Efficient merchandising of products on online channels sells them better than simply placing them on shelves. It increases the visibility of the products on the web. So, whenever a consumer searches for a product online the merchandised product appears in the top list thereby attracting more engagement and increasing purchase rate.
According to a report, retail businesses have shown an average of 14% increase in sales by using AI-based retail merchandising tools. In this article, we will discuss the benefits and features of top merchandising tools in the business. But first, let’s understand what merchandising tools are.
Table of Contents
What are merchandising tools?
Merchandising tools help in the branding of products. These tools play a key role in sales conversion as they determine which items are to be prioritized. In any business, a merchandising tool can be used to improve customer experience and maintain a long-term relationship with them.
E-commerce merchandising tools generally form a part of supply chain management or SCM solutions in the business. They seamlessly integrate with the company’s operations and manage product catalogs and enterprise resource planning (ERP). These tools operate in real-time and control product recommendations, target promotions, product navigation, and customer behavior by using AI-based technologies.
What are the main features offered by top merchandising tools?
Following are the standard features of most merchandising software that define a business structure.
• Inventory management
Merchandising tools in businesses are used to maintain demand and supply balance. It is essential for stock optimization to maintain enough stock to meet available opportunities but also avoid wastage. This feature of the merchandising tools is used to track available products, interfacing requirements, inventory replenishment, RTV or return-to-vendor frequency, stock optimization, requirement forecasting, and purchase rate.
• Revenue management
Merchandising tools are also used to optimize product costs to maximize sales revenue. They analyze sales history and market trends to improve sales of a particular product.
• POS
POS represents the Point-of-Sale module of merchandising software. It is used to keep track of the transaction history for a particular product. It provides insights into the sales trend that can be used to optimize market strategies.
• Product promotion
Product promotion coupled with special offers is one of the best ways to increase customer engagement. Merchandising tools help create promotional banners that can be put in prime site locations to reach the maximum audience. The most common strategies used for product promotion are weekly specials, free shipping offers, loyalty programs, and volume discount campaigns.
• Register management
Top merchandising software uses the register management feature to keep track of all transactions. It can be used to register both online and in-store purchases.
• Master setup
Merchandising tools utilize a master setup to pre-define sales parameters. The submodules of this feature include vendor setup, unit setup, customer intelligence, sales location, campaign style, tax, schedule, employee info, sales currency, commission structure, and vendor specifications.
• Reviews and ratings
It is one of the most important features of merchandising tools. It has been reported that 89% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase. Reviews and ratings help businesses establish a reliable connection with the target audience. It has also been shown to improve sales revenue and profit.
• Product configuration
Merchandise tools allow users to build online brand image according to their requirements. Using this feature, products can be assigned with customizable attributes. Users can also define the way they want to present the product on-screen. For example, specifications that will be displayed for customers to see, product description, and product category and sub-category.
• Social media promotion
Social media presence has become important with the increased popularity of e-commerce platforms. Retail and e-commerce merchandising tools work well in integration with social media platforms. Users can leverage tweets, likes, and comments on their products to attract consumers. Most populations, especially millennials, tend to purchase products that are liked or recommended by their friends and peers.
What are the top 5 providers of merchandising tools?
Following are the top merchandising tools providers that can be used for different industries and verticals.
1. Oracle
Oracle merchandising tools enable omnichannel retail management by acting as a central source for all information. These allow users to reduce the time and cost required to perform day-to-day merchandising activities. Oracle merchandising tools track the complete lifecycle of a product including the launch, replenishment, evaluation, and inventory.
These tools are ideal for retail businesses. They offer a powerful and flexible business solution and can be used to provide data-driven insights to understand retail performance. These tools by Oracle are compatible with mobile devices. They utilize AI-based machine learning for descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics to optimize sales operation and revenue generation.
Key features
- User-friendly dashboard
- Foundation data management
- Enterprise inventory management
- Real-time retail management system
- Comprehensive cost tracking
- Seamless business integration
- In-built documentation and implementation tools
- Stock ledger
Relevant tools
Oracle CPQ
Smart software for automated configuration, pricing, and quotation.
Pricing
Subscription plans start at $240/month.
Oracle Expense Management Cloud
Cloud-based intuitive workforce management system with integrated advanced business solutions.
Pricing
Subscription plans start at $15/user/month.
Oracle CX Marketing
Cross-channel ROI tracking software with a multi-channel management system.
Pricing
Customized plans available. Request a quotation for pricing.
Oracle Engagement Cloud
Sales and services software with application in retail banking.
Pricing
The subscription package starts at $65/user/month with an option of a free trial.
Oracle Analytics Cloud
AI-based intelligence with augmented analytic tools.
Pricing
Customized plans with a free trial option.
