Introducing Runner: Delight Your Customers and Optimize Operations
Posted by Amanda McLaughlin on Sep 26, 2024
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Achieving operational efficiency is the holy grail of retail, as it directly impacts a brand’s ability to meet customer expectations and maximize profitability. In an industry where speed and accuracy are paramount, streamlined store operations ensure that products are always available when and where customers want them. This efficiency not only frees up valuable time for store associates to engage with customers but also drives higher sales and fosters lasting brand loyalty.
Recognizing this, we’re excited to introduce Runner—a dynamic product request and communication tool within the NewStore Associate App. Whether it’s a shopper wanting to try on a different size or a store associate needing to replenish fast-moving items, Runner simplifies the process, making it easier than ever for retail teams to work together and deliver exceptional service.
Let us share how Runner can transform your retail stores.
Retail stores often keep a significant portion of their merchandise in the stockroom, especially when dealing with various sizes, colors, and styles. Traditionally, this means associates must leave the sales floor to retrieve items, potentially leading to delays and customer frustration.
Enter Runner. Integrated with the NewStore omnichannel point-of-sale (POS), Runner allows associates to efficiently look up product availability and request items from the stockroom—all within a single app, without ever having to leave the customer’s side.
Keep reading to discover the specific benefits of the NewStore Runner feature.
Today’s shoppers are busy and come prepared. They’ve likely browsed online before visiting your store, so it’s crucial to get products into their hands quickly. With Runner, requests are sent instantly from the store floor to the stockroom using the NewStore Associate App. Stockroom associates can quickly pick the items and deliver them to the sales associate, whether they’re in the fitting room or on the floor. This efficient process shortens wait times and ensures a smoother shopping experience.
Store associates are most effective when they’re engaging with customers, not running back and forth to the stockroom. Runner allows them to stay by the customer’s side, using the time while the stockroom associate retrieves items to learn more about the customer’s needs. These valuable interactions can lead to personalized service and opportunities for cross-selling or upselling, ultimately increasing sales and boosting the customer’s basket size.
Runner enables seamless two-way communication between the store floor and stockroom for customer requests and replenishment. Associates can easily exchange notes within the Runner request, making operations smoother and faster. This real-time communication reduces back-and-forth trips and increases efficiency, helping tasks get done quicker.
As explained, Runner is designed to make store operations smoother and more efficient. Here are some of the key features that make this possible:
Footwear retailers like Footasylum and Clarks greatly benefit from a Runner feature as most of their inventory is stored in the stockroom. Both leading brands use the NewStore Unified Commerce Platform, including our omnichannel POS—and now Runner.
For Footasylum, conversion is the top priority. As Richard Noon, Product Manager of Omnichannel at Footasylum puts it, “Anything we can give store associates to help them with that, then happy days!”
That’s where the NewStore Runner feature comes in. While Footasylum had similar functionality before, it wasn’t integrated with the point of sale. Store associates had to switch devices to check inventory and submit requests, relying on radios to communicate with the stockroom.
Now, with Runner, everything is streamlined into a single iPhone, improving efficiency and the customer experience. “We want to make sure store associates are spending as much time on the shop floor as possible,” Noon says.
Runner allows associates to engage more with customers and even serve multiple customers at once by submitting a single request for multiple items. With NewStore, Footasylum saves 2-3 minutes per transaction, allowing associates to handle everything from requesting items to completing the checkout right on the store floor.
The brand also utilizes Runner for replenishment. Previously, this process was manual, with associates walking around the store to check what items had been sold. Now, they have this visibility in the NewStore Associate App and can use Runner to restock the store floor, maximizing sales down to the last unit.
In sum, Runner not only speeds up the movement of merchandise from the stockroom to the store floor—associates can complete try-on requests in just two minutes—but also improves the efficiency of replenishing the shop floor throughout the day. From Noon: “We are really pleased [with Runner].”
Clarks store staff are experts in their range, receiving specialized training to advise customers on everything from measuring to fitting to fashion trends. Their presence on the store floor is crucial, making NewStore Runner an essential tool.
Rachel Martin, Central Operations Specialist at Clarks, highlights one key benefit: “Staying with the customer as much as possible and minimizing time away from the shop floor.”
Clarks had similar Runner functionality in its previous in-store system, so it was important for the new feature to meet or exceed the previous experience.
NewStore Runner has delivered on its promise. Martin notes that another advantage, especially over using radios, is “that it is [a written request]. So, when associates get to the stockroom, they haven’t forgotten what they’re looking for.” This ensures quick and accurate stock retrieval.
Wendy Millican, Product Owner at Clarks and an avid customer, appreciates Runner from a shopper’s perspective. It allows the associate to help more than one child at a time, speeding up the process for the entire party—a win-win for Clarks and its customers.
With Runner, Clarks associates have improved the time taken to fulfill customer requests, and reduced the amount of time spent in the back of the house. This allows for more quality interactions with customers on the store floor and a great shopping experience every time.
The aim of the NewStore Runner feature is to help associates be more efficient, delight customers, and increase sales by offering an intuitive, mobile, and omnichannel selling experience.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to transform your store operations. Reach out today to see Runner in action and learn more about the NewStore Unified Commerce Platform!
