Having an online store is critical to the success of a modern retail business. In 2021, the Irish eCommerce market was valued at approx €3.7 billion and 68% of Irish consumers do more online shopping now than before the pandemic and this is only set to grow further.
It isn’t just important to have an online channel. With increasing expectations, providing a seamless customer journey between your online and offline is important. Integrating your eCommerce platform with your EPOS solution creates one portal for all your stock, orders and customer details, meaning wherever customers shop with you, they get the same shopping experience; and with accurate stock levels, cross-channel promotions and integrated loyalty programs, you can grow your customer base while driving revenue and staying ahead of the competition.
Why do I need an eCommerce POS integration?
According to a recent study by Bank of Ireland, 38% of people expect to increase their online shopping in 2022. People in more rural areas such as Connaught and Ulster are looking to spend even more online compared to people in higher-density urban areas. An online store can give you access to a growing market and allows retailers to build a strong customer sentiment in a region before opening new branches.
It is crucial to give these customers a seamless shopping experience online and offline and here are more concrete reasons why:
Digitally influenced sales
Numerous studies show that over 80% of shoppers who visit a store online will make a purchase in a bricks and mortar store and that for every $1 spent in online advertising, $7-$11 is spent in-store. Another study by Harvard Business Review shows that customers will spend 13% more in physical stores that they have previously researched online.
With the influence online has on in-store sales, it’s important customers get a seamless experience when going from online to bricks and mortar. Having accurate product listings, stock levels, pricing and discounts ensure customers who have done their research have a rewarding experience.
Rewarding loyal customers
Customer loyalty programs are a great way to gain new customers, improve customer retention and increase customer lifetime value. With integrated EPOS and eCommerce retailers can offer all of these benefits and also use loyalty programs to incentivise online customers to visit their stores and vice versa.
Read more about loyalty programs here.
Gift cards
Gift cards are a great tool for attracting new customers and for loyal customers, it helps them introduce even more new customers to a store. A gift card that can be redeemed online and in-store provides additional reassurance for customers to purchase them.
Unrivalled back office control
For retailers, the biggest benefit of connecting their point of sale and eCommerce is the hours of admin it reduces. With a connected system, a retailer need only update their back-office system and they will see the same changes in-store and online. This will include pricing and tax details, product changes and product variants, e.g. adding or removing a new colour to a product selection.
Retailers can also rest assured that they can accurately monitor total stock levels from one system. With integrated customer profiles, an online customer can easily return a product instore and by using their email address or order details they can avoid printing receipts and have a stress-free experience at the till.
Use OmniShop to connect your eCommerce platform to Meridian Retail
Retail Integration’s OmniShop platform can do all of the above for you. It seamlessly connects your retail stores using our Meridian Retail EPOS system to leading eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento and custom websites built by Magico.
OmniShop syncs data directly between the two systems, including product details, stock levels, orders, customer details and promotions. And with synced updates, a change to EPOS information will be implemented on your eCommerce platform.
Maurice Doyle, General Manager, Banba Toymaster said:
“With the click of a button, products are added to the website and we just have to add images and a bit of product description. I highly recommend Retail Integration and thank them for their professionalism and prompt responses to any questions that I have had regarding EPOS and Online.”
OmniShop has been rolled out for many leading specialty retailers including Portwest, the National Museum of Ireland, Shoerack and Lisa Baker Boutique. With an expanding online market and our intuitive OmniShop platform, now is the best time to connect your EPOS to eCommerce and start growing your online business. If you would like to discuss starting your online and EPOS integration journey or need help choosing the right eCommerce platform, contact us today.
