Tips, trends & thoughts for the festive season
News: Black Friday & Cyber Monday support
This year we will be providing extra out of hours website support (urgent cases only) over the peak Black Friday and Cyber Monday period.
This additional support will cover nights and weekends between Thursday 23rd November and Tuesday 28th November.
Hint: Upload online discounts ahead of time
Be prepared for the peak season by creating and uploading your online discount schemes ahead of time.
You can set up your discount schemes with a scheduled ‘Start Date’ and ‘End Date’. Once saved and uploaded to your website the discount schemes are ready to go on the required date. They will be activated and deactivated overnight when the date changes.
News: Christmas hardware offer ends 1st Dec
Get a fresh look for your store this Christmas. Buy new Dandy Premium hardware before 1st Dec and choose from two seasonal offers:
– Free Till or Back Office licence
– Free Special Refresh service
Plus – a chance to win a luxury hamper!
News: Festive shopping trends
Spending more: Recent research shows that UK consumers intend to spend 1.8% more this Christmas than in 2016.
Spending earlier: November is fast becoming the key month for festive purchases with 53% of consumers are planning to do the majority of their shopping before December.
Source: Deloitte Christmas Survey 2017 UK
Hint: Enabling gift receipts
Offering your customers a gift receipt for their purchase gives them peace of mind that if their gift isn’t quite right the recipient has the option to exchange the items. Read more about enabling and issuing gift receipts on our Support Site.
Top Tip: Advertise your discount scheme
Aden Gostling – Technical Support Agent
“You can advertise a chosen discount scheme to your existing customers in store by including promotional text on the bottom of your receipts. To do this enter the promotional text into the “Receipt Advert Text” field within the discount scheme and select your “Advert Start” date and the “Advert End” date.”
Extra support & planning for the peak season
News: Next customer update meeting
Thank you to those customers who attended our customer update meeting at the Autumn Fair recently. It was great to take the opportunity to get to know you and your businesses better.
If you missed it, don’t worry! We have planned our next customer update meeting for Friday 27th October in Chester. Join us for a cuppa and a catch up on latest developments at Intelligent Retail, some top tips and a chat with the team.
See more details on our Community Forum and book your place!
News: Important Verifone Visa Contactless Upgrade
If you are currently using Verifone VX820 chip & pins, Verifone have advised that these will require an upgrade to ensure that you comply with Visa’s contactless mandate from 14th October 2017.
After liaising with Verifone, they will be contacting retailers to upgrade the VX820 chip & pins shortly.
However, please feel free to contact Verifone directly on 08444 828 222 to arrange your upgrade.
News: Extended support hours trial
Here at Intelligent Retail we have been listening to your feedback regarding our standard support hours. In light of this, we are scheduling a 4 week trial of extended support hours for all our customers from Monday 9th October to Friday 3rd November.
Please login to our Community Forum to read full details.
News: Black Friday & Cyber Monday support
We will be providing extra out of hours website support (urgent cases only) over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. This support will cover nights and weekends between Thursday 23rd November and Tuesday 28th November.
News: New weekend support Christmas package
Get peace of mind over the busy seasonal period with our new Weekend Support Christmas Package. Select additional weekend support throughout November and December 2017 from just £9 per month per till.
Offer closes 5.00pm on Friday 27th October 2017.
Hint: Additional features price list
Did you know you that many of our additional features and services have been reduced in price or made available for free on additional licences? You can find the price list on our Community Forum.
Top Tip: Gift voucher exchange
Chris Stares – Technical Customer Support Specialist
“When a customer uses a gift voucher to purchase an item that is below the value of the voucher, you can set your Connect licence to print a voucher for the difference.
To enable this setting:
– Go to Back Office
– Click on ‘Tools’ and ‘Configure’
– In the ‘System Options’ window click on the ‘Configuration’ tab
– Expand the ‘Till Preferences’ folder
– Click on ‘Allow Voucher Exchange’ and enter ‘Y’ into the box on the right-hand side
– Click ‘OK’ and restart Connect”
Taking stock for the autumn
News: Summer offer ending soon – 20% off on-site training
Need a refresher before heading into the busier season? New staff starting? We offer bespoke training sessions to suit your needs whether that is Till, Back Office, Website, Amazon or eBay training. Our friendly training team are here to help you with their expert knowledge and years’ of experience.
“Thank you. I found the training very helpful and would recommend to everyone using the system to do as a refresher.” Sally Walker
20% off on-site training sessions booked by the 31st August 2017*
Call us on 0845 680 0126** to have a chat about your requirements or email ecs@intelligentretail.co.uk
*Offer available for existing customers only and ends 31.08.2017. Limited places available.
News: Auto cascading product details for Amazon
In the latest version of Connect we have added a time saving improvement to the Amazon channel which automatically cascades a product’s information to it’s options.
