Retailers reopening stores - How TIMIFY's online booking system can help

The major issue facing big retailers with large shop premises and multiple branches is undoubtedly managing footfall.

Customers are eager to return to favourite stores, but many are also wary of crowds, queues and whether new social distancing and hygiene measures have been prioritised.

Long queues in busy high streets will be unmanageable for door staff monitoring access and likely lead to frustrated customers taking their business elsewhere.

A suite of online booking options, offering a full range of services with interactive options to customers, will be expected of bigger retailers post lockdown and long term.

Furthermore, customers will expect to access these options from whichever channel they are using - from phones and tablets to social media and visiting stores.

Our Enterprise Solution delivers a range of advanced features tailored to the unique demands on large organisations and will play a crucial role in managing this period and beyond.

Below we outline the de-escalation measures in the retail industry and how TIMIFY features could be used to bring structure, efficiency and convenience to how customers reconnect with your business.

TIMIFY for appointment booking and managing footfall

• Manage hourly footfall by setting up time slots for customers to book
• Limit the maximum number of customers able to a visit during any time slot
• Limit the maximum amount of time a customer can spend in store
• Manage all customer visits in our digital schedule. If contact tracing is required, you can easily view every client’s visit history and who served them 
• Where appropriate, offer products to be reserved or purchased online with an appointment booked for pick up
• Auto-assign duration times for different types of appointment (e.g. 15 mins product pickup but 45 mins if using fitting rooms). This will be auto blocked in the calendar when the service is booked by a client 
• Auto-assign buffer times before and after appointments. This won’t be visible to clients, but spaces out bookings to allow for cleaning and minimise client crossover
• For multiple branches, give customers the option to book their chosen branch or even which in-store department they wish to speak with (returns, fittings etc.)

TIMIFY for alternatives to in-store visits

• Offer video consultations, explainers or group webcasts for customers seeking guidance or particular services
• TIMIFY’s new video conferencing integrations offer simple creation, booking and rescheduling of meetings with online video included
• Create online events for new product launches or promotions, allowing customers to browse and decide what they want to do in-store before visiting
• Offer exclusive promotions for limited number of attendees who attend an online promo event, booking their place on a first-come first-served basis
• Individual appointments, e.g. personal shoppers, could use a video meeting to highlight options in advance before reserving items in-store for pick up or fitting.

What are the benfits of TIMIFY Enterprise

• Dedicated account manager to help on-boarding for corporations working across multiple locations, time zones and IT infrastructure
• White labelling options for customer-facing interfaces
• Multi-language and time zone booking options
• Customise booking forms, widgets, communications and video services
• High grade security options to protect customer data, schedules, video conferences and more
• Full statistics suite with no limits on locations and branches included. Set up simple dashboards for each and managers can browse all from one login.

To find out more, book a consultation with one of our team for a detailed overview of how TIMIFY  can be used to be compliant while maintaining a high quality customer experience.