Mobile Data Capture Streamlines Major Retail Use Cases

| Retail

scanning vegetables with iphone

Retailers can obtain a wealth of real-time enterprise data with mobile barcode scans. Following is a brief overview of how mobile data capture helps retailers transform processes and tasks related to the use cases of clienteling, mobile POS (mPOS), mobile shopping (mShopping), order entry, self-checkout, inventory management and proof of delivery (POD).

Clienteling
Mobile apps provide store associates with real-time access to vital information at the point of customer interaction. By scanning a product barcode, employees can obtain detailed product data. And by scanning a customer ID or loyalty card, employees can gain instant access to a comprehensive customer history. This allows associates to make personalized purchase recommendations and offer individually targeted discounts. As a result, the physical and digital experiences seamlessly blend, leading to larger market baskets and higher levels of customer satisfaction.

mPOS
By equipping traditional mobile devices with enterprise-grade scanning capability, retailers reduce or eliminate the need for costly fixed POS terminals. mPOS cuts the overhead associated with implementing, maintaining and upgrading POS hardware. It also frees valuable store real estate for merchandise displays, picking and packing areas, or stations for customer pickup and return of online purchases. In addition, the checkout process is streamlined. Retailers can process more transactions per hour with less dedicated labor.

mShopping
mShopping apps deliver an advanced digital retail experience to consumers via smartphone or tablet. Customers can create shopping lists by scanning product barcodes at home, on the go, or in store. They can also conduct product research and even complete purchases. Furthermore, mShopping apps can enable customers to apply coupons to a purchase or join a loyalty program with a barcode scan.

Read how The Container Store supports an mShopping program called “Go Shop! Scan and Deliver” with the Scandit Barcode Scanner SDK and Scandit Case.

Mobile Order Entry
Mobile order entry enables customers, employees, distributors and vendors to scan products and place orders from a traditional consumer device. By providing a user-friendly mobile app with a real-time product catalogue, retailers can increase order frequency from customers, employees and business partners. In addition to eliminating the cost of providing dedicated scanners or mobile computers, the reliability and simplicity of app-based mobile order entry also increases customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Self-Checkout
Using traditional mobile devices, consumers can scan store items as they shop. Customers can obtain product information and check real-time inventory levels and locations. Shoppers can also instantly execute purchases, eliminating lengthy checkout lines. Retailers can eliminate hardware costs entirely by letting consumers perform self-checkout on their personal devices. Even if retailers make their self-checkout available on hosted in-store devices, traditional smartphones and tablets still have a much lower total cost of ownership than dedicated scanners or mobile computers.

Learn how The Coop Retail Group integrated Scandit’s Barcode Scanner SDK into its Passabene self-checkout app.

Inventory Management
Enterprise-grade mobile scanning allows retailers to track every product across their organization using smartphones and tablets. The ease of use and portability of smartphones makes them ideal for managing replenishment directly from the retail floor. Automation of inventory counting with mobile barcode scanning greatly increases accuracy while reducing labor and hardware costs. Expensive and outdated legacy hardware can be replaced entirely with mobile barcode scanning software.

POD
Validating POD with a mobile barcode scanning app provides numerous benefits to retailers. Drivers can efficiently scan packages and capture signatures with a single smartphone or tablet. They can also use the same device for geotagging, navigation, communication and other tasks. This eliminates the need to carry multiple devices. Expenses are further reduced by avoiding the higher total cost of ownership associated with dedicated scanning devices or mobile computers.