MICROS and Monsoon Accessorize have launched the UK’s first live pilot version of MICROS Retail Assistant, an in-store sales application that connects web with point-of-sale.
The solution, known as Monsoon Accessorize Extended (or MAX), allows store staff to use iPads to engage with customers and process transactions. Using the application, staff can present the retailer’s extended product range to a customer and locate stock, whether on the shop floor, in the store room, in another store, or in the eCommerce distribution centre.
The application, based on MICROS Retail Assistant, is the first to be fully integrated with the store POS, allowing the transaction to be completed right there on the iPad through the POS using a wireless Chip and PIN device.
Monsoon Accessorize has already launched Monsoon MAX in its Cardinal Place, Victoria Street store in London and plans to introduce the service in nine more sites in March and pending successful trial, roll out across the UK estate. The retailer hopes the application will boost average transaction values.
Pete Byrne, Head of IT Monsoon, said, “This project is about personalising the experience across channels using a more joined-up approach. Our store staff will have the capability to gain a clear view of stock levels across the business, which enables them to be more responsive to customer queries and go that extra mile, delivering value-added services such as personal shopping to loyal customers. It also increases revenues by incentivising staff, as sales are made and recognised on an individual store basis.”
The Stock Checker functionality allows staff to quickly identify whether an item is in-stock and available to buy in the relevant store. If necessary it can leverage Monsoon Accessorize’s multi-channel capability and send an order to a convenient store for collection, or alternatively an order can be placed for the items to be shipped directly from the warehouse to the customer’s home. The order can be combined with additional in-store purchases, with the customer paying for all items at once. iPads will also be used by staff in the changing room for on the spot stock checks, without having to leave the customer and risk losing a sale.
The application has been specifically designed to be used by in-store staff, with an augmented user journey that makes it easy to engage with customers while keeping the transactional process as simple as possible.
Byrne commented; “We want to ensure that our customers get a consistent experience across all channels. This system provides a true multi-channel environment whereby a sale can be completed then and there, even when the physical product is not available.”
Byrne continued, “Staff can now maximise every sales opportunity. Our staff are telling us that the application is already invaluable, and it’s easy to use with little training required. Once they get hold of it, they generally want to use it all the time. They also love it because the multi-channel orders that they create in-store are credited to them and their store.”
He added, “It’s still early days but from what we’ve experienced so far we have high expectations for the future. Once the roll-out across our retail estate has been complete we will look to extend the offering with the free movement of stock across the retail estate, based on a single stock pool model.”
Spencer McKelvey, Sales Director at MICROS, said; “Providing customers with a seamless and personal shopping experience across any channel is one of retail’s great goals right now and it’s very much part of the MICROS vision. This is why we created The Hub, a central integration system, which connects online and in-store operations, and MICROS Retail Assistant, which puts the benefits of that multi-channel integration into the hands of customer-facing sales assistants.”
