We talk to Dave Bruno, global director of retail industry insights with Aptos…

Can you tell us about what Aptos does?

Aptos develops and delivers unified commerce solutions for specialty softlines, hardlines and department store chains in North America, Europe, Asia and ANZ. Specifically, we develop point of sale, merchandising, order management, CRM, sales audit and analytics solutions. 

What makes the company different from others in the market?

Aptos’ approach to unified commerce is unique because we understand it is very difficult to deliver unified experiences without deep collaboration across the extended retail enterprise. Aptos One, our Cloud POS solution, delivers unified experiences through the store. Aptos One is informed and enriched by over 40 years of store systems leadership and supported by our enterprise solutions for order management and fulfilment, merchandising, inventory, sales audit and analytics. These solutions work seamlessly with Aptos One to ensure every store is fully capable of delivering the experiences, products and choices modern shoppers expect. The breadth and depth of both our solutions and our experience make us uniquely able to deliver unified and agile experiences while also maximising the productivity of the entire organisation.

What do your clients tell you is top of mind for them right now? 

As a technology professional, it’s almost impossible to speak to a retailer and not be asked about  Generative AI, and we expect that to be a hot topic for at least the next several months, perhaps even beyond the National Retail Federation conference in New York in January. However, there is much more to be excited about than just Gen AI. Retailers also ask us about unified commerce – what it means and how to achieve it – literally every day. They understand they have to find a way of bringing all their brand and shopping experiences together for their operations and their customers, but they have loads of questions about how best to do so. 

Others are asking about in-store and out-of-store mobility for associates. They recognise the conversion value of untethering associates from the cash wrap so that they can assist shoppers in the aisle, and they know how important it is that they are empowered with product, promotion, inventory and customer information. Many more are also now inquiring about the ability to make it easy for their stores to go (and sell) where customers gather. They want to bring their stores to places within the community where their target customers spend time. Whether it’s races, concerts, craft fairs or festivals, they know how selling outside the store can directly impact comp store sales results.

And, of course, they ask us about omnichannel execution and how the store can play a more integrated, seamless and profitable part in getting products to customers faster (and more profitably).

Does Aptos have any exciting plans for the next 12 months?

We are indeed excited about the tools we will be adding to Aptos One. Of particular note are the enhanced CRM tools we are embedding in Aptos One. Suggested selling and other clienteling capabilities will soon be available in the palm of every associate’s hand, integrated seamlessly into their POS. 

We’re also excited to see more customers adopt our newly reimagined store fulfilment app. ANZ consumers continue to expand their shopping journeys (according to Power Retail, 72 per cent of Australian consumers used click-and-collect services in 2023), and as they expand their journeys, they also tend to expand their spend. Pymnts reported that 40 per cent of Australian click-and-collect buyers purchased additional items while in the store to pick up their orders. Accordingly, we’ve expanded and enriched the tools we give store associates to optimise the many types of orders that include the store, including click-and-collect, ship-to-store and ship-from-store orders. 

As challenging as it can be to keep pace with consumer expectations, it really is an exciting time to be part of the retail industry.