Stand Out With XPOS Caddie
By Mark Hopkins January 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic is unique in both its reach and significant duration. Over the last 10 months, golf retailers have had to muster incredible resilience, adapt quickly to changing situations and focus on things within their control.
The roll out of the new vaccine has provided a flickering light in the distance, but how will the retail landscape look after the pandemic? Writes Jonathan Wharrad, VP of Technomedia, in his article The Post-Covid Customer Experience: The Reawakening of Digital, “as always in troubled times, it is also a time when the creativity of retailers has never been more important. The forced integration of digital and the redesign of customer journeys are rapidly accelerating the development of new business models. The success we have seen of brands with an omnichannel strategy is a good example of this”.
Put in the context of the pro shop, an omnichannel approach simply means creating more points of contact with the customer in order to build better relationships and improve their experience with you.
To stand apart from other retailers, be they online or in-store, your brand must offer more, and it’s all in the experience.
The app for golfers who love their pro shop!
Since Lockdown #1, our talented tech teams have been working hard on the development of the XPOS Caddie app. Over the last 2 months, we’ve tested the app with golf retailers and their Members and have received fantastic feedback. We’ve been bowled over with the response and I’m just delighted that our retailers are almost as excited as we are! See one tester’s story below.
It’s positive news and we can now roll out XPOS Caddie from January 2021 to our customer base.
Designed to enable Members to get closer to their professional team and pro shop, XPOS Caddie app will help retailers increase revenue and sales, and develop more customer loyalty.
Any Member with an email address in your database who downloads the app will automatically be connected to your pro shop. They’ll be able to view images, prices and descriptions of stock in-store, and reserve any item for collection from the shop.
In addition, Members can check their account balance, and receive notifications directly from you about offers, product launches, events, or other pro shop news.
Here’s what one Member reported back:
“I loved the new Caddie app. It is easy to see what is available to buy and easy to use. It was simple to find and reserve my husband’s Christmas present of a range finder. Within minutes, I received an email from Josh in the pro shop to say the item was ready for collection. Loved it!!” - Ruth, Member, Edgbaston Golf Club
In the app’s My Pro Shop area, Members can also see profiles of the professional team, find out more about the staff, and contact you through the app. To read more about XPOS Caddie, or to register your pro shop, visit our web page here.
Competing with the Retail Giants
XPOS Caddie was the brainchild of Stephen Cain, the Head of Development at XPOS. “The app is about helping pro shops deliver the same experience as the larger retailers, but without the huge investment, or long implementation times, that you’d normally need to offer a service like this” says Stephen.
“We’ve taken away the biggest issue that most golf Professionals have when dipping into omnichannel: Time. Thanks to XCODES, XPOS Caddie automatically populates with all products that are currently in stock in your shop’s XPOS system”, he continues, “That includes web descriptions and images, leaving the retailer to just add any products specific to the shop, such as logo’d clothing”.
"To stand apart from other retailers, be they online or in-store, your brand must offer more, and it’s all in the experience".
With exciting new features, such as lesson bookings, already in the pipeline, this is just the start of an exciting new journey for XPOS Caddie and its retailers.
XPOS Caddie User Stories
Joshua Harvey, Retail Manager, Edgbaston Golf Club
“The XPOS Caddie App has been great for our business, and really well received by Members. Users have found it really useful to browse our stock from home, with ordering made very easy, and we had 3 orders within the first couple of days!
Our Members find the accounts page useful, as they can manage their account from home and see a statement. This also prompted a few of them to settle their outstanding balances, which was great!
It’s really easy to upload stock onto the app, which happens automatically via XCODES and you can add extra products using the online Hub, where you can select which products you want to be available through the app.
The XPOS Caddie is going to be a really great tool, adding a different dimension to our business.”
David Twizell, Head PGA Professional, Whitley Bay Golf Club
"I could see the benefits of XPOS Caddie immediately. Having the app means my Members and customers have me in their pocket and my shop is now open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I’ve even made sales in my sleep!
At first, I thought the Reserve & Collect feature would be the main attraction for Members but they also enjoy checking their account balance and looking back on what they’ve previously bought.
When I launched the app on my social channels, quite a few people contacted me for custom fit sessions as well. The app brings me to the front of people’s minds.
Setting up the XPOS Caddie app was easy. Most of my products auto-populated and it didn’t take me long to learn how to upload other items manually. In fact, the other guys in the team are trained on the app so if we stock an item into the shop, we just check make sure that Members can see it in the app as well".
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To register your pro shop for XPOS Caddie visit the web page and return the sign-up form here and we'll send out your Getting Started info straight away. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me mark.hopkins@crossovertec.co.uk or Jules Appleby jules.appleby@crossovertec.co.uk