Benetton uses iPad to improve sales process
By Ben Sillitoe - 11:25AM - Tue 1st March 2011
Sales staff at fashion retailer Benetton are using Apple’s iPad to enhance their knowledge of the company’s product range and improve customer service.
The business’s sales agent network will use the tablet device to keep up to date with the emerging collections across Benetton’s womenswear, menswear and children’s clothing ranges, as well as the Sisley, Playlife and Undercolors brands sold in-store.
Information on the products is updated in real-time, meaning orders can be transmitted more quickly and accurately, while the system adds to the company’s eco-friendly credentials due to the subsequent reduction in paper and transport usage.
A statement from the retailer said: “Benetton’s iPad app is a further sign of the commitment and ability to innovate which have always been a hallmark of the group’s continuously updated business culture, today focused on the new media and digital tools that are rapidly changing business practices and society itself.”
Further developments for Benetton’s new app are planned, with a new programme for the United Colors of Benetton adult range already in the pipeline.
This move will involve the development of a 3D virtual shop, allowing sales staff virtual access to see how products are displayed in-store.
Earlier this year, retail hardware specialist EPOS Partners said the iPad could be an increasingly useful and versatile tool across the retail sector.
Paul Manning, a technology expert at the company, said the tablet could help minimise human error in stock management and be used as an innovative point of sale option, but he warned that companies risk losing sales if the implementation of these systems is focused on design rather than functionality.