Now, when you add a new product to your Amazon channel and populate the master product’s fields under ‘Feed Essentials’ and ‘Feed Details’, Connect will automatically cascade those fields down to the options for you.
News: 3 levels of Import Wizard Service now available
Looking to add new product lines en masse? We now have 3 levels of Import Wizard Service available that will help you to create new articles in Connect via a spreadsheet. You can import product, customer & supplier information, pricing, stock quantities, tags and much more.
1. Data Import Wizard Getting Started Service – A basic service where we provide an import template and helpsheet for you to import your own data. We test the first 20 lines of your data and then provide a 20 minute call to talk you though what we did. Price £99 + VAT.
2. Advanced Import Service with Training – An advanced service where we validate your full data file. Includes a remote training session on how to master importing/updating data for short and long term use. We will provide the helpsheet and template, spend time reviewing your files and offer best practice advice based on your business. Price £225 + VAT
3. Bespoke Data Import Service – A bespoke service where we will perform all aspects of your initial data import for you. We will ask for your data files, liaise with you regarding your data and business. After testing, review and amendments (if required) we will import your data into the live database. Price £975 + VAT
If you would like to find out more please contact our sales team on 0845 680 0126** or email ecs@intelligentretail.co.uk
Hint: Active Stock Tree – Cascading Information
In your Active Stock Tree you can choose to cascade certain details from a master product down to the options. Handy for quick changes to a whole product such as switching the Selling Mode, updating the RRP or Supplier Price.
Simply go to your Active Stock Tree, right click on the master product, hover over ‘Cascade’ and select the detail that you would like to apply to the options below.
Hint: Mass update stock with Product Changer
Need to update a larger quantity of stock in one go? Want to save time and improve consistency across your products?
The Product Changer feature can help you to quickly make a variety of changes in bulk such as updating Brand, Re-Order Levels, Replenish, Preferred Supplier, Selling Mode and more. It can be used in conjunction with various methods of filtering your Active Stock tree and you can preview the changes before they are applied.
The Product Changer can be added to your system for £230 + VAT. Contact our sales team on 0845 680 0126** or email ecs@intelligentretail.co.uk
Top Tip: Checking your Connect version
Ben Clark – Customer Service Manager
“We are in the process of rolling out the latest Connect build (V5.73) but if you would like to prioritise an upgrade on your licences please contact the helpdesk.
You can check which version of Connect your licence is currently running by:
– Going to the Back Office
– Click on ‘Help’ at the top
– Select ‘About … Connect’ (e.g. ‘About Retail Connect’)
– A window will appear detailing your release version (e.g. Retail Connect Release 5.73.00)”
**Calls to this number will not be charged by Intelligent Retail, however your phone company may apply a charge. Please be aware that calls from mobiles may cost considerably more, please contact your mobile provider for more information.
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Summer offer, hints and tips
Summer offer: 20% off on-site training
Need a refresher this summer? New staff starting? We offer bespoke training sessions to suit your needs whether that is Till, Back Office, Website, Amazon or eBay training. Our friendly training team are here to help you with their expert knowledge and years’ of experience.
“Thank you. I found the training very helpful and would recommend to everyone using the system to do as a refresher.” Sally Walker
20% off on-site training sessions booked by the 31st August 2017*
Call us on 0845 680 0126 to have a chat about your requirements or email ecs@intelligentretail.co.uk
*Offer available for existing customers only and ends 23:59 on 31.08.2017. Limited places available.
Hint: Hardware specification
Looking to buy a new desktop computer or laptop for your Till or Back Office this summer?
Here are the recommended hardware specifications in order to maximise the performance of Connect. Any hardware that exceeds these specifications will only help to future proof your machine.
Hint: Stock fulfilment & multiple sites
Did you know… that you can set your physical sites to be fulfilled by primary and secondary stock locations,… that you can control which sites your website uses for stock quantities… and that you can create additional virtual sites (e.g. Store Room or Window Display)?
Please contact the helpdesk for help and advice on changing your stock locations or fulfilment options and take a look at our helpsheet.
Read Stock Locations Helpsheet
Hint: Adding image / message to till screen
Connect has the option to display a ‘Till Logo’ in the transaction area of your till screen. This allows you to display your company logo or an image with a message to remind colleagues of a particular task, such as to “Ask customers for loyalty cards” or “10% Off Summer Offer”.
You can add a ‘Till Logo’ image to each Connect licence by:
– Creating a .gif image file with message / logo (optimum dimensions vary depending on screen size. The example above is using 300 x 300 pixels.)
