In today’s ever-changing world of retail, streamlining productivity and finding the right systems that grow your business is essential.
For fashion retailers, efficiently logging inventory, clearly tracking sales, ordering well, and creating easy shopping experiences are crucial for standing out in a highly competitive market. Retailers now need modernised systems that can handle the evolving demands of the fashion world.
This is where a specialist Electronic Point of Sale (or EPOS) comes into focus. But not just any specialist EPOS system will be effective. Fashion retailers, especially those with a large variety of styles, sizes, and colours, need a system tailored to their industry and inventory needs.
In this article, we’ll explain why specialist EPOS systems are necessary for fashion retailers. We’ll also explore how they can increase efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and drive overall growth.
Let’s dive in!
Streamlined Stock Management
One of the biggest challenges fashion retailers face is managing their inventory.
Unlike standard retailers, fashion retailers almost always carry lots of styles, each in multiple sizes and colours – leading to a complex stockpile of multi variant inventory that can be difficult (for even the most organised business owner) to manage effectively.
A specialist EPOS system (like the one provided by our team at Top to Toe) is specifically designed to handle these retail and web size/colour stock management issues. Our EPOS system utilises a matrix grid, which greatly simplifies stock management when compared to the list-based approach of other commercial systems.
What is a list-based approach compared to a matrix grid?
Most generic EPOS systems are list-based, meaning they treat every variant a.k.a. a style in one size and one colour of a product as a separate item. This can quickly become tedious and often leads to confusion and inaccuracy – something that’s deadly when you’re selling on the web. However, specialist systems (like Top to Toe) use a matrix grid with sizes along the top and colours down the side to display all the variants of a product in one location. This makes stock management significantly easier, clearer and faster for fashion retailers.
For example: rather than creating 15 separate data entries for a shirt that comes in three colours and five sizes – you can manage everything in one streamlined matrix screen. Amazing, right?
This allows fashion retailers to spend less time managing their stock and more time focusing on what truly matters: serving their customers and expanding their business.
Multi-channel Integration with eCommerce Platforms
As the demand for online shopping continues to boom, most fashion retailers find that they must integrate physical stores with online platforms.
A specialist EPOS system guarantees near real-time synchronisation between your store’s inventory and your website. This makes sure that online shoppers always see the most accurate and up-to-date levels of stock – so you don’t sell things that you haven’t got!
For example: Top to Toe’s EPOS system integrates with popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce (and even digital marketplaces like eBay and Amazon.) When an item is purchased in-store or online, the system automatically adjusts the stock levels across all necessary platforms. This eliminates the dreaded risk of overselling, and helps maintain customer loyalty. Customers need reassurance that products listed as “in-stock” are in your inventory and can be readily available for purchase.
This multi-channel capability is especially critical in today’s retail environment. Today’s busy customers expect a seamless shopping experience, whether they’re purchasing from retailers in-store or online. Without these platform integrations, retailers risk losing sales and creating unhappy or frustrated customers.
Faster Product Entry and Barcode Generation
In any business (especially fashion retail) time is money. Every hour spent manually entering products into a system, manually creating barcodes, or updating inventory is an hour that could be spent on more important business tasks. A specialist EPOS system significantly reduces the time it takes to enter products and generate barcodes.
For example: a typical EPOS system might require you to enter each product variant (size, colour, etc.) separately, and then to specify the barcodes you need. This could take hours, especially for stores with large and varied inventories. However, a specialist system allows you to enter all product variants at once in a matrix and then automatically creates the right barcodes for you – saving retail businesses a significant amount of time and resources.
With the right EPOS system, tasks that once took an hour can now be completed in just a few minutes. This time-saving benefit is invaluable for busy retailers who need to keep up with new deliveries and product launches, without slowing down their operations.
Enhanced Reporting and Analytics
In the fashion industry, data is power. It’s critical to know exactly which products sell best, which sizes are most popular, and which items are sitting on the shelves too long. These analytics can help retailers make informed decisions about purchasing, pricing, and promotions.
Specialist EPOS systems offer detailed reporting and analytics that are specifically designed for fashion retailers. Rather than offering “generic” sales reports, these systems allow you to analyse sales by size, colour, brand, or even by individual customer preferences.
This level of detail helps you make better buying decisions, manage stock more efficiently, and tailor promotions to your customers’ needs.
For example: Top to Toe’s system provides clear, actionable insights into product performance. This allows our retailers to adjust their inventory based on solid sales data. This not only helps prevent overstocking (or understocking) but also enables retailers to offer more personalised service to their customer, which greatly improves the overall shopping experience.
Simplified Multi-Store Management
Keeping all those sizes and colours balanced across two or more stores can be a real logistical nightmare. However, once a specialist EPOS system has sped up your growth to more than one store, it then simplifies this inter-branch process, by allowing you to manage all of your retail locations from one central hub.
Why is this so important for retailers with multiple locations?
With the right system, you can view detailed size and colour stock levels across your locations, transfer inventory between stores, and even track sales performance by store. This unique level of size/colour control helps retailers optimise their inventory and ensures that each store has the right products to meet customer demand.
Additionally (if you run a mix of physical stores and online platforms) a specialist EPOS system ensures that your inventory is always up-to-date across all channels – both bricks and mortar and also on the web. This reduces the risk of stockouts, improves customer satisfaction, significantly speeds up your stock turn, and drives more sales back into your business.
Better Customer Management
In today’s retail environment, building strong customer relationships is more important than ever before. A specialist EPOS system can help fashion retailers keep track of customer preferences, their buying history, and can even run loyalty programmes. This allows retailers to offer a more personalised shopping experience, whether customers are shopping in-store or online.
For example: with Top to Toe’s customer management features, retailers can store notes on individual customers, track their purchases, and even flag specific preferences. This information helps staff provide better service and can be used to target marketing efforts – the right system can even ensure that customers receive personalised promotions and offers that are relevant to them.
By keeping track of these details, retailers can form loyalty with their customers and encourage repeat business. Both of which are beneficial for long-term relationship building and success.
Competitive Advantage
Finally, using a specialist EPOS system gives fashion retailers a significant competitive advantage. While many retailers are still relying on glitchy, outdated or generic systems – those who invest in a tailored solution can operate more efficiently and provide premium customer service.
A specialist EPOS allows fashion retailers to do more in less time, helping them stay ahead of the competition and increase their margins and profitability. Whether it’s managing inventory, integrating with eCommerce platforms, or providing detailed reports, these systems are designed to meet the unique needs and challenges of the fashion industry.
Conclusion:
In the fast-paced world of fashion retail, having the right tools is essential for success. A specialist EPOS system not only streamlines operations but also helps retailers deliver a better shopping experience, manage inventory more effectively, and make data-driven decisions that lead to growth.
If you’re a fashion retailer looking for better ways to boost efficiency and accelerate growth, it may be time to upgrade or invest in a specialist EPOS system. The benefits are clear: faster operations, happier customers, and a more successful business. If you’re interested in learning more about a specialist EPOS for your retail business, contact us today and talk to one of our Top to Toe experts.
