The biggest challenge for any mall management today is to drive footfalls into their tenant’s shops and add value to their tenant’s business. The answer lies in digital receipts or e-receipts.

Digital receipts or E-receipts which is the bi-product of Big data or Artificial intelligence & Machine learning algorithms can offer some relief to mall’s dwindling footfalls and also help retailers to fight against the retail apocalypse phenomenon.

At a recently concluded retail conference in Dubai, the sentiment across the retail fraternity was how to sustain their operations and retail foot-prints without depleting their profit margins.

Interested to know the future of retail stores, click here.

Background:

Lets first all understand that retail is not dying but bad retail is certainly dying.

Brands which refuse to adapt themselves to changing consumer’s buying behavior would vanish.

According to the latest research, the most successful retailers are the ones focused on using technology to become better retailers — not just better innovators.

Being first is not important but being fast in your actions determines your success in new age economics.

The premise of Digital receipts or E-receipts:-

Personalized Communication:

Thirty-five percent of shoppers say they’re more likely to purchase from a retailer that sends personalized advertising, and 36% want more customized experiences. Source: Masters of the Top Four Retail Tech Trends

Your receipt or printed invoice hold the tremendous potential of data analytics and customer insights and this forms the key basis or premise of digital receipts.

Digital receipts can now power up your digital marketing program like never before.

How it works

At the most basic level, this is how digital receipts work at the point of purchase:

• Upon checkout, the cashier normally handover the printed invoice to the customer or even asks if the customer would like a digital receipt or both.
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• If the customer chooses a digital receipt, then the cashier simply enters the customer’s email address or telephone number and the system delivers the receipt to the customer’s email inbox or on to phone using text message.
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• Data from the transaction (including the shopper’s email address, tel no) is captured in the digital receipt system, and all of that data can be used for current and future marketing programs.

 

Today digital receipts Technology uses advanced AI/ML and advance data analytics based product that helps retailers in-

• Build next-generation CRM for customer segmentation and personalized engagement based on sales data.
• Increase customer footfalls.
• Increase revenue per basket size
• Optimize and forecast inventory based on sales and external factors.

 

 

Why mall owners or retailers are not using technology?

 

 

Lack of IT know- how:

Malls & Retailers still spends in millions to get the software developed for their malls/ brands but they tend to forget or ignore the basic fundamentals of retail i.e. Increase your bottom line by making the existing consumer shop more within your mall.

This is where robust CRM systems and digital receipts come to play.

Human psychology:

We tend to find an easier way to do things, increasing customer footfalls in a mall is an easier route out for most marketers but that’s marketing Myopia of a digital age.

It’s always cheaper to sell or upsell to your existing customer rather than acquiring a new one.

Benefits of Digital receipts or E-receipts machine learning software:

• Fast – In 30 minutes the complete system is up and running
• Seamless – No deep CRM/API integration required
• Works with any windows based billing software.
• Secure sales transaction Data Capture
• Enhanced brand value via enrichment and promotional messages on e-receipts.

 

 

Today’s Challenge:

The challenge for businesses lies in how to harness, make sense of, and use this information to generate some form of competitive advantage.

 

Any retailer or mall owner who wants to understand as to how they need to increase their footfalls without making a big hole in their pockets are most welcomed to contact me on riteshmohan@yahoo.com .

I would be more than glad to help my retail fraternity with my retail wisdom and retail fundamentals & would guide them to test the technology by using pilot testing programs. Feel free to reach out to me for any cutting edge solutions or ideas.

 

A case study of a brand using the power of AI and Machine learning:

 

Brand: Third love (lingerie online retailer)

This online retailer has built USD 750 Million business by exposing the weakness of Victoria’s secrets brand.

How do they do it?

ThirdLove’s big difference from the other start-ups, including True & Co. & Adore Me, is its use of voluminous amounts of data—600 million data points such as breast shape, cup fit and band tightness from over 11 million women that it has culled from an online questionnaire—to create better-fitting bras, especially by pioneering the use of half-sizes.

Thirdlove acquired Indi Custom, an app that made custom jeans by taking measurements, in 2013, even before launching the first product.

They tweaked Indi’s technology to focus on bra fit and created the ThirdLove app, which took two photos of users in their underwear or in form-fitting clothing to calculate body size and churn out a bra size recommendation.

The process is similar to that of high-tech makers of custom suits and 3-D-printed shoes work their magic i.e. using technology to predict the correct size.

Customer friendly approach:

For the cost of shipping, ThirdLove sends customers a bra they can take the tags off of and wear for 30 days. If a customer doesn’t like it, she can send it back for free.

Result:

Using technology & AI algorithms, Thirdlove brand is today valued at USD 750 million and still growing.

 

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development and Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

 

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