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Communicating with the customer is critical, especially in retail. With so many brands and retailers to choose from, the importance of developing a mutually beneficial relationship with shoppers cannot be understated.
One way retailers can develop strong relationships is by creating personalized newsletters. In fact, according to a survey from Ascend2, “65% of US marketing professionals reported that more personalization was the best approach for improving the effectiveness of email programs.”
Overall, email newsletters are an effective way to communicate with shoppers both before and after a purchase. When filled with personalized recommendations and relevant discount codes, the success of newsletters increases drastically. If a newsletter contains product suggestions based on purchase history, Dyspatch found that 59.4% of US consumers are more likely to act after perusing the newsletter.
So how can you incorporate personalized newsletters into your retail marketing strategy? Let’s dive in.
GK Artificial Intelligence for Retail (GK AIR) automatically analyzes customer behavior based on past purchases and historical data. Then, GK AIR predicts the most relevant content for each shopper, including products, product groups, messaging, and pricing.
When the shopper opens the email newsletter, personalized messaging and recommendations will populate based on relevant data from all customer interactions (both online or on the retailer’s app). By waiting to populate until the shopper clicks the email, GK AIR can incorporate the most recent interactions, even if the customer shopped just a few minutes before receiving the email.
GK customers have seen notable increases in the rate of newsletter engagement and decreases in unsubscribing rates after initiating GK AIR’s personalization tools.
There are a few ways marketers can incorporate newsletter personalization, including:
Newsletter campaigns can vary throughout the year. For example, some newsletters can highlight new products and be shared with a wide audience. Others can be specifically targeted to a customer on their birthday or loyalty anniversary (the day the shopper joined the retailer’s loyalty program). The more creative and personal the outreach, the more likely the newsletter is to result in a conversion.
Furthermore, newsletters don’t have to only be a part of the beginning of the customer’s journey. Retailers can also personalize payment confirmation or shipping emails with recommendations for the next order.
By communicating with the customer throughout their journey, retailers will create a memorable relationship with the shopper and earn their loyalty.
Are you sold on personalized newsletters but not sure where to start? With GK AIR retailers can offer their shoppers a personal, relevant and positive shopping experience at every point of their journey. By taking advantage of our intelligent, real-time solutions, you can meet your customers where they are, every time.
Send us a message and a GK team member will connect with you and explain how GK AIR can help you implement personalized newsletters today.
GK was recently ranked as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Point-of-Sale Vendors in Grocery and Food Store Retail 2022 Vendor Assessment. The IDC MarketScape report evaluates enterprise POS solution providers in the global grocery industry based on how IT buyers perceive the benefits of the POS Software, as well as the providers' strategy and commitment to enabling retailers' ongoing omnichannel success.
The COVID-19 pandemic shifted customers' priorities forever, increasing their focus on convenience and in-store efficiency. To meet customer demands, retailers were forced to implement high-tech self-checkout options, mobile and on-demand ordering solutions, advanced delivery and BOPIS strategies and more.
So, what makes IDC consider GK a leader in point-of-sale for grocers looking to innovate? Let's take a look at some of our top grocery solutions.
GK understands that it takes a well-oiled team of experts and consistent processes to run a grocery enterprise – from the in-store associates and delivery personnel to the buyers, marketers and IT professionals.
GK's OmniPOS® solution, powered by CLOUD4RETAIL, uses the same software for all processes and data management, avoiding the costs and complexities of maintaining multiple solutions. GK's platform also makes it easy to integrate third-party applications and leverage API's that can add to the value of the POS platform.
Customers today expect convenience, and one way to offer a more relevant and personalized experience is to proactively anticipate a shoppers needs. GK SPOT makes this easy by tracking all customer interactions across sales channels and storing them in a cloud-based data lake that is easy for both retailers and customers to utilize for real-time queries and personalized offers.
Shoppers are often in a rush – rushing to get dinner on their way home from work or rushing to get that missing ingredient for the already in-progress recipe waiting back at home. By eliminating the checkout line, the time spent in the grocery store decreases significantly. To meet the needs of the shopper on-the-go, grocers can implement GK GO, a scanless store format that allows shoppers to grab the items on their list and walk out, paying automatically on their phone without ever waiting in line.
GK GO stands apart from the competition because GK's scanless solution keeps customers up to date on the contents of their basket and all relevant information including price, related items, total cost so far, and promotions and coupons that have been redeemed.