– Add the image to C:\IR Connect\Live\images folder
– Open Connect and go to Back Office / Tools / Configure
– Click on Configuration tab the open Till Preferences / Layout
– Click on ‘Till Logo’ and enter the image name (e.g. summeroffer.gif)
– Click ‘OK’ and restart Connect for the image to show
Top Tip: Prevent your computer overheating
Andy Daley – Technical Support Agent
“During the hot weather, please ensure that all of the air vents on the Till PC chassis are not obstructed or blocked with dust or debris. This will help to prevent the PC overheating which can cause operational problems.”
Hint: Subscribing to our newsletter & communications
If you would like to receive our newsletter, special offers and service communications to an additional email address – please feel free to contact us and we can add this for you.
Or if you would prefer not to receive emails to a particular email address then there is the option to unsubscribe at the bottom of our emails or simply let us know.
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Easter Checks & Treats
Hint: Last Minute Easter Checks
Easter is upon us! Retailers are poised for a surge in footfall over the four-day weekend as shopper numbers are expected to increase 5.4% compared to the previous year. Online shopping is also expected to increase by 17%* Source
So here are some last minute checks to help you prepare for the Bank Holiday Easter Weekend:
Opening Days / Times – Check your opening days /times are up to date on your website and in store to cover the Easter period. You can update them via the Content Editor.
Homepage Banner Links – If you have a homepage banner on your website for the Easter weekend make sure it is linking to a relevant category or page if possible to drive traffic to the right places on your website.
Discount Scheme End Dates – If you have set up any Easter discount schemes – double check the end date is correct. Remember the ‘Offer End’ date is the day you want the discount to stop running. So if you wanted a discount to run until midnight on 17/04/2017 you would set the ‘Offer End’ date to be 18/04/2017.
Featured Items – If you have products on special offer for Easter then add them to your Featured Items on the homepage of your website. This will help highlight key products to visitors. See the helpsheet on Featured Items here.
News: Easter Treat – Free One Hour Consultations!
As An Easter Treat We Are Giving Away:
10 x One Hour Training Consultations For Free!
Our one hour consultations are a great opportunity to have a personalised chat with one of our experienced trainers. Discuss your business needs and queries, gain hints and tips to improve your processes and help make the most out of Connect and your integrated online sales channels!
Book your free one hour consultation before the end of April 2017. Only 10 available – grab one while you can!
Contact Katie on 0845 680 0126 opt 0 or email us.
*Offer for existing customers only. 1 free one hour consultation per customer. First come, first serve basis. 10 free one hour consultations available. Offer ends at midnight on 30/04/2017.
Hint: Archiving Products
Are there old products sitting in your Active Stock tree that you are no longer selling?
Did you want to tidy these old products away from the rest of your Active Stock tree?
Once a product has had a sale recorded against it Connect prevents it being deleted. This is because the product has valuable sales data associated with it. However, you may want to hide some old products that you no longer stock (such as last season’s clothing or a discontinued range).
You can create an Archive Group within each of your categories in the Active Stock tree and drag and drop (or copy and paste) your old products into this Archive Group. You can also right click on a Group and convert it into an Archive Group.
By keeping your Archive Groups within their relevant categories it allows you to continue to report on the archive products.
See our helpsheet ‘More about Stock in Connect’ on the Support Site.
News: Intelligent Retail Roadshow – Coming Soon!
We are coming to a town near you!
This summer, we are excited to be visiting a selection of towns across the UK. Our Intelligent Retail Roadshow will bring you a company update, a chance to catch up with us and take part in a Q & A session.
Venues and dates to be confirmed.
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Top Tip: Copy & Paste Group Structures
Aden Gostling – Technical Support Agent
“Did you know you can duplicate your sub-folders from one category (group) to another in your Active Stock tree?
-Simply create your new category, name and save.
– Right click on the category with the group structure you want to copy and select ‘Copy Group Structure’
– Then right click on your new category and select ‘Paste Group Structure’
This will copy the Groups and Archive Groups within but will not copy the products.”
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Try Something New This Spring
News: Grow Your Business With Clienteling
Clienteling comes down to offering a personalised and targeted in store customer experience, that helps grow long term relationships and turns browsers into buyers.
In order for the customer experience to be personalised and targeted it’s important to have detailed product and customer data at your fingertips, anywhere in store. This information will empower staff to:
– Answer customers’ product questions on the spot
– Access customers’ multichannel shopping history
– Offer relevant and helpful product recommendations
– Give a more individual and efficient service
– Up sell and cross sell
Increasing the customer engagement and providing an exceptional customer service will encourage loyalty and generate repeat business.
Mobile EPoS and clienteling are some of the key features in the next generation of retail system. Watch this space…
News: New Hardware at Spring Fair
We’ve had a busy season of shows so far, including another exciting show at Spring Fair NEC. It was lovely to catch up with all of the IR customers that stopped by our stand.
