Johannesburg, 07 Jun 2018
Competition in the retail sector is cutthroat. A new generation of smart printing solutions from OKI is enabling retailers to replicate many of the principles that make online retailing so effective.
The Web is steadily transforming the fundamental dynamics of the retail market. Already, 17.5% of all non-food goods are sold online, and many customers are window-shopping online and just coming into stores to make the purchase. Even more telling, when customers do come into a shop, they are less likely to hunt for what they want: 45% of in-store customers leave within two minutes. The in-store conversion rate for European fashion retailers is troublingly low, at 13.5%.
"Attracting customers into stores is becoming more and more difficult, as is clinching the sale. Retailers must up their game in order to turn those precious footfalls into sales," argues Neil Rom, MD, Printacom, which distributes OKI in South Africa. "To do this, retailers need to to mimic the online shopping experience in-store. OKI has leveraged its considerable intellectual capital both in printing and in the retail sector to create solutions that do just that."
One of the hallmarks of a great online site is that it is easy to navigate, and finding what you want is quick. Another is its responsiveness: special offers, price changes and the like are rapidly updated in line with current circumstances and buying patterns.
All of this is easy to do online, less so in the real world. Great signage is required to draw shoppers into the store and then to direct them to the higher value items. This kind of signage has to be both highly engaging and easily customised. Retail chains will want to retain overall control of the look and feel of the signage as well in order to support valuable brand equity.
"OKI's retail solutions enable managers to change prices and offers in line with the behaviour they are seeing in the shop, or in response to what competing retailers in the vicinity are doing," Rom says. "This kind of flexibility simply can't be obtained when, as in traditional models, posters and so on are created and printed centrally, and then delivered. This approach is both too costly and far, far too slow for today's retail markets."
OKI, solutions with a retail twist
OKI's approach is to leverage the power of the network to empower store managers to create or access the templates they need from approved sources, and to print them locally. In this way, overall quality control and brand identity can be maintained while giving store managers the flexibility they need to print signage and price labels as required.
OKI's retail solution includes a sophisticated document and template management capability. In this way, each store across a group can leverage the solutions created at head office or by their peers; similarly, individual retailers can access a vast array of online resources.
It does not stop there. OKI's retail-focused printing and document management solution also enables the retailer to follow up with customers, using data captured at the point of sale to create highly personalised, direct communications that prompt return visits by offering relevant promotions.
"To be successful, these communications must enable each customer communication to be crafted individually, and of a very high standard," he says. "The power of OKI's solution is to facilitate that matching of customer data with product and offer data, and then produce a professional product."
OKI's approach also takes practical issues into consideration. For example, in retail, every square metre costs money and must be justified. OKI's hardware is designed to be as compact as possible in order to reduce the amount of space it occupies. Compactness is also a virtue because it reduces the clutter in the store, enhancing productivity, and does not create an eyesore.
As in any business, process is everything. Rom believes a critical success factor is OKI's document management capabilities and its ability to support and help streamline all the relevant business processes, including HR, invoicing, bills of loading and delivery notes. All of these documents need to be managed and stored easily.
"This is smart technology that enhances the power of the in-store shopping experience with the flexibility and customer focus of the Web," Rom concludes.
Renowned bathroom fixtures retailer
The retailer consolidated its aging and extensive printer fleet to 38 OKI devices, consisting of just five models. OKI's solution provided fast and productive printers, compatible with the company's ERP system. The printers are used for printing delivery notes, invoice, quotes and brochure proofs. OKI has helped to streamline the retailer's printing processes and reduce storage of toners and spare parts from an entire room to a small cupboard.
World's largest online bike retailer
The retailer's printer fleet is a mix of A4 and A3 printers and MFPs; 84 OKI mono printers are in its dispatch area where fast, reliable and hard-wearing devices are required to fulfil online orders. A number of OKI's colour printers are used for executive printing, supporting the day-to-day business, small workgroups as well as delivering to the needs of the advertising and promotions department.
Expected annual printing costs reduced by 28%
For further information on the company's retail solutions and other OKI products, call OKI on 011 553 2800 or e-mail info@okisa.co.za.