Whittard rolls out new web access technology
Whittard, the specialist tea, coffee and gifts retailer, is rolling out new point of sale and retail management software to its 80 UK stores.
The retailer will be using Cegid Group’s, Yourcegid Retail software to give staff and management real-time access to sales and stock information in a bid to improve customer service levels and increase profitability across all retail channels.
Simon Watson, senior business analyst at Whittard, said that replacing the old system would save the retailer up to £300,000 in essential upgrade costs and would help it to manage its promotions more efficiently.
He explained: “Managing retail promotions can be a tricky business, especially when taking into account complex VAT rules, so we have to make it as easy as possible for our store staff to use, and completely transparent to keep our customers and even the VAT-man happy”, said Watson.
Whittard has opted for the web-access version of the software to enable all transactions to be communicated to head office instantly.
Watson said: “The software enables us to gain access to a centralised database so we can identify our customers across several channels.” He continued: “The advantage is that if customers earn loyalty points in one store then they are redeemable in another store straightaway.”
The retailer said it was considering contactless payments and mobile payment systems as the next step its cross-channel retail strategy.
Cegid Group has 2,000 employees and 400,000 users world-wide with offices in Milton Keynes, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, New York, Casablanca, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
