ASSISTED REMOTE SHOPPING: A new sales channel in four to six weeks!

It is clear that, with lockdown easing, many retailers and customers will be starting to consider when shops will reopen.  New shopping habits have emerged from the current public health situation and, as a result, retailers will be required to adapt what they offer.  It is essential to support customers on their purchasing journey, in particular via assisted remote shopping. By combining configurable features from OneStock’s omnichannel suite of software, you will be able to quickly offer all your customers assisted remote shopping, with secure payment.

Assisted remote shopping: safely renew contact with your clients

Assisted remote shopping sees the return of an historic sales channel, combined with modern digital techniques. You will certainly remember the purchasing opportunity provided by telesales advisers, who took customers’ orders over the phone.

The principle is the same: to allow customers who do not wish to or are unable to come to the store, or who wish to benefit from personalized recommendations, to place an order.
The assisted remote shopping channel has been improved on several levels, including communication tools, recommendation tools, payment tools, the ability to fulfill orders from store, etc.

Assisted remote shopping maximizes the chance of sales when stores reopen

The assisted remote shopping process can be broken down into key moments that must be thought about in advance, in order to provide a seamless customer journey.

To set up the assisted remote shopping channel, it is important to define, internally, who will be in charge of assisting customers with their remote purchases, i.e. store staff (Phone to Store), customer service staff, etc.
It is then advisable to consider the scheduling. Will assisted remote shopping be possible only by appointment? Or will the customer be able to use it between certain previously defined hours?
Finally, it is necessary to define the methods by which assisted remote shopping will be possible, keeping in mind that adapting to the user's technology is a priority, e.g. assisted video purchases (Skype, Facetime, Zoom), telephone call, etc.

OneStock’s Order Management System allows you to manage purchase requests remotely and thus better organize the schedules for your sales staff.

To further enhance the assisted remote shopping option, it is possible to associate the Personal Stylist module with it and, therefore, offer a personalized shopping experience.

The five stages to setting up assisted remote shopping

The implementation of assisted remote shopping will allow you to support your customers in their purchasing experience with personalized advice, whilst increasing your conversion rate. To quickly reach these objectives, here are the five steps to setting up this solution:

• 1. Inform your customers

Like any new solution, it is important that the option to use assisted remote shopping is made clear to your current and future customers. The way you communicate about this feature will increase your chances of making it profitable more quickly. For example, we can recommend:

• The configuration of a pop-up or a banner on your website
• A call to action (CTA) button on your store locator page.

• 2. Choose a tool to manage customer appointments

The working day for your sales staff is often busy and their schedule can vary.  In order to ensure a consistent and quality service, it is essential to dedicate a defined time to the assisted remote shopping module. Here are our tips to make appointment booking easier:

• Think about the duration of the slots (15min, 30 min, or more)
• Adjust your Capacity Planning (availability of your sales staff) 
• Display an appointment schedule on your website.

• 3. Offer customers several communication methods and equip your advisers as a result

Depending on the characteristics of your core target market, several methods of communication are available to you:

• Phone : to ensure the basics
• Video: to respond to consumers who are familiar with this technology
• Other communication channels: Whatsapp messages, Snapchat with a sales assistant in store, etc.

• 4. Take advantage of all your stock positions 

Assisted remote shopping also contributes to the sale of stock. It is important, therefore, to have specific tools for stock and personalization:

• Thanks to stock unification, you can give your sales advisers a global view of available stock in warehouses, stores, and with suppliers
• Thanks to product recommendations, you can allow your sales staff to make the shopping experience more personal and make additional sales, which align with the customer’s tastes.

• 5. Consider remote payment 

The revolution in the role of the remote advisor is mainly at this level; new players in this market, compliant with the PCI DSS controls, allow remote payment - by phone, SMS, chat, email - without breaking the channel. You can choose different providers:

• Pay by Link, offered by PSPs (Payment Service Providers) such as Adyen, Dalenys, Hipay, Lyra, etc.
• Pay by Phone offered by companies such as Voxpay.

OneStock offers a unique and global omnichannel solution, allowing you to offer the new assisted remote shopping sales channel in as little as three weeks, depending on the digital maturity level of your brand. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information!