Mobile payments are the  future for retailing.

By Emma Miller

One of the greatest problems with keeping a small retail store competitive lies in the fact that everything, always, revolves around the price. By having a better financial basis, large companies can keep up with the low prices (even at their own expense) for long enough to root out all of their competitors. The only thing that can help small retailers in this fight is some ingenuity, which usually comes in the form of technology. Here are a few ways in which tech can help a small retailer grow its revenue.

–IoT helps your supply chain

While some people claim that this is more of a prediction than a current business trend, IoT is already reshaping the logistics of many retail businesses around the globe. With the help of smart tags, pricing in real-time will become much simpler – not to mention much more efficient. Furthermore, when it comes to the goods that require a bit more sensitive touch (perishable items), you can adjust the temperature and light with a more delicate sensor. In this way, your employees won’t have trouble dealing with these menial tasks and your goods will get a significantly lower decay rate (which directly affects your profit).

-Bitcoin

At the moment, over 80,000 enterprises worldwide accept Bitcoin as a legit payment method. The advantages of going with this digital currency are great for both a retailer and a customer. First of all, transaction fees for Bitcoin are significantly lower than those for debit and credit card purchases. Seeing how small businesses tend to pay incredibly high credit card fees anyway, this could serve as a great leverage when it comes to your B2B policy.

Next, Bitcoin payment offers a much greater level of identity-theft protection as it doesn’t require you to share your personal info when making a payment. In a way, it poses as a digital response to cash payments. With Bitcoin wallets, this comparison becomes even more straightforward and even more transparent. Finally, the ease of accepting international payments can help online retailers expand beyond their usual market. Overall, the introduction of Bitcoin to your business brings nothing but benefits.

-Outsourcing your IT services

Keep in mind that starting your own IT department might not be the most cost-effective solution to your problem. Sure, you need a professional touch when it comes your company’s IT, but hiring the right people, getting all the necessary equipment and constantly pouring resources over your team might not be the best way to go. This is why a lot of people prefer outsourcing their IT services. Still, how do you choose the right company for you?

First of all, you need to see what the company you’re considering has to offer. One good idea would be to find someone who specializes in small and medium-sized operations, such as people behind Brisk Technology, just so you can see what you can expect in this industry. Since this is something that the future of your company depends on, feel free to ask any question you can think of. Also, keep in mind that these are the people who are going to be responsible for one of the major aspects of your business, so you need to establish good communication from the very start.

-Allow mobile payments

If you are still not comfortable with taking a huge leap of introducing Bitcoin payments, you could at least consider including mobile payments. According to some statistics, in-store mobile payments are expected to exceed $500 billion dollars in the next three years. In fact, only last year, over $47 billion worth of physical goods was purchased through remote mobile payments. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why these users would favor doing business with someone who offers a mobile payment option, even if the goods are slightly more expensive.

The fact that they don’t have to walk, drive or carpool (which can also add to the total price of purchased goods) to the store is also something customers might take into consideration. In other words, if there is one thing consumers favor even more than frugality, it is definitely their own convenience. For example, same- or next-day delivery also plays a huge factor and so do better advertisements and more CX-friendly store layouts.

Conclusion

Of course, tech solutions are not the only thing that can give a small retailer a fighting chance when facing a much bigger opponent. Still, as far as the tech-hacks for greater revenues are concerned, the above-listed four are as good as it gets.

One last thing, in a situation where the goods of your competitors are of the far superior quality, far lower price or offered with much better service than yours, even these four tips won’t help you. They are there to bridge the gap between you and those that are slightly above you in your industry. This, however, should be more than enough to get you steamrolling.

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Emma Miller is a marketer and a writer from Sydney. Her focuses are digital marketing, social media, start-ups and latest trends. She’s a contributor at Bizzmark blog. Bizzmarkblog.com