To speed up customer service and provide a better consumer experience, jewellery retailer Pandora has adopted a mobile retail solution enabling staff to serve customers from anywhere on the floor.
Pandora is currently in the process of an aggressive store-opening program and by the end of 2014 will have opened more than 40 stores in the last two-and-a-half years alone. Its busiest times are without doubt Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Christmas, and staff are rushed off their feet as hundreds of people visit the stores with queues expanding well into the street.
Brien Winther, vice president of sales and business services at Pandora says the company was after a queue-busting system, something that would make it easier and faster for staff to service customers, and decided to trial AdvanceRetail’s SmartStore.
“We were already using AdvanceRetail’s fixed POS system which had provided us with exceptionally rich data,” he explains. “In fact, the quality of the data we are able to obtain is unsurpassed by Pandora globally. Therefore, I had no hesitation in trialling AdvanceRetail SmartStore across all Pandora company stores, to run on Apple iPods. The timing was deliberate. It would give staff an opportunity to become familiar with the technology prior to one of our busiest times – the Mother’s Day rush.”
AdvanceRetail’s SmartStore is a comprehensive POS system that has been developed in response to today’s changing retail landscape. It’s a next generation multi-platform software solution for retailers, delivering a contemporary customer service experience that will easily adapt to future technological advances.
“The future is no longer about online or bricks and mortar – it’s now an omni-channel world, a seamless path-to-purchase spanning whatever channels each customer chooses to utilise,” says Mark McGeachen, CEO, AdvanceRetail Technology. “Consumer expectation is driving innovation in our business to ensure we can offer our retail clients the world’s most up-to-date and innovative technology that can add value to their business.”
While many staff were at first resistant to using mobile devices, Pandora’s trial has increased sales across all company stores and the technology will now be implemented in its franchises with the roll-out to be completed by February 2015.
“Our strategy is to continue to grow the retail sector. We have a fresh product range and a brand people trust. We intend to make Pandora’s jewellery available to customers across all channels by 2015,” Winther concludes.
