Retail is changing…and we’re here to assist

As the page turned on the new year of 2020, few retailers could have predicted the challenges that lay ahead.

Yes, the retail landscape was in the grips of revolution, with customer service, convenience and social conscience all front of mind.

But fast forward a few months and the retail sector was battling a crisis on multiple fronts.

After bushfires affected consumer confidence and spending in many states, coronavirus almost shutdown retail entirely.

What did become apparent amidst the chaos of 2020 was how incredibly quickly many retailers can adapt when faced with challenge on an unprecedented scale.

Now as the sector looks to rebuild, it continues to reinvent, and at Vitag, we’re here to assist…

The Australian retail sector has reopened its doors, offering hopes of a quick rebound and returned buyer behaviour. Amidst that, however, shopping and social habits have altered with a greater focus on hygiene and sanitisation.

New tools like traffic counting have become imperative for managing occupancy numbers. Sanitisation stations have become standard fare. Retailers have also had to assume responsibility for the customer wellbeing in-store.

From contactless pickup to contactless payments and digital receipts, recent concerns about virus spread have altered how consumers purchase and pay for products.

That trend shows no signs of abating with more and more businesses and retailers looking to eliminate unnecessary physical touchpoints for consumers.

Omnichannel was far from new even before Covid-19 began to hit the headlines. But over recent months, the online/in-store crossover has taken on a new life of its own.

The best performing retailers of recent times have been quick to adapt, offering an online shopping environment that complements their physical presence.

But there are a suite of retail tools required to manage this shift effectively. Stock counting has to be accurate to facilitate click and collect, the supply chain needs to be seamless, and reporting needs to reflect both the real-world and online environment.

Convenience has long been considered a key priority for today’s time-poor consumer. This quest for convenience has also reached new heights as customers maintain their focus on social distancing after becoming more used to spending time at home.

That makes convenient strategies like click and collect, home delivery, fast checkout, and self-checkout all the more critical to the retail environment.

At Vitag, we’ve long supported retail with a focus on loss prevention strategies that are aimed at improving the bottom line.

Now, we have also turned our attention to technology and products that can assist retailers as they look to reinvent.

While we continue to offer state-of-the-art loss prevention technology such as Electronic Article Surveillance antennas, pedestals, security tags and labels, we also feature a growing range of products designed to assist retail through the changing landscape.

This includes innovative display and security solutions like the OnePod display system and OneKey cabinet locks, which facilitate customer service and improve staff efficiency, while also furnishing a retail outlet with analytics.

We now offer mobile Point of Sale solutions like NE360 that allows retailers to choose the hardware and software that best suits their needs and combine it into one seamless mPOS package.

Meanwhile, Vitag continues to provide contemporary solutions to age-old retail challenges. This includes accurate stock counting technology such as RFID.

In a bid to assist retailers with new occupancy limits, we have also sourced solutions that help manage traffic in-store.

This includes the Cross Point Visitor Flow Management which allows stores to utilise either their existing Cross Point EAS systems with integrated visitor counters or basic counting systems can be installed.

This cutting-edge system gives customers a visual display that illustrates when occupancy numbers have been reached and they need to wait before entering a store. Ultimately it provides a simple solution that helps retailers adhere to social distancing requirements and also saves staff crucial time.

Retail is changing and so are we, as we look to help the sector reinvent, reposition and ultimately rebound.

Contact our friendly staff to discuss our suite of retail solutions.