Amber Hovious reminds retailers that they cannot afford to forget about the shop floor  

In its Retail Trends for 2025 report, Deloitte outlines the need to “unleash breakthrough efficiency” as one of six key areas that retailers must consider for 2025, citing strategic cost management, margin improvement and working capital optimization as the three criteria to address in this goal towards creating a more efficient business.   

Interestingly, whenever the conversation of retail efficiency begins, many immediately draw their attention to back-end operations: inventory and order management, warehouse processes, and wider supply chain activity. This is not necessarily a wrong assumption to make; an efficient foundation creates a stable and sustainable organization. However, a retailer is only as successful as its sales floor. Any brand could have a well-oiled machine that keeps costs low and optimizes margins with effective pricing and promotions, yet it means nothing if a chaotic, poorly equipped and out-of-sync shop floor cannot generate and maintain sales opportunities.  

Retailers cannot afford to forget about the shop floor when it comes to creating efficient practices.   

Syncing information   

One of the most important aspects of an efficient shop floor operation lies in the retailer’s ability to sync back-end data with front-end technologies. In the world of order management systems, Customer Relationship Management systems (CRMs) and even accurate inventory tracking practices, in-store associates should be able to access all this information, in real-time. However, this is not always the case.  

With many systems working in siloes, data can quickly become skewed. While all technologies in isolation might be working effectively, if they are not communicating with each other consistently, they are not having an optimum impact. Ultimately, this causes performance – and efficiency – to suffer. This is especially true of the shop floor, where, as a result, an associate might have outdated information that is being passed along to the customer. Suddenly, the promise of purchasing the perfect pair of shoes, in the right size and color, is taken away from the store visitor because the product they were told was in stock, is now unavailable. Not only has the retailer lost a sales opportunity, but it has put a bad taste in the customer’s mouth and risks future sales opportunities.  

An efficient shop floor includes an all-encompassing approach to retail technology deployment. CRMs, order and inventory management systems, analytics platforms and point of sale technologies are all linked, and they all communicate seamlessly in real-time.  

Channeling data through tech tools  

With reliable and accurate data flowing through to in-store associates, the next challenge for retailers is to equip their sales teams with the means to action this information seamlessly. By empowering their teams with connected mobile devices – such as tablets or iPhones – in-store associates can keep this data at their fingertips, easily accessible for any customer queries or transactions.  

Importantly, when deployed in line with Mobile Point of Sale technologies, associates can conduct transactions anywhere in-store, without the need for shoppers to queue. On a busy shop floor, retailers can efficiently complete on the spot checkouts that streamline both the customer experience and the sales process. They can also process returns, order items for delivery to either customer homes or in-store, provide information about stock availability and location, and even show recommended alternatives to items.   

Ultimately, in-store associates – equipped with the right tools – can reduce the amount of labor time required to manually retrieve information or conduct otherwise time-consuming tasks such as managing returns or finding alternative recommendations. This reduces the time customers spend in-store, increases the speed at which in-store staff can assist visitors, and improves the number of transactions a retailer can conduct during opening hours.  

Assisting associates…not replacing them  

While creating efficiency on the shop floor might be reliant on utilizing the right technology integrations with effective tools and devices, retailers should not forget the value that human interactions bring.    

Consumers visit bricks and mortar stores for the experience, to browse the shop floor, feel items and try on clothes. An important aspect of that experience lies in customer service – a warm smile to greet people, taking care of visitors and making them feel valued. Technology enhances an associate’s ability to personalize interactions, and to assist them accurately and quickly. It certainly enhances efficiency, but technology can never replace the human touch, which creates trust and enjoyment, and encourages customer loyalty.  

Efficiency at every touchpoint 

Supply chain and back-end efficiency are integral to a retail business, operating in an industry that is known for razor-thin margins. Too often, the focus stops there, and brands ignore the potential of in-store efficiency.   

By creating an all-encompassing approach to retail technology, enabling all deployed platforms and systems to communicate seamlessly in real-time, and feeding this data effectively to shop floor processes, retailers can transform their business. This leads to more sales opportunities, more transactions per hour, and a happier, loyal, customer base.    

For a list of the sources used in this article, please contact the editor.  

www.teamworkcommerce.com  

Amber Hovious is VP Marketing & Partnerships at Teamwork Commerce. Teamwork Commerce is a flexible tech stack for retailers that includes POS, OMS, Clienteling, Inventory Control and Reporting – a cloud-based system that is constantly evolving to provide cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of the ever-changing retail landscape. With Teamwork’s omnichannel solution, retailers gain a deeper understanding of their customers to provide personalized experiences through invisible technology.