October 10, 2016
After the 2015 holiday season wrapped, national retailers faced lower than anticipated revenue. After being adjusted for seasonality, in-store purchases increased three percent during the last two months of the year, that increase fell below both the forecasted figure of 3.7 percent and the previous year's increase of four percent. In contrast, online holiday sales increased nine percent during the same time-period.
These figures highlight the need for brick and mortar retail stores to remain competitive with online sellers. Product discounts can only go so far in closing that gap, and many national retailers are working to lower their overhead by becoming more efficient in their current processes. One underutilized method for national retailers to reduce overhead is by implementing Managed Print Services.
Managed Print Services for National Retailers
Managed Print Services for National RetailersWhen the goal is to compete with online sellers, Managed Print Services (MPS) provides real-time, instant benefits, producing ongoing opportunities to reduce overhead costs. Below, I’ve included four ways MPS benefits national retail businesses.
1. Reduce Personnel Costs
Personnel costs are responsible for 13 percent of retail business costs. When internal staff are distracted by tasks like managing their print devices, supplies and maintenance, they’re not focusing on their primary responsibility.
2. Keeps Expenses Predictable
With Managed Print Services, there’s a single, consistent monthly investment for maintaining your entire print environment - even with print environments spanning multiple geographic locations. This means no longer being surprised by repair and replacement invoices or having a highly variable category in your budget.
3. Provides Corporate Visibility
MPS provides a clear picture of overall print costs, as well as a breakdown of usage at the individual store level. Corporate is also notified about any out of the ordinary print volume.
4. Collects Data for Informed Decision-Making
Along with visibility comes the data to support the implementation of cost-saving measures. While national retailers share many similarities in their print needs, they also have many differences. MPS provides the data and analytics specific to your print network and provides recommendations for future improvements.
Managed Print Services for National Retailers
Brick and mortar retail stores are in direct competition with online retailers. Both areas experience significantly different operational and overhead costs, and it’s up to in-store retailers to make the necessary changes to stay competitive.
Managed Print Services provides the support and resources retailers need to know their cost-saving measures will be effective before implementation. Learn how Pawn America, one of our retail MPS customers, benefits from our services by reading our customer case study.