2. IBM
IBM offers ‘Smart Merchandiser’ feature for online retail management. The IBM merchandising tools are compatible with both online and offline retail businesses. These combine a graphical interface with inventory management systems which can be used to optimize product catalogs. They offer a user-friendly UI with drag-and-drop functionality that is easy to use, helping increase retail productivity and boost sales revenue for businesses.
IBM’s merchandising tools provide a powerful social merchandising platform that can be used to structure brand image in retail. They also promote online product reviews to improve customer engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty.
Key features
- Social media integration
- Drag-and-drop functionality
- Insight-driven report functionality
- Predictive analytics
- Cloud-based solution
- Word cloud support
Relevant tools
IBM Sterling B2B Collaboration
It is an integrated platform that connects to the supplier ecosystem. It offers a supply-chain suite with real-time insights and end-to-end visibility for improved customer engagement, sales, and profit. It is one of the best e-commerce merchandising tools.
Pricing
A quotation has to be requested for pricing details.
IBM Watson Knowledge Catalog
It is a cloud-based tool with AI integration. It is a free merchandising software for businesses. It allows users to generate knowledge catalogs and data models for business analytics. It can also be used to track lineage and product scores for better merchandising decision-making.
Pricing
It offers a freemium plan for public use. In addition, paid plans start at $300/instance.
3. SAP
SAP offers customer-centric merchandising platforms with a unified marketing approach. Users can leverage sales data insight to improve merchandising profitability. These platforms also offer a personalized user experience with dynamic customer profiles that renders high conversion rates.
Integrated SAP solutions provide a centralized data management system with real-time insights. They provide in-built tools for forecasting product supply-demand ratio thereby facilitating inventory management. These tools also track online customer activity for predictive analytics and gain customer insights to optimize product performance.
Key features
- Merchandising intelligence
- In-built tools for product designing and development
- Master data management
- Pricing and promotion campaigns
- Unified marketing
- Cloud-based operation
- Omnichannel sales analytics
- Inventory data management
- Customer demand forecasting
Relevant tools
SAP Sales Cloud
A customer-centric sales engagement tool with AI-based product scoring, used for improving sales revenue. It is compatible with mobile devices and works well for both online and offline marketing businesses.
Pricing
You need to request a quotation to get pricing details.
SAP ERP
This software is used for optimizing business structure to increase operational efficiency. It offers in-built features for inventory management, sales management, market analytics, etc.
Pricing
Request a quotation for pricing details.
EasyEcom
SAP-integrated omnichannel inventory management tool. It is one of the top e-commerce merchandising tools that work well for businesses of all sizes.
Pricing
Request a quotation for pricing details. EasyEcom offers a free trial for all subscription plans.
SAP Extended Warehouse Management
As the name suggests, it is used to optimize warehouse operations. It offers value-added modern services to facilitate multinational trading and compliance.
Pricing
Request a quotation for pricing details.
4. Epicor
The Epicor merchandising tools are used to improve the performance and coordination of retail processes. They offer advanced features for retail businesses including inventory management, replenishment, distribution management, CPQ, and predictive analytics.
The Epicor tools have a centralized database that enables real-time performance assessment. They support open architecture components for market trends insights and supply-demand forecasting. These provide a consistent solution that automates and streamlines merchandising processes. This way, it seamlessly integrates with retail businesses.
Key features
- Scalable
- Predictive analytics
- Real-time inventory control
- Intuitive UI
Relevant tools
Epicor ERP
A robust analytics software focused on improving profitability. It provides, intuitive dashboard, market trackers, and data visualization tools to optimize operations in growing retail businesses.
Pricing
A quotation has to be requested for pricing details.
5. Agiliron
Agiliron offers a multi-channel commerce suite for sales management. It utilizes ERP and CRM integrations to streamline business operations. Agiliron module has wide application. It can seamlessly integrate with e-commerce, distribution, retail, wholesale, and reseller businesses.
Agiliron provides many benefits for sales and retail businesses including –
- One-point database for easy access
- Affordable platform for business solutions
- Integrated one-stop shop for all retail needs
- A 360 ° business view for real-time tracking and optimization
- A SaaS platform that can be used even on mobile devices
Key features
- Powerful integrations like Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, and PayPal
- Compatibility with B2C and B2B businesses
- API integration
- Customer management
- SalesForce Automation
- Sales cycle management
- Active customer support
- Built-in product catalog designing tool
- Inventory management
- Customizable dashboard
- Supply chain management
Relevant tools
Agiliron
Omni-channel commerce platform for product-based businesses like retail and e-commerce. It offers customizable templates for designing product catalogs. It is a cloud-based software that is compatible with mobile devices as well.
Pricing
Paid subscription plans start at $85/month with a free trial option.
Conclusion
Top merchandising tools offer a complete suite for driving sales in business. There are several e-commerce and retail merchandising tools available that seamlessly integrate with merchandising operations and improve business revenue.
Apart from the top 5 merchandising solution providers mentioned above, if you wish to explore more options, kindly visit us at SaaSworthy.
Also read:
