Retail Technology Trends Shaping the Future

Exploring technology that powers retail hardware manufacturing, distributing and point-of-sale systems is sort of like peeling away layers of an onion. Day-to-day operations in a hardware store such as scanning bin tags or ringing up customers on a POS system linked to inventory heavily rely on the deeper layers of that technology onion. Advances in essential core functions will continue to make retail hardware more efficient and profitable.

“I would estimate about 40 percent of the efforts that go behind retail technology aren’t visible to people, yet it’s incredibly impactful,” John Maiuri, division president of LBMH at ECI, recently told The Hardware Connection during an exclusive interview. “For most of us, we’ve moved to digital engagement with just about every aspect of life.”

ECI recently launched the Spruce eCommerce system, which emphasizes reliability while expanding capabilities and ease of use. Spruce is designed specifically for lumber and building materials and hardline operations, allowing retailers to easily integrate state-of-the-art inventory management and ecommerce systems.

Powerful retail innovation

For ECI, which offers cloud-based business management software and services, providing powerful technology for retail and distributor solutions means that users don’t have to be as tech-savvy. The technology behind Spruce eCommerce allows independent hardware and LBM businesses with no on-staff IT expertise to offer a robust online shopping experience and compete with other digital sellers.

“Not only does it improve the customer experience, but Spruce eCommerce also streamlines the business management aspects for dealers,” Maiuri says.

Spruce eCommerce software lets customers browse products, create accounts, and add selections to an online shopping cart. When customers order products, the system provides options such as delivery or in-store pickup and allows for split carts between them. This advanced software efficiently links retailers to their pro customer base, too. Spruce eCommerce has the option for pro customers to build self-service quotes and pay invoices.

Spruce connects to a store’s inventory availability as a whole-store solution by branch, transactions, and invoices. Spruce eCommerce analytics will help avoid over-stock and enable customers to manage margins and fulfillment more effectively.

Tech solves inventory headaches

In the wake of the pandemic and the most dramatic supply chain interruptions the hardware industry has seen in decades, inventory management has been a challenge for independent hardware retailers.

“Accurate inventory management has increasingly become an issue. If you don’t have it, you can’t sell it,” Maiuri says. “Now, if you don’t know you have it right then and there, you can’t sell it, either.”

With customers able to Google specific products and know they can immediately pick up an item from a store, inventory must be as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Without such capabilities, retailers can miss sales and lose customers.

The Spruce eCommerce system includes a proprietary Product Information Management (PIM) system and taxonomy for faster software implementation and to seamlessly add products to the ecommerce storefront. The Spruce ERP solution also includes inventory analytics, which helps retailers make better buying decisions.

“Delivering technologies at scale isn’t an easy endeavor,” says Maiuri. “We’re manically focused on getting this done so the customer can leverage high levels of technology at a reasonable cost.”

Connect with customers

Machine and artificial intelligence can help strengthen recurring business with builders and contractors, automating processes and making that relationship run seamlessly, Maiuri says. Tech solutions such as Spruce help retailers connect with customers through marketing and integration of B2B digital functions.

“During the day, hardware retailers are busy connecting with customers, mixing paint, cutting keys,” Maiuri says. “New software helps them work from their living room at night and get caught up.”

With analytic tools and custom financial forecasting templates that can be tailored to their business, they can do as much as possible with fewer hands. Solutions such as Spruce offer businesses visual analytics that coalesces data into easy-to-understand formats. Retailers can quickly examine margin percentages and segment customers for deeper dives into local product buying trends.

Designed as an all-in-one ecommerce solution and backed by ECI’s website design and digital marketing team, Spruce eCommerce features built-in marketing tools such as abandoned carts, content pages, blog tools, drag and drop layouts, rewards and loyalty programs, badges, banners, customer segmentation, reports, and Google Analytics.

“By modernizing old static offers with dynamic promotions, loyalty programs, item merchandising, and in-house marketing and design services, LBM and hardlines businesses can generate additional growth channels by turning lost time managing data in multiple systems into a singular, streamlined online order process,” Maiuri says.

To provide support, ECI has in-house experts who manage the website implementation and maintenance, so dealers can easily create a professional website that is entirely their own with a customer portal that makes it easy for shoppers to buy online.

Return on tech investment

Software, like other types of business equipment, needs to be updated, according to Maiuri. “Most of our customers pay us less than what it costs to pay a single, full-time person,” he notes. “Ultimately, the ability to protect your business and operate efficiently means that you reinvest in equipment. Like delivery trucks and forklifts, software may not be completely reliable if it’s getting old.”

New technology also solves potential problems for retailers. For example, cloud computing means that hardware store owners don’t have to worry about their database being locked up in a server if it crashes. Cloud-based options are a good guard against hackers and ransomware attacks.

“Retailers can’t rely on the technology of yesterday to bring in the business of tomorrow,” Maiuri says.

This article was originally in The Hardware Connection September issue (pages 76-78) and written by Doug Donaldson.

You may also be interested in these articles:

• Why Ecommerce is Crucial for LBM Retailers
• 10 Steps to Ensure You Select the Right Software for Your Lumber and Building Materials Business
• Where Do I Begin? How to Digitize Your LBM and Hardware Business