Tips and trends for resilience in retail

It’s been more than 12 months since the RBA began raising interest rates to combat inflation, and consumers are really starting to feel the pinch.

Amid slowing sales, SMBs are turning to tech more than ever to help unlock sustainable growth.

Bracing for tough times

If the RBA first started raising interest rates in May 2022, you might be wondering why it’s taken so long for consumers to tighten their belts. Indeed, 2022 was a bonza year for household spending on goods and services, which increased across almost all categories. And sales were still booming into February this year.

Up until recently, solid employment and wage growth and, for many, a healthy savings buffer have all helped keep consumer sentiment afloat. But at this point the realities of rising costs are well and truly hitting home. As consumers brace for potentially tough economic times, SMBs are getting squeezed from all sides by dwindling sales, staff shortages and inflationary pressures of their own.

Then again, when the going gets tough, the tough really do get going. According to Jarrad Brownfield, Square’s Retail Product Marketing Manager in Australia, SMBs are rising to the current challenges by doubling down on tech. At the heart of this trend, he says, is the desire to maximise efficiency and “do more with less”, while creating new revenue streams.

Tips for selling online

As far as Brownfield is concerned, there’s no question that omnichannel selling—that is, selling in-store and online, wherever your customers are—is the way forward. After all, “Our Future of Retail report showed that 43% of retailers say that scaling their online shopping experience is one of the most important aspects of their business operations,” he says.

With that in mind, here are a few of his top tips for SMBs wanting to capitalise on this trend:

1. Unify your commerce

“Complementing your physical store with an online presence is an effective way to grow and build resilience,” Brownfield says. “However, many businesses can fall into the trap where their online and physical stores don’t talk with each other, creating unnecessary administrative burden.” To avoid this common pitfall, he recommends using the same tech provider for your in-store and online point of sales, or ensuring that they easily integrate.

2. Adopt retail-specific technology

Purpose-built Retail Point of Sale software gives you easy access to your entire sales picture, Brownfield says, as well as handy additional features essential to running your business. For example, customer engagement, inventory, invoicing and team management tools.

3. Reward customer loyalty and incentivise new buyers

Brownfield recommends using loyalty and marketing tools that live directly within your in-store and online checkout experience. Doing so provides you with a centralised hub for sharing rewards and promotional offers, and upselling products, he says.

Don’t forget about social media

Omnichannel commerce not only means complementing your physical store with an online outlet but also, increasingly, selling directly through social media.

“In fact, we learned from our Future of Retail report that 54% of retailers say social media channels account for most of their annual sales revenue,” Brownfield says.

One important point to note, however, is that any online checkout processes your customers are using must be simple and friction-free.

“As the touchpoints with the customer increase, it’s crucial that retailers ensure their technology partners are creating a fast and efficient checkout so that no sales are left on the table,” Brownfield says.

Tough times may be on the way, but that just means SMBs have to work smarter to capture their share of the market. By selling online and through social media, you can create new revenue streams that help increase the agility and resilience of your business.

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