their presentation and even their storefront. Future-proofing has come to be a necessity in the smart-tech world as we know it. Retailers aren’t interested in applications that don’t possess the flexibility to adapt to updated processes or integrate new technologies. The ability to upgrade consistently is key.

5. Data Analyses is Key!

Data collected by a software application for retail purposes is willing to bring value to the table. Retail business owners have found that through data analytics they have the power to:

Data analytics and user-friendly reporting tools are a highlighted necessity, desired by retail shop owners, so they can track insights on trends for themselves. As a result, retailers are able to make smart growth-based decisions moving forward.