GK is proud to be recognized by IDC for our vast omnichannel grocery solutions, all of which can be paired together seamlessly with GK's CLOUD4RETAIL platform. With innovations ranging from dynamic pricing to scanless checkout, GK is dedicated to building a smooth, unified experience for grocers and an exceptional customer journey for their shoppers. Click here to see more of GK's industry recognitions.
Still want to learn more about how GK's advanced grocery solutions can improve your grocery business? Reach out to us today, review quotes from our satisfied users or download the IDC Marketscape report here.
GK today announced that it has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Point-of-Sale Vendors in Grocery and Food Store Retail 2022 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US46743220, May 2022).
The IDC MarketScape report evaluates enterprise POS solution providers in the global grocery/food store segment. A key evaluation is how IT buyers perceive the benefits of the POS software in meeting the unique and ever-changing needs of grocery stores. As well, the report evaluates providers' strategy and commitment to enabling retailers' ongoing omnichannel success.
GK's CLOUD4RETAIL, an enterprise-class, unified commerce platform, is highlighted in the report. The comprehensive platform is notable for its range of capabilities, supporting services from mobile customer loyalty to mobile store merchandise management. GK is also continually offering new solutions in its roadmap, including its scanless format, GK GO, which helps shoppers check in, take items, and walk out or pay on their phones. It also developed GK SPOT, a completely new cloud-based big data service that tracks all customer interactions across sales channels.
"The grocery industry is evolving rapidly as new trends emerge and customers demand personalized services," said Michael Jaszczyk, CEO, GK Americas. "As a result, we are proud to be recognized by the IDC MarketScape for our omnichannel grocery solutions and the innovations we've made to help grocers create seamless, flexible end-to-end shopping experiences. From personalization to dynamic pricing to scanless checkout, our mission is to enable retailers to deliver unified and enhanced services. That's why I'm excited for GK to be positioned as a Leader in this category."
For more details on why GK was named a Leader, find the full report here. More of GK's industry recognitions can be found here.
IDC MarketScape vendor assessment model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor's position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.
According to NRF's most recent National Retail Security Survey, 57% of retailers reported a rise in "organized retail crimes" (ORCs) last year. Self-checkout is just one area that retailers see an influx of fraud and shoplifting. As these crimes continue to rise, retailers must become savvier with their self-checkout fraud detection technology.
Fraud is common when introducing self-checkout options because shoppers have more freedom. Self-checkout kiosks rely on weighted scales and rescan algorithms to mitigate these crises.
Everyone has heard a self-checkout kiosk say, "Please place the item in the bagging area." This is the kiosk's way of asking customers to place the item on the scale so it can be weighed. Once placed, the pre-set group of rules and algorithms can determine if the item in the bag is the same item that was scanned.
After a purchase is made or a rescan is triggered, the system improves the algorithms for the future. For example, every time a customer scans a box of cereal, the transaction provides new data pertaining to accurate items weights, scanning times, waiting times between items, and typical basket sizes and item combinations.
Yet items in a store are not always as uniform as a weighted scale assumes. Barcodes must match the weight in the database exactly to work effectively.
In addition, there are other fraud detection problems to address, such as an untrustworthy customer who simply doesn't scan an item or scans a cheaper, decoy item before putting the more expensive item in the weighted bagging area. These problems lead to an increase in losses for the retailer.
Unfortunately, most common fraud detection systems have their own flaws. For customers who are being trustworthy, rescans can negatively impact the customer experience because they add to the time required in store. And they oftentimes trigger a visit from an in-store associate during an otherwise contactless journey.
To address these challenges, GK aims to help retailers get to know their customers. Our self-scanning technology uses trust points. With GK, loyal repeat customers have an expedited self-checkout experience, while other customers might be more likely trigger an associate-manned rescan.
In this system, customers start neutral. When a customer commits a fraudulent offense or offenses, they'll be more likely to trigger a rescan.
Fraud detection is critical in every retail format. For grocery, self-checkout fraud is common, but for apparel retail, fraud often occurs on the returns side. This happens when a customer returns an item for a full refund, after having originally stolen the product or purchased it at a discounted rate. Whatever the use case, fraud detection is an integral part of loss prevention.
GK AIR's Fraud Detection Module takes fraud detection one step further. Our solution is adjustable with easy-to-define and manage evaluation guidelines for fraud detection.
Unlike other fixed, rule-based systems GK AIR does not require manual fine-tuning because it uses AI-driven self-learning tools, minimizing maintenance and maximizing accuracy.
Additional benefits of GK AIR's Fraud Detection Module include:
For retailers, fraud can be a source of significant loss. GK is determined to put that money back in your pocket, without complicating the checkout process for you or your shoppers.