Hopefully you got a chance to see the new look Oxhoo tills that we introduced at the Spring Fair. This latest generation POS hardware is available in black or white and features:
– Super slim modern design & aluminium structure
– Concealed peripheral connection points
– High performance fanless system
– 15.1″ capacitive touchscreen
– 3 year onsite next business day warranty (UK Mainland, Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland)
If you are interested in upgrading your hardware then feel free to contact Katie on 0845 680 0126 (opt 0) to find out more.
Hint: The Power of Tags
What are Tags?
Tags are a powerful and versatile feature that allow you to add custom information to your articles, suppliers and customers. This information can then be used for search filters, reports, targeted email marketing, the Refine by Menu on your Intelligent Retail website and more!
How do I create Tags?
You can create Tag Sets and Tags which can then be applied to articles, suppliers or customers. For further details on creating tags please see the helpsheet here.
Article Tags
Use article tags to define types of products, colour, age range, season, gender suitability, themes, materials or any custom information that your business would find useful.
For example, a fashion retailer may wish to create a Tag Set called ‘Season‘ then have Tags for ‘AW16‘, ‘SS17‘ and ‘AW17‘ etc.
A gift retailer may wish to create a Tag Set called ‘Occasion‘ and then Tags for ‘Birthday‘, ‘Wedding‘, ‘Anniversary‘, ‘New Baby‘ etc.
Supplier Tags
Identify suppliers by the types of products they supply, by payment terms, speed of delivery or any custom information you require.
For example, a homeware retailer may wish to create a Tag Set by ‘Product Type‘ so they can analyse the highest average spend for all their ‘Kitchenware‘ suppliers.
Customer Tags
Customer Tags can be used to highlight particular interests or requirements, gender, spending patterns, themes and more.
For example, a craft retailer may wish to set up a Tag Set called ‘Interests’ and then tags for ‘Knitting‘, ‘Crochet‘, ‘Card Making‘, ‘Scrapbooking‘ etc.
System Tags
There are a variety of System Tags that can give you more flexibility with features and processes. Some examples include:
– Allowing certain products to be excluded from Purchase Orders and Stock Transfers.
– Set up eBay custom categories for your store.
– Advanced delivery options such as excluding or including carriage region options for certain products – helpsheet available here.
Top Tip: Freshen Up Your Website
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January – Improving Security for 2017
News: HTTPS Website Security
This January Google is releasing a new version of it’s browser (Chrome 56). This version will show a ‘non-secure’ warning in the url bar for http webpages that collect passwords or credit card details. This is part of Google’s long term plan to improve security across the internet.
Https stands for ‘Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure’ and means that communications between your browser and the website are encrypted.
If you have an Intelligent Retail website then your checkout pages are already secure and using https. In anticipation of the changes to Google Chrome, we have updated all login / register pages across our websites to be https as well.
News: 20% Off Training Sessions
Need a refresher? New staff starting? We offer bespoke training sessions to suit your needs whether that is Till or Back Office, Website, Amazon or eBay training.
Our friendly Training Team are here to help with expert knowledge and years’ of experience. We can either visit you at your business for a custom onsite training session or we can offer remote training sessions if you prefer.
Whatever your training needs, we can help you and your staff increase knowledge, improve efficiency and get the best out of your retail channels.
*Special Offer: Get 20% off training sessions booked by 28th February 2017. Offer available for existing customers only.
To have a chat about your training requirements please email ecs@intelligentretail.co.uk or give us a call on 0845 680 0126.
News: General Data Protection Regulation
The Government has announced that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be implemented on 25th May 2018.
This regulation means organisations will need to ensure they follow new requirements for collecting, processing and sharing personal data. The GDPR enhances individual rights and brings in tougher penalties and fines for organisations don’t comply.
For further information see the ICO’s updated guides and information.
Now is a good time to check your organisation’s processes for handling data and review privacy notices throughout your business, including on your website.
Hint: Secure Your Till
There are a number of ways that you can improve the security of your Connect till by adding passwords and restricting certain functions on each licence.
– Staff members can have their own swipe codes to log in to the till which prevents unauthorised people from accessing the system. Read the helpsheet here.
– Back Office passwords restrict access to the Back Office area and protect trade information.
– Supervisor passwords help to control discounts on the till and cashing up functions.
Find further information on the range of security settings on our Support Site.
Top Tip: How to Process Allocated Stock
Aden Gostling – Technical Support Agent
“Stocktake season is upon us! So make sure you don’t have any allocated stock prior to doing your stocktakes.
If an item is ‘Allocated’ it means it has been placed on a transaction that is currently not marked as complete. This might mean it is awaiting payment, or if it is an order, that the status hasn’t been updated to say it has been sent to the customer.
To see if you have any allocated stock, you can go to the report icon on the Active Stock tree, and select ‘Allocated Stock Report’. This will show you any products that are currently on uncompleted sales.”
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