Our Shopify POS Pro Webinar Roundup

If you’d asked us a year ago if there was anything special about the 12th April, we would have shrugged our shoulders, brewed a coffee and checked the calendar for an office birthday or a bank holiday. But this year? This year was different. 12th April 2021 became a huge date in the Kubix calendar: the date that all English retail shops could reopen after four long months of lockdown and get those point-of-sale systems up and running once more.

With shops now open for trading and the sound of tills ringing in people’s ears, the hustle and bustle of the high street is back. And of course, retail wouldn’t be retail without that all-important checkout. With POS on everyone’s minds, it was the perfect time for us to partner up with Shopify to announce their latest retail update: Shopify POS Pro. A highly anticipated launch, Shopify POS Pro boasts a whole range of new features including enhanced staff permissions, Click & Collect availability, automatic discounts and Buy In-Store, Ship to Customer. We were tasked with a very exciting challenge: to host a webinar to discuss and demonstrate these features for hundreds of retailers across the UK.

But why was Kubix asked to cover POS? Despite being a paperless agency and relying solely on our digital systems, our team knows just how important physical retail stores are for many of our clients for building those customer relationships. Over the years, we’ve set up dozens of retailers with Shopify POS in their stores and for big expos. This webinar was a chance for us to reconnect with old friends and show exactly how Shopify POS Pro transforms the retail experience for merchants and customers alike.

We had the topic - now it was time for the panellists. It was decided that our Operations Director Joseph, CEO Looay and Head of Comms Bethany would gather together and run through all the top features of Shopify POS Pro, whilst showcasing them all on our own iPad in real-time. We would cover six of the key updates, namely: staff permissions, the omnichannel experience, Click & Collect, Buy In-Store and Ship to Customer, automatic discounts and product recommendations.

Of course, no good webinar is complete without guest speakers, so we reached out to two of our oldest clients to come along and join in the conversation. We enlisted the help of Joe Chandler and Zak Rashid - both long-standing clients of our agency and savvy entrepreneurs who we knew would add valuable insight to retailers watching.

On the day of our webinar, the team got set up with the iPad demonstration and had our guest speakers waiting in the virtual wings. After a short introduction, Joseph ran through the latest staff permissions available through POS Pro: individual staff logins, and how to set different permission settings dependent on the staff member. We then discussed ‘omnichannel retail’ and the importance of merging channels to put your customer at the heart of your business.

Our Kubix panel was soon joined by the talented Joe Chandler at Chickidee, who spoke about his experience with going onto Shopify Plus and the benefits of having all of his store channels in one place. Chickidee are a UK-based brand who design, develop, source and manufacture their own home interiors. With multiple stores across the south-east of England and a thriving online shop, Chickidee has become the go-to for sustainable home accessories. Prior to working with Kubix, they struggled with cross-selling and always neglected their website in favour of retail stores. They were on the hunt for a seamless experience for both in-store and online when they found Shopify and the Kubix team to assist them.

Chickidee has enjoyed the benefits of Shopify POS Pro and its integrations for a while now. As both a wholesaler and selling direct to customers, Joe stated the importance of having inventory under control in order to build a brand. We asked him what he most enjoyed about Shopify POS Pro.

“Having everything in one place is easier to train staff and easier for me to get my head around!” Joe said. “Inventory is the most important reason to get everything onto one system.”

Once we’d heard from Joe, we swiftly moved on to a very important POS Pro feature: Click & Collect. One of the biggest benefits of Shopify POS Pro, merchants can now very easily offer Click & Collect on their online store and monitor all orders for pick-up at the touch of a button. And what happens when you reverse the process? Shopify thought of this too, releasing their own Buy In-Store, Ship to Customer button, which allows customers to pay for items and have them shipped directly to their door. Ideal for retailers with bulky stock or who split their stock between stores, this freedom for shoppers to choose how they receive their items is set to be a huge improvement for their retail experience.

After introducing this feature, it was the perfect time to bring in our second guest panellist Zak Rashid. When Zak tuned into our webinar, he popped onto the screen surrounded by his eclectic backdrop of surfboards, snow gear and skateboards as far as the eye could see. As one of our oldest Kubix clients, Reef Rash has stood proudly on the Cleethorpes seafront for years, selling activewear and watersports equipment to the thrill-seekers of North East Lincolnshire and beyond.

Prior to installing Shopify POS Pro, Zak had many problems with the sheer size of his stock. A lot of his sales are bulky, active equipment items that are tricky for customers to handle.

“The Buy In-Store, Ship to Customer feature of Shopify POS Pro is SO useful for a shop like us,” Zak said, gesturing behind him at the array of stock. “Our surfboards won’t fit in the back of a customer’s Fiat Punto!”

We couldn’t argue with him on that one.

Throughout the webinar, our panel was asked dozens of questions including configuring opening times for Click & Collect and how to edit the smart grid on the iPad itself. It was a testament to Shopify that so many viewers engaged and were keen to learn more. For us? It was a chance to touch base with old connections and show everyone something new.

After a full hour of discussions, we finished off our first Kubix webinar with final questions and a bit more of an insight to our agency and the relationships we build with our clients. In truly perfect timing, one of our clients Noele sent a message which simply read: “You guys are the best! I love having you working on my business.” We tried not to get too big-headed at that one - and then it was a wrap.

Above all, we’ve shown that Shopify POS Pro puts you in charge of your retail store like never before. The last twelve months has changed the way we do retail, but now that the stores are open once more it’s never been a better time to create that ultimate customer experience. This was the first webinar of many to come, and we’re excited to plan the next one.

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