The barcode system is an integral part of retail, as it allows both offline (in-store) and eCommerce businesses to have all the information about a product in place.
Essentially, a barcode is a machine-readable code appearing on products as parallel lines and numbers. It can be scanned to get complete information about the product – like size, weight, colour, price, manufacturing date, expiry date, and location.
Retailers stock multiple products. So, each product requires an identifier, and the barcode is simply the best option. Indeed, barcodes have revolutionised retail by making businesses more productive and efficient.
Here are the top 9 reasons why retailers love barcodes:
1. Better Stock Tracking
Retailers must monitor their assets effectively. Keeping track of inventory allows them to predict demand and plan accordingly. The barcode system offers the most feasible option for stock tracking and efficiency. It reduces the company’s losses and improves productivity by leaps and bounds.
Retailers, with the use of barcodes, asset management software, and barcode scanners for their real-time operations, can easily detect stock-outs and minimise manual errors. In essence, barcodes help streamline data collection and asset tracking by providing insight into asset names, categories, manufacturing dates, expiry dates, and other relevant information. The resulting data at a retailer’s disposal further shows fast-moving products so that they can order popular items and avoid ordering slow-moving items to prevent wastage.
2. Increased Productivity & Reduced Errors
Today, the retail space is highly competitive. The only difference between a successful and an unsuccessful business lies in its productivity.
Retailers using barcodes often benefit from multiplied productivity. As barcodes accelerate the process of selling, they allow retailers to get access to information quickly.
Rather than entering the details manually, barcode help with swift information scanning and reduce the scope of manual errors. Human errors are, in fact, prevalent in a day-to-day workspace. We are prone to getting things wrong regularly. Either we are overworked, tired, underpaid, or sometimes just lethargic.
Hence, a barcode system is the best resort. As mentioned above, it gives retailers better control over their inventory and stock and ensures sales process management. As such, they remain certain that the entire channel is streamlined and accurate.
3. Enhanced Checkout Experience
Fast-paced modern retail has raised the benchmark of customer expectations. Today, customers expect a blazing-fast and hassle-free checkout experience — which in the grand scheme of things, is a bare minimum expectation.
Barcodes make the checkout process easier and faster by eradicating manual data entry. In addition, they make it easier to tally the final amount a customer must pay.
4. Realising Emerging Trends
In today’s information era, data and analytics help businesses make informed decisions. They give businesses a glimpse into the future and help them prepare for the unexpected – whether it’s a new trend, a surge/decline in demand, or even a rekindled demand for a discontinued product.
Retailers who use barcodes have all the relevant data at hand to ensure their stores are stocked effectively, efficiently, and with the right inventories. Building up on the inventory management and stock tracking point above, it is easy to have real-time insight into the demand trends, shifts in customer preferences, and even the need for an updated product catalogue.
Barcodes contain important product-related information like when a product is sold, how many of the same products are sold, how many are in stock, and related helpful information. All in all, such product-related information easily gives businesses real-time data to understand the market and make the most informed decisions.
5. Repricing Accuracy
Retail stores must update their pricing during discounts and sales. With barcodes, this process becomes relatively easier as it does not involve manual intervention. Barcodes allow retailers to change product pricing remotely. The change will reflect immediately for the impacted stock with accuracy.
Accurate repricing makes sure that customers are not charged incorrectly. It also ensures that businesses do not lose money owing to incomplete or inaccurate manual repricing.
6. Portability & Convenience
Barcode technology is portable and convenient. In large warehouses, pickers can choose lightweight and handheld barcode scanners and applications to capture data accurately. For example, with a portable handheld scanner device, one can seamlessly manage stock and product data and scan pricing at the point of sale. This, in turn, adds to cost-efficiency, flexibility, and convenience.
7. Efficient Shipment Tracking
With the profound impact of online shopping, retailers are compelled to create innovative ways to keep customers happy while they wait for products. As customers expect updated information on their purchases, it is crucial to keep them in the loop.
With barcode technology, the process becomes straightforward. Retailers can collaborate with the courier partner and provide accurate tracking information to consumers. With this cutting-edge technology, customers can now check the package’s location within seconds and receive SMS notifications.
8. Asset Security Tracking
For retailers, maintaining stock integrity is one of the primary objectives. Barcode scanners help with this objective by empowering retailers to identify discrepancies in stock and subsequently issue alerts to respective parties. And as elucidated above, the barcode system also helps in verifying inventory. It can be employed to instantly confirm the product availability and passively verify the product’s authenticity. After all, counterfeiting is an impending global challenge that warrants swift action. Not to mention the viability of barcodes in deterring in-house theft.
Notably, when used together with GPS asset management, it shows the GPS data from the last reported location of the asset. You can, thus, track the movement of the asset and retrieve the item.
9. Inexpensive & Versatile
Barcodes are exceptionally versatile. They can be affixed to a range of products, including paper, plastic, metal and even cloth. Furthermore, they are economical and cost-effective. Besides, complementary technologies like barcode scanners and POS software create a profitable combination.
Selecting the Right Barcode Scanner
The choice of the barcode scanner depends on the requirement of your business. Here are a few types that you can pursue:
- Fixed mount scanners (perfect for warehouses)
- Handheld scanners (for retail)
- Hands-free-on-counter (for stores)
- Healthcare scanners
- In-counter scanners
- Laser barcode scanners
- Mobile solutions
- Multi-panel scanners
- Rugged scanners
- Ultra-rugged scanners
Take your pick from the extensive list of QodeNext barcode scanners.
Final Word
Though barcodes are not a new concept, their appeal is growing exponentially. Their reliability, accuracy, and efficiency are enticing retailers across the spectrum to use them. Plus, with their use, retailers remain equipped to act on emerging trends, implement data analytics, and better serve their customer base. Most importantly, they are cost-effective and highly-versatile — a win-win for the retail industry.
Interested in learning more about barcodes and the imminent benefits they can bring to your business? Connect with experts at QodeNext today!
