The recent Black Friday generated phenomenal sales numbers, but did the final stats show any hope for CPGs who use this space? In today’s blog, we’ll look at the headlines, the numbers which explain them, and explore how retail task management software can ensure your products get the most out of every location.
Let’s take a moment to sift through the most eye-catching headlines of the day:
“Retailers Post Record Black Friday – Online, At Least” – BizJournals
“Black Friday Shopping at Brick-and-Mortar Stores Dropped by 6% as Consumers Spent Record Online” – CNBC.com
“Black Friday Shoppers Spend More in Stores, Broke Records Online Over the Weekend” – USAToday.com
A mix of bleak and attention-grabbing, aren’t they? Here’s an excerpt from the Houston Chronicle:
“The long decline of brick-and-mortar stores clearly is accelerating. Foot traffic on Black Friday fell 6.2 percent this year, ShopperTrack reported. Americans instead bought $2.9 billion in goods with their mobile phones, a 21 percent increase over Black Friday last year, Adobe said.” – Houston Chronicle
But, Wait...Look Again
Did you notice the headline about shoppers spending more in stores? These stories tend to bury moments that break the narrative of brick-and-mortar woe – the USA Today story above reports a 4.2% increase in brick and mortar sales. The 6% drop in the CNBC headline? That was for foot traffic.
Here’s another gloom-busting story:
According to Inc.com, “BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In Store) purchases were up a whopping 43.2 percent year over year. It was a clear ‘sign that retailers are successfully bridging online and offline retail operations.’” BOPIS turns out to be a reliable way to leverage the surge in online spending – foot traffic means upsells.
Also, from a Wall Street Journal article, we learn that foot traffic losses were not universal across retailers. Smartphone data captured from Placer.ai showed that Dick’s, Nike, Macy’s and Ross Stores all had increased traffic.
Even better? The percentage of visitors who made a purchase increased by 1.7%, shaving losses for stores that suffered the worst foot traffic drops.
In the end, does this really add up to a retail apocalypse? Not for those who adapted.
Retail Task Management Software: Building Your CPG’s Advantage
While the doom and gloom of the headlines turned out to be largely sensationalism, the “retail apocalypse” is really about who manages to thrive in the changing marketplace.
So, the real question becomes: How can you ensure your place at the top?
The answer lies in a flawless, engaging customer experience, and the simplest path to such an experience is through exceptional task management. Task management software does just that; it creates accountability, visibility and efficiency in a single stroke.
Here’s a look at how it works:
Photo Capture for Verification
With product going across the state or across the country, there are just too many stores for in-person checkups.
Even doing spot checks, there’s still no way to know if the tasks scheduled for other stores took place.
Photo verification solves this logistical nightmare and empowers your execution teams to report upward without any fuss.
Geolocation Encourages Honesty (and Ensures Completion)
If staff can send execution verification images without a GPS stamp on it, they will be tempted to recycle old photos from their phones.
Geolocation services make that impossible. When an image comes in, there’s no question about where and when that work was completed.
Route Suggestion Improves Efficiency (and Cost Control)
Reimbursing mileage drains budgets quickly when drivers choose sub-optimal routes.
Maybe they’ll drive a slightly off-kilter path – but they could also wind up crisscrossing the city without realizing it.
The latest in retail task management software solves this issue through automated route suggestions sent straight to the driver’s phone.
Not only will this trim the budget for reimbursements, but it also saves drivers time, wear and tear on their cars and allows them to take on more jobs in a single day.
The Retail Task Management Advantage
Building all of these features into your retail execution strategy will mean huge wins in time, polish and effort.
So finding and adopting software that offers retail task management, like ONE by Movista, is only part of a full suite of tools that make CPGs, stores and their field execution teams outpace the competition. From logistics to communications, visibility to schedule planning and more, having a tool for your teams to use - all in one mobile platform - is the differentiator that will help ensure your stores will always "wow" the customer - and win sales from your competitors.
To learn more about Movista's Retail Task Management Software, schedule a demo today to get started.
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