March 11, 2024
Today, the mattress shopping journey nearly always begins online. As such, retailers need to be prepared to offer a streamlined experience that begins with their website and then transitions into the actual brick-and-mortar store. Luckily for retailers, there are many technology companies that provide the bedding and mattress industry with valuable digital tools to ensure that the customer experience is seamless from start to finish. From databases that centralize and store information, inventory and consumer data, to multi-platform digital marketing deployment and innovative point-of-sale and accounting software, each of the following companies delivers a high-tech tool to streamline your store accompanied by comprehensive customer support to help with integration.
A family-owned business serving the industry for over 30 years, Smartwerks offers its customers an integrated point-of-sale and accounting application for retail stores. With clients ranging from mattress and furniture stores to patio and hearth stores, the company supports transaction types including delivery sales, take with (cash-and-carry) sales and work orders. Delivering a comprehensive onboarding process, Smartwerks provides each customer with a support representative to ensure they receive the proper training they need to make the most of the software. A specific highlight of the Smartwerks software is its handling of stock levels for delivery orders. Often software will not mark an item as sold until it is shipped—which may occur days or weeks later. In Smartwerks, items that are part of delivery orders are marked “committed” immediately to maintain accurate information about what stock is actually available. Offering all in-house service, development and support for Smartwerks products, the company is equipped to serve both mom-and-pop stores as well as companies with multiple locations.
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With the multi-channel customer journey at its center, STORIS Unified Commerce Solution understands that today’s customer moves seamlessly between all of a retailer’s platforms, including in-store, online and mobile, throughout their path to purchase. As such, the software helps retailers consolidate a wide range of consumer and inventory information in one place and in real-time. When onboarding new customers, STORIS designates a project manager for each client to assist with the transition. From training to consulting and project planning, the project manager guides the process with best practice insights drawn from years of industry tenure. Technical support is available to STORIS clients as part of the partnership and includes extended hours on weekdays. Retailers also get a monthly phone training allotment that they can use to engage questions and further their capabilities within the system. A detail oriented tool, STORIS ensures that inventory information—including sizes, attributes and pricing—are all accurate on a retailer’s website and match what the customer sees in-store. The software even allows retailers to note “On Display” for local showrooms or showcase “Available Delivery Date” on a product’s page to foster in-store or online conversions. From independent stores to Top 100 operations, STORIS is completely scalable to serve the needs of retailers of all sizes and is fully focused on the home furnishings and bedding sectors.
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More than 2,700 independent mattress, furniture and appliance retailers trust Retailer Web Services (RWS) with their stores’ digital marketing needs. The company provides its partners with the tools they need to compete— and succeed—in a rapidly changing retail environment upended by the digital age. A champion of small business and the vitality independent retailers bring to communities across America, RWS has built an integrated suite of digital strategy technology. The company’s complete digital suite includes: smart digital advertising (AdRocket), seamless reputation management (WebFronts Review) and advanced analytics. It also offers RetailDeck, a sales enablement, mobile-first app to monitor the competition, create price quotes, track rebates and print price tags, and WebFronts, a website solution driving ecommerce and in-store visits. With the aim of being trusted advisors, the RWS team takes pride in ensuring every interaction with retailer customers is delightful. Because the company runs countless websites and digital marketing campaigns, they have access to an enormous quantity of data and analytics on consumers’ online shopping habits. On average, RWS creates over 450 cross-network promotions annually, gathering about 13,600 data points during each—more than 2.4 million pieces of information that RWS uses to continually improve performance.
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