Retail Technology
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Retail store staff are spending 10 times longer to organise and display point of sale (PoS) material than head office is allocating, according to marketing management systems provider, Pierhouse.  

Retail store staff are spending 10 times longer to organise and display point of sale (PoS) material than head office is allocating, according to marketing management systems provider, Pierhouse.

 

This therefore masks the true cost of running campaigns and promotions, without even taking into account the knock-on effect of lost sales as less time is being spent on customer-facing tasks, added the vendor, whose products include net.tickIT.

 

"In a climate where retailers are looking to cut costs in all areas, it is surprising that not only is 40-70% of all PoS material still being wasted, but associated labour costs for back office tasks are much higher than budget," said Geoff Clifton, Pierhouse business development director. "On average the time spent sorting, correcting, making and trying to order missing PoS [materials] can be as high as between 20 and 35 man hours a week, yet retailers are allocating just three to four hours under the bland banner of 'sorting'. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that staff from several departments often have to get involved to help answer questions such as: 'What goes where? What’s missing? And what needs replacing?'

 

"By printing PoS instore, in display order and moving to an automated system for creating signage – print, ESEL [electronic shelf-edge labelling] or digital – retailers can save a minimum of five hours a week and considerably reduce labour costs."

 

Somerfield, for instance, has benefitted from a 50% saving in labour that is equivalent to more than half a million pounds per annum, giving an return on investment of less than four months.

 

"Retailers have been wasting tens of thousands of pounds a year creating and transporting point of sale that is not required. This cost may have been something that could have been absorbed or even overlooked when trading times were better, but not in today's climate when every penny counts," added Clifton. "In addition, to remain competitive, retailers need to be able to amend prices and create new promotions in minutes, not days or weeks; automating the creation and distribution of PoS provides the flexibility, along with the compliance."

 

www.pierhouse.co.uk