Home > Insights > Articles

Articles

Woolworths makes fixing IT a priority

By
 
John McVicker

It is no secret that bricks and mortar retailers have had it tough. They have weathered the online-shopping boom and stood firm against record-high fuel prices and a weak Australian dollar pushing up import costs. All of this is putting stress on already razor-thin retail margins.

But retailers are fighting back. They have developed seamless shopping experiences so customers can move between virtual and physical stores. Cloud-based CRM, loyalty programs, seamless PoS transactions, automated marketing systems and in-store Wi-Fi has become standard.

Now that consumers are using such a diverse collection of platforms as part of their buying journey it’s only rational that technology can also help retailers respond.

And they have. Retailers such as Woolworths are increasing the touch points through which their customers can engage with them, and simultaneously use all the data gathered from their CRM systems in order to fully understand their customers’ buying journey.

Woolworths has also identified fixing IT as one of its key priorities:

“The supermarket chain has commenced an “IT foundation program” that aims to “catch up on underinvestment in IT infrastructure”. The effort will focus specifically on self-service check-outs (SCOs) and point-of-sale systems”.

Whist Coles has fired another shot in the supermarket wars, unveiling a new “pick and pack” technology which promises to cut down delivery times for online shoppers. The tablet-based technology directs the staff member to the exact location of each item within the order using the most efficient route possible, with the directions pinpointing items by aisle, module, shelf and position.


With so much riding on delivering outstanding customer experience, retailers needs field-services that support today’s technologies, as well as the expertise of industry leaders who understand their sector’s challenges.

Best-TS can help, contact us today