As seen on Essential Retail.
UK luxury retailer Mulberry is set to roll out new mobile point of sale (MPoS) technology in its stores.
The system, from Canada-based retail solutions vendor Tulip, will provide the retailer with assisted selling capability, a single-swipe mobile checkout, and a mobile product catalogue which can be accessed for clienteling purposes.
Mulberry’s sales associates will now have access to a single view of stock across the business using the iPad-based platform.
Ali Asaria, CEO of Tulip, said the technology can add value to the shop assistant role and help Mulberry’s associates “build relationships, create loyal customers and elevate the brand”.
The technology will allow shop staff access to customer profiles, meaning they can send personalised messages to their key customers when deemed necessary. It will also give staff an opportunity to contact backroom employees and other colleagues, so they can request products are brought to the customer without having to leave them standing alone on the shop floor.
For the year to 31 March, Mulberry reported pre-tax profit of £11.3 million, although when excluding start-up costs relating to its a South Korean venture the bottom line was actually down 8% year on year to £6.9 million. Group revenue was up by 1% to £169.7 million, although UK like-for-like sales were down by nearly 10% due to lack of demand from tourists.
It its preliminary results statement, the retailer said it continued to enhance its omnichannel services, including rolling out the functionality to purchase store stock online, allowing customers to choose same-day delivery, and launching local language websites in China and South Korea, as well as local currency sites in Sweden and Denmark.
Recent digital partnerships include a partnership with Toplife, which involves the JD.com-owned luxury digital platform selling Mulberry products to the Chinese market.
Global digital sales increased by 14% to £29 million in 2017-18, accounting for 17% of overall group revenue. This represented a jump of 2% year on year, according to Mulberry.
