How MuleSoft Enables Retailers to Predict and Leverage Frontline Retail Workers’ Influence on Digital Sales
The retail landscape is evolving rapidly which means retailers must adapt to new trends and technologies to remain competitive. Technology is being leveraged by retailers in creative ways to offer customers innovative shopping experiences, including browsing, buying, and savings options. With rising prices, some retailers are optimizing pricing strategies and offering personalized discounts and promotions through technology. Supply chain management, inventory tracking, and order fulfillment are also being improved through technology to minimize disruptions and ensure efficient operations.
Recently, there has been a decline in customer brand loyalty, putting more pressure on retailers to retain customers. According to a Fresh Relevance poll, more than a third of customers are willing to switch brands, with nearly half of retail consumers open to switching to a different brand. To maintain customer loyalty, retailers need to be creative with their loyalty programs and leverage data to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences. One key trend that is predicted to shape the retail industry in the coming years is the increasing influence of frontline retail workers on digital sales.
The Role of Frontline Retail Employees
Frontline workers, such as store associates, are the face of a brand and play a critical role in delivering a positive customer experience. In the past, their role was limited to scanning and bagging products, but today, they are expanding their roles and taking on new responsibilities, such as personal stylists, fulfillment experts, and service agents. They are increasingly becoming the key touchpoints for customers who interact with the brand in-store.
As the role of frontline workers evolves, they are also becoming more important in driving digital sales. According to Salesforce’s 2021 Shopping Index report, 60% of digital sales are influenced by physical stores and associates, regardless of where demand is generated or fulfilled. This means that customers are increasingly turning to store associates for advice and recommendations on digital channels, such as e-commerce websites and mobile apps.
Why Frontline Retail Workers are Essential for Digital Sales
There are several reasons why frontline workers are becoming more important in driving digital sales. Here are just a few:
Trust: Frontline workers are trusted sources of information for customers. They have a deep understanding of the products and services offered and available by the brand, and customers value their advice and recommendations.
Personalization: Frontline workers can provide personalized recommendations based on a customer’s needs and preferences. They can also tailor their recommendations based on the customer’s past purchases and interactions with the brand.
Convenience: Frontline workers help customers navigate the brand’s digital channels, ensuring a seamless customer experience. They make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for and complete their purchase by assisting with ordering items from different locations, checking for similar items, and providing recommendations on other products.
How MuleSoft Enables Retailers to Predict and Meet the Needs of Frontline Workers
To compete effectively in 2023, retailers must design the store and empower the associates. This is where MuleSoft can help retailers leverage data to predict and meet the needs of frontline retail workers.
MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform enables retailers to integrate data from multiple sources, such as e-commerce, marketing, service, inventory, and customer data, into a single, unified view. This data can be used to provide frontline workers with real-time insights into customer behavior and preferences, enabling them to deliver personalized recommendations and advice that drive engagement and loyalty.
Let’s take the example of a brand that sells designer handbags. When a customer walks into the store after recently purchasing a handbag and is looking to buy more products, the frontline retail worker can use the customer’s data to view their previously purchased items. This allows the retail worker to recommend complementary products or accessories in-store. By providing frontline workers with on-the-sales-floor access to customers’ data and interactions across all touchpoints, retailers can enhance the overall customer experience and boost digital sales.
MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform also enables retailers to automate and streamline key processes, such as order fulfillment and returns management, which can free up frontline retail workers to focus on delivering a better customer experience. For example, if a customer wants to return a product purchased online, the frontline worker can use MuleSoft to quickly locate the order and process the return, without having to spend time navigating multiple systems. In addition, MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform can help retailers predict and meet the needs of frontline workers by providing real-time insights into inventory levels and product availability.
In today’s rapidly evolving retail landscape, technology plays a crucial role in helping retailers adapt to changing trends and customer preferences. Frontline retail workers, such as store associates, are becoming increasingly essential in driving digital sales as they are trusted sources of information, provide personalized recommendations, and offer convenience to customers. MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform empowers retailers to predict and meet the needs of frontline workers by integrating data from multiple sources, providing real-time insights, and automating key processes. By leveraging technology to empower frontline workers, retailers can enhance the overall customer experience, increase customer loyalty, and boost digital sales in 2023 and beyond.
Providing a Connected Retail Experience with MuleSoft’s Integration Solutions
MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform empowers retailers to leverage the influence of frontline retail workers on digital sales through powerful integration solutions. The platform’s API-led connectivity enables the connection of disparate systems, such as commerce and legacy systems, and nearby stores, creating a connected experience. This consolidated customer profile is critical for enhancing lifetime value, personalizing customer experiences, and predicting customer behavior.
The MuleSoft Accelerator for Retail expedites the integration of business operations with digital initiatives, enabling retailers to leverage data analytics to predict customer expectations and provide seamless retail experiences across all channels. The platform also ensures adherence to privacy policies while using customer data to provide personalized experiences.
Through the API economy, MuleSoft allows retailers to identify behaviors of frontline retail employees that drive digital sales and design targeted training programs to improve their digital sales skills. By attaining a comprehensive view of their operations and customers, retailers can remain competitive by providing a seamless customer journey, projecting customer expectations, and ensuring a personalized customer experience.