Barkers Menswear finalist in Online Retail Industry Awards

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Solutionists Ltd. Press Release
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14th September 2011

Barkers Menswear named the only New Zealand finalist in the Online Retail Industry Awards

Barkers Menswear (www.barkersonline.co.nz) has been named as the only New Zealand finalist in the Online Retail Industry Awards, commonly known as the ORIAs. Barkers has worked with ecommerce specialists Solutionists (www.solutionists.co.nz) since 2007 to deliver and enhance their website, which will be up against five Australian companies, including Dick Smith, in the Best Multichannel Retailer category. The ORIAs are the only awards in Australasia to recognise and reward excellence in ecommerce retailing. Solutionists has always been at the forefront of online retail in New Zealand, and having Barkers nominated as the only New Zealand finalist in the ORIAs shows they are competing at a global level as well.

The Barkers website is fully integrated with their point of sale system Infinity RMS. The integration automatically updates all product, stock and customer information from companywide branches onto the website – maximising time efficiency and ensuring the website contains a full, accurate and up-to-the minute product range. Online transactions flow back into the POS and stock levels update. James Gilbert of Solutionists says “Online customers expect to interact with a physical branch and the online store in the same way. Loyalty status, promotions, stock availability all need to be integrated seamlessly across all outlets. Integrating the webstore with the retailer’s point of sale software provides the ideal customer experience with no extra work for the retailer.”

Solutionists are retail integration experts, and have integrated e-retail websites with many systems including Infinity RMS, Island Pacific (SVI), Retail Pro, Counter Intelligence and Management 2000.

Barkers Online Manager Duncan Greive says “The website has consistently performed above expectations for us at Barkers. We have experienced four consecutive years of sales growth, to the point where the website turns over enough to match a medium-sized retail store. On our periodic VIP days, when our company can do a phenomenal amount of trade in 24 hours, the website is often the top performing store in our arsenal. Visits are up 5% over the previous year, and we have increased our average transaction value by 21% in a climate when many retailers are struggling to hold in this area.”

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