To learn more visit our website or contact us today.
Your retail customers expect the best experience in your stores – so why would you risk delivering a mediocre visit at any customer touchpoint? To respond to ever-changing customer behaviors and expectations, retailers must trust the experts. Solution providers are equipped to handle the parts of the customer experience that rely on complex technology.
However, most solution providers specialize in a niche set of technologies, making them a subject matter expert in only one area of omnichannel or e-commerce retailing (like ordering, POS, or personalization). The provider with the "best-in-breed" omnichannel ordering system for retail might not sell anything related to online POS. Or that provider might not be the best choice for the diverse payment offerings retailers seek today.
Managing a different technology provider for each of these critical components can be complicated. But with composable commerce, retailers can reap the benefits of a world of choices.
Composable commerce is the ability to select the best-in-breed solution for each aspect of online retailing to optimize both the back- and front-end user experience. With this strategy, all the solutions involved in running a particular task work parallel to one another as microservices and communicate via APIs. Composable commerce uses a headless infrastructure--headless systems decouple the front- and back-end microservices to create maximum flexibility, allowing retailers to seamlessly integrate all solutions.
Composable commerce is not a new concept, but it's importance for retailers is growing exponentially as the speed of retail intensifies. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2023, businesses using composable commerce will outpace their competition by 80% in terms of new feature implementations.
Working with one solution provider for all your retailing needs is no longer practical. This approach greatly restricts growth for retailers, because it restricts them to only advance at the speed of that solution provider. Plus, it limits flexibility because interwoven solutions are more difficult to alter.
On the contrary, composable commerce maximizes agility and differentiation. With this approach, retailers can pivot quickly to ensure they are always offering a superior customer experience than their competitors.
The most important customer touchpoints for an online retailer are specific to each subindustry, but now, retailers don't have to choose which elements to perfect. Ranging from the most efficient checkout solution to the most personalized newsletter campaign, retailers using this strategy can greatly improve customer engagement, long-term shopper loyalty and overall profitability.
When building your best-in-breed composable commerce strategy, consider reaching out to GK. We provide a variety of world-renowned solutions to fit your composable commerce approach, including omnichannel POS solutions like TransAction+, inventory management tools, in-store fraud detection capabilities with GK AIR and more, all offered on GK's CLOUD4RETAIL platform.
GK is also partnered with SAP, opening more opportunities for retailers looking to pick and choose solutions that were designed to work well together.
You can contact GK here or visit our solution pages to learn more!
According to preliminary figures, revenue grew by 30.70 percent to 39.82 million euros. The reason for this increase was a continued strong demand for enhancements (extensions) of its cloud standard platforms as well as the conclusion of a very significant CLOUD4RETAIL contract.
The high attractiveness of the current solution portfolio and the company's excellent customer relationships are also once again underlined by two independent studies. In a survey commissioned by "Welt" news channel, for example, GK was ranked number 1 by respondents in terms of customer satisfaction (source: https://www.gk-software.com/de/unternehmen/kunden#nr1). In a recent study by an international consulting firm on store solutions for the global food retail industry, GK also achieved the best ranking ahead of all competitors.
As a result, EBIT reached 8.12 million euros in the first quarter, corresponding to an EBIT margin of 20.4 percent. The Management Board therefore confirms its forecast for the current financial year. For 2022, this forecast includes a further increase in sales in line with the previous year's development and an improvement in EBIT margin towards the medium-term target of 15 percent by the end of fiscal 2023.
Final Q1 results are expected to be released on May 27.
A recent Gallup poll shows that rising prices is the number one economic concern for Americans, with 17 percent of respondents calling inflation the "nation's most important problem." And these increases aren't expected to change any time soon, as supply chain issues and other economic factors keep driving costs higher.
With inflation on everyone's minds, consumers will become more price sensitive when shopping. According to RSR, the highest ranked business challenge for retailers is that "our customers have been more price sensitive than ever."
However, changing thousands of prices in a timely manner is a daunting task, especially when retailers need to adjust to shifting market conditions day by day. To confidently manage pricing, retailers can turn to an AI-driven, dynamic pricing solution in these inflationary times.
Before inflation rates rose, retailers already had to account for several factors when determining their pricing strategy, including competition, costs, SKU relationships, price zone relationships and more. Now, market changes are quickly shifting, resulting in high costs being passed down to the consumer.
Because of shopper price sensitivity, retailers must effectively manage cost increases and make strategic pricing decisions quickly. They also need to account for consumer behavior changes and make the right adjustments. Dynamic pricing enables retailers to deliver faster, more accurate pricing optimization based on available customer and market data.
