Contactless Retail: New Ways to Sell During COVID-19

Saying retail has changed in the last month is a bit of an understatement. 

With the introduction of new social distancing practices and increased public safety protocols, retail has been forced to evolve more quickly than ever has before. Not only are industries adapting, but also businesses are needing to follow suit by minimizing hours, widening channels, and even temporarily closing their doors to keep their customers and staff safe.

As you know, social distancing is still essential to keep us all happy and healthy. But that doesn’t mean selling stops! As your customers depend more and more on their mobile devices in their time of staying inside, who better to keep them browsing smoothly than your wireless business?

But the question is: how?

With COVID-19 plastered across every print headline, trending on every social media channel, and talked about from every major and minor news outlet, there is a lot of information out there. As a retailer, you’re trying to whittle down what’s important in the retail sphere so you can inject some normalcy into your operations and complete transactions in a safe way. 

To make things a little easier, we’ve captured a few of the innovative new ways wireless businesses can keep selling from 6 feet apart. 

Leverage curbside pickup for contactless retail 

Whether you take orders online or over the phone, curbside pick up is a great option to keep revenues flowing and staff on the payroll. Customers can pre-order or arrange their product or service with your store, and have the item ready for pick up at a pre-set time. 

This could range from product purchases, device upgrades, and even distanced activations. This curb-side retailing gives you the change to not only keep profits coming in but to also see the appreciative faces of the loyal customers you’ve been missing. 

Do you take appointments?

While wireless retail is largely walk-in based, appointment scheduling can ensure appropriate distancing can be followed. Especially as regions begin reopening responsibly, taking timed appointments from your customers schedules your day down to a tee. You’ll know exactly how many staff to have working, the precise number of customers you’ll be assisting at one time, and how long their appointment should take so that others can be helped before the day is though. 

Some governing bodies have proposed reopening businesses but with limited numbers of people allowed to be in one space at a time. Appointment scheduling makes sure you are within these limits and safely retail without incurring any warnings or fines. 

Got fulfillment?

This is a favorite for the iQmetrix team! It’s slick, it’s dependable, and it’s effective in boosting revenue. 

Drop ship and fulfillment solutions connect your inventory vendors to your customer’s wishes — you just facilitate! Customers can access your physical and virtual inventory options either online or over the phone. While this may just seem like a regular e-commerce transaction to them, you know differently. 

Your premium wireless accessory vendors have an extensive product library for customers to peruse on your e-commerce platform. When they find that perfect item, it’s shipped right from the vendor to their doorstep. It’s fast shipping with little downtime since the product is coming from a stocked vendor (rather than needing to come from a retail store that may not know exactly where that item is in their inventory).

Stay social (at a distance)

Your customers look to you when they have wireless needs and it’s likely that, with all the constant changes in hours open and day-to-day operations of retail businesses, shoppers are going online to search for you. 

Social media profiles are a great way to keep customers up to date in what’s happening with your store — whether or not you’re open and how you’re adapting your services — and also to keep in touch with the items they love. 

Posting pictures of new stock, special sales, and your product library not only keeps your business top of mind but also gives customers the change to buy from you – right from that post. 

Platforms like Instagram also have ​“selling” features that, when the post is tapped by the shopper, show the product details, price, and gives the option to purchase. 

Get online

Even with social media selling being an effective tool to showcase offerings, nothing is better for completing digital transactions than an e-commerce website. 

From products to services to store updates, a wireless retail website is the most convenient way for your customers to buy from you when the in-store purchase isn’t possible. They can browse from anywhere and have items delivered or arranged for pick-up at the location nearest them. 

Not only that, but e-commerce tools with state-of-the-art catalog management means less work for your team. Offering updates made in one location can be easily deployed to keep prices, products, specs, and services up to date across all locations so your customers know what they’re getting no matter where they shop.

Future-proof your business

Even post-pandemic, the way consumers shop is likely to change. COVID may be a bit of a disruption, but wireless retailers are tough. What you implement now will help position your business for success in the post-COVID future of wireless retail.

Interested in adding a new method of selling to your operations? Our team of experts are here to help. Learn more about how to implement eCommerce, below, and reach out to our experts to learn how to future-proof your business.