Manually changing prices to meet market demands is costly and difficult to manage. This is especially true when dealing with pricing across channels and locations — there must be a cohesive omnichannel strategy.
According to RSR, 40% of leading retailers ("Winners") expressed a need for more automated price management, implying a desire for more speed, efficiency and data-driven business processes.
With AI-enabled dynamic pricing, retailers can optimize thousands of prices instantly and consistently, adjusting to inflation and other pricing factors. It also gives retailers the ability to provide relevant, demand-based prices daily whether online or in-store. From promotions to new product launches, retailers are equipped with the data to make the most optimal decision across all channels.
A pricing strategy that worked last year may not work in today's market. This means that retailers must monitor and become aware of any inefficiencies that can occur. They also may need to adjust and set optimal prices from anywhere at any time.
With dynamic pricing, retailers can boost revenue and margins by reducing markdowns, loss and overstock. At the same time, they can build a positive price image and improve loyalty with competitive, fair prices — even in the midst of market challenges.
Responding to inflation rates while keeping price-sensitive consumers in mind can be challenging. Even when rates go down, other market conditions will likely play a role in how retailers manage both their margins and price perceptions.
Retailers can prepare their pricing strategy for now and the future using dynamic pricing. Dynamic Pricing by GK provides faster, more accurate pricing optimization by using AI. With our solution, you can reduce the pricing workload, limit inconsistencies and decrease time wasted on manual tasks.
Our powerful machine learning algorithms instantly calculate optimal prices regardless of SKU count by comparing numerous evolving factors in volatile markets against various pricing strategies. With GK, you can always find the best price to achieve your goals.
Looking to optimize your prices in an inflationary market? Contact us today for a demo of our solution.
Raleigh, NC – May 18, 2022 – GK today announced that it has partnered with Rizing, the premier provider of SAP®consulting services, to offer retailers a fully integrated retail solution with SAP Omnichannel Point-of-Sale by GK and SAP® S/4HANA®. The partnership enables customers to deliver a superior omnichannel customer experience.
The SAP Omnichannel Point-of-Sale (POS) by GK offers an integrated POS solution for brick-and-mortar channels, available on premise or in the cloud. With the native integration to SAP S/4HANA and SAP CAR (Customer Activity Repository), it provides customers in several industries, including grocery, fashion, specialty, mass convenience and hospitality, a comprehensive solution for a unified global commerce strategy. The platform gives retailers several benefits, including:
“GK’s solution integrates with SAP Commerce Cloud to provide the complete omnichannel experience for shoppers, driving new buying behaviors and providing real-time inventory across their enterprise,” said Michael Jaszczyk, CEO, GK Americas. “We are excited to work with Rizing to help broaden our reach and scale of this solution, while supporting customers with the knowledge and expertise they need to successfully provide a superior omnichannel store experience.”
Rizing’s deep industry knowledge, product expertise and comprehensive approach provides valuable functional and technical support that optimizes business processes and helps retailers get the most value from their GK and SAP solutions. Rizing brings the whole package of SAP knowledge and skill to the table, offering a complete service portfolio that enables success for retail implementation programs.
“Rizing understands that today’s shoppers expect more than just efficient sales transactions — they want a personalized, consistent experience across all shopping channels,” said Brian Cederborg, Senior Vice President, Consumer Industries, Rizing. “By combining our knowledge of GK and skills in SAP with a deep understanding of our customers and their industries, we can provide a comprehensive service offering that creates value and achieves a true digital transformation for retailers. As a result, retailers can get maximum return on their investment and are able to drive great customer experiences.”
GK breaks down the barriers to unified commerce with its open CLOUD4RETAIL platform and a broad portfolio based on it, including OmniPOS for point of sale, mobile POS, mobile customer engagement and a full range of store/back-office solutions. The company is a recognized leader in omnichannel retail, offering a single, global software platform for all retail formats and touchpoints. Ten of the Top 50 retailers worldwide rely on GK, and GK is the fastest growing global POS provider in new installations over the last three years. For more information, visit www.gk-software.com.
It’s the experience that matters. Rizing professionals help your business succeed at any point in your SAP journey. Rizing’s objective is to empower your business to unlock the intelligent enterprise with cloud technologies from SAP, our Geospatial solutions, and our proprietary, cutting-edge products: Blueline, Lyra, Lifecycle Pricing, Carbon, Mercury, and Hydrogen available on the SAP Store. With real-life experiences in business areas like enterprise asset management, human capital management, and consumer industries, we know how to simplify your digital transformation so that your business can be everything you want it to be. From targeted small business needs to full-scale large enterprise resource planning solutions, our SAP-certified consultants are focused on your growth. For more information, please visit www.rizing.com.
In this series, we sit down with members of the GK team to learn more about their experience with the company.
My first job was in retail was at an office supply store – stocking shelves and delivering products. Then in college I worked for Chevron in the oil fields and later at Vons Grocery Co. (now part of Albertsons). I did several jobs in stores, including “Scan Coordinator,” which provided valuable background for my future career in POS.
After college, I was moved into the corporate offices for Vons Grocery Co. where I was responsible for hiring across 60 stores. At a new store opening in 1985 I met a representative from Datachecker, the POS provider for Vons. He recruited me, I accepted, and began my career in retail technology.
I started as a Systems Analyst in POS, and then gained experiences over the years in ERP, eCommerce, Loyalty Marketing, Supply Chain and more. My career path has brought me to a variety of companies including Triversity, SAP, Escalate/Blue Martini, NCR/Retalix and now GK.
I have loved working with all of my customers and have learned something from all of those experiences. But my first and biggest accomplishment at GK is with Hy-Vee . They’re an incredible retailer and partner, and this project has been a real difference-maker in GK’s US growth.
There are so many great things about GK. We have a fantastic portfolio of solutions on our open and modern platform – driving success for GK and our customers. Our founder and CEO had - and continues to have a great strategic vision. The recent acquisition of an AI company enhanced GK’s portfolio and positioned us well for the future and continued success.
My favorite memory is now! With our US entry about 6 years ago we started from scratch, and it’s been a great journey with ups and downs along the way. Now we’re hitting critical mass with customer rollouts and our sales pipeline has never been stronger. We have grown with great talent, and I am especially proud of our Sales and Pre-Sales team. The passion and teamwork is incredible and energizes me every day. With so much to celebrate, my favorite memory is now!
I enjoy going to the gym, skiing, and hiking in the Sierras. I also love spending time with my family, at my in-law’s farm, and watching college football, especially my Fresno State Bulldogs!
This is a tough question because I was actually a music minor in college! Over the last couple of years, I can’t seem to get enough of Chris Stapleton’s "Traveler" or “Long Run” by the Eagles.
I have to share a few for this question, including: Yosemite and Mammoth Lakes in the Sierras. Cambria, Hearst Castle and beach on the central coast of California. Newport Beach in southern California for warmer water. I also had an incredible family vacation to the Croatian Adriatic in 2016.
GK Software SE today published its annual report for the year 2021, in which the company's accelerating transition to the cloud business is clearly visible.
In parallel, GK’s revenue and earnings continue to grow strongly despite the ongoing global pandemic. For example, sales rose from 117.6 million euros to 130.8 million euros. This increase was achieved despite the fact that SaaS contracts are being concluded with a large number of new customers, where revenue is naturally deferred to the next years.
EBITDA grew by 40.4 percent to 26.8 million euros, corresponding to an EBITDA margin on sales of 20.5 percent. EBIT grew even more strongly by 64.3 percent, reaching 17.3 million euros (2020 = 10.5 million euros). This resulted in GK’s net profit more than doubling year-on-year to 13.3 million euros and earnings per share of 5.98 euros (weighted). As a result of the strong net profit and a capital increase in March 2021, the equity ratio rose from 44.0 percent to 58.0 percent.
In addition to continued strong business with existing customers, GK was able to attract 15 new contracts in its core business, seven of which were SaaS agreements. This significantly contributed to the result of 2021. The new customers in 2021 represent a total of up to 44,665 installations in 6,120 stores on four continents.
In 2021, the Company generated nearly two-thirds recurring (contracted) or repeatable (non-contracted, but based on experience highly probable) revenue. Revenues associated with the cloud business (subscription and cloud operational support) more than quadrupled from €5.3 million to €22.9 million in one year.
Based on the achieved results and trends of the first quarter of 2022, the Executive Board is remaining with its mid-term forecast until 2023, in which it expects sales of between €160 million and €175 million with an EBIT margin (on sales) of 15 percent. For 2022, the GK Software Group is expected to achieve a similar increase in revenue as in the fiscal year 2021 and a further slight improvement in EBIT towards achieving the mid-term target for 2023.
The annual report for the fiscal year 2021 is available at the following links:
German: https://investor.gk-software.com/de/veroeffentlichungen/financial-reports?task=download&cid=892
English: https://investor.gk-software.com/en/publications/financial-reports?task=download&cid=893
The Retail Innovators