Customer Service

How to make retail execution software work where it really counts: On the sales floor

Photo: Adobe Stock

October 10, 2025 by Akash Gupta — CEO and Co-founder, GreyOrange

Even more than other retailers, apparel retailers need to know how to keep up with the times. They have to adjust to shifting consumer shopping behaviors, to say nothing of constantly evolving fashion cycles. Today's carpenter pants could be tomorrow's acid wash jeans.

But there's one thing that never changes: The need to keep customers coming back.

It's easy to look at the latest in-store retail execution technology — overhead and handheld RFID (item-level radio frequency identification) readers, workforce management apps, inventory analytics — and assume that labor savings are the big payoff. To be clear, the labor savings are considerable. Just to name one example, the ability to take inventory by pushing a button is a huge time and cost-saver. No more after-hours shifts counting items by hand.

But just as important — maybe more so — is how this technology helps retailers spend more time engaging customers and selling product. It does this by giving retailers a pinpoint-accurate snapshot of their inventory at any moment. It constantly monitors stock on the floor and prompts associates when something needs to be replenished. It even tells them where to find the replacement stock. If it's in the store, it's on the floor. That's a great customer experience.

Retailers that roll out retail execution software don't just streamline their spend — they deliver the type of shopping experiences that translate to real profits. With tariffs threatening to spike the costs of apparel and household products ahead of holiday shopping rushes, retailers need to leverage every square foot and every associate they have to drive revenue. Here's how to do it.

Give associates a smartphone and app and watch sales roll in

The first step is putting associates back in front of customers. That sounds obvious, but in too many stores, customer-facing staff spend huge portions of their shifts searching for products, restocking shelves, or looking for their next task. Even rolling out technology for something as simple as task allocation can help put associates in front of more customers. When associates can check their tablets and know exactly what needs to be done and where, they get to spend less time wandering around the back room and more time helping customers.

One omnichannel apparel retailer told me that their biggest ROI from retail execution software was the deceptively simple task of getting the right products back to the sales floor quickly. In their case, a best-selling sweater was consistently missing despite the floor looking full.

Without real-time inventory visibility, associates had no idea which color and size variants were sold out unless a customer asked. Now, their inventory management software flags when high-demand SKUs run low and delegates a task to replenish them from the back room. Keeping their bestsellers on the sales floor led to a more enjoyable customer experience — shoppers could easily find what they were looking for — and a measurable uptick in sales.

Inventory accuracy matters: You can't upsell if you can't find the product

Giving associates access to real-time inventory data can also help them offer the high-touch customer experiences that drive sales. If a customer asks for barrel jeans in light-wash denim, the associate shouldn't have to run to the backroom to check.

An overhead RFID system can show them the product's location within three to six feet of accuracy — like a GPS for your inventory. If it's in a fitting room, stockroom, or even another local store, the associate gets an immediate answer. They can even request that a colleague bring the product so they never have to leave the customer's side. Instead of running around the store, the associate stays engaged to save the sale.

One apparel retailer integrated overhead and handheld RFID readers and improved inventory accuracy from 95% to 98%. Each percentage point gained in accuracy translated to a corresponding lift in sales because associates misplaced fewer items and replenished discarded products from fitting rooms faster. Selling gets a whole lot easier when associates know exactly what's in stock and where it is.

Make try-ons less painful and more profitable with smart fitting rooms

Smart fitting rooms, which make use of real-time inventory data, present another example of how in-store retail technology helps store associates act fast and deliver. For the unfamiliar, smart fitting rooms consist of smart mirrors and RFID to detect the products brought into the fitting room and display different options for sizes, colors, or similar styles. The customer taps the mirror to request a replacement, the task pops up in an associate's tablet, and they run the product to the customer. When shoppers understand what sizes and colors are in stock and can try them on without much hassle, they're less likely to walk out empty-handed.

We've all had frustrating shopping experiences: We fall in love with something that doesn't quite fit, we hunt through the racks for the right size, we place misguided hope that they'll have it "in the back," all in vain. Smart fitting rooms can't magically produce a sold-out product, but they can make search and try-on less stressful (and they can direct customers to nearby stores where their coveted sold-out item is in stock).

If a customer wants linen pants, but his preferred light grey doesn't come in his size, he might consider buying them in khaki since he can browse inventory quickly and have them delivered to his fitting room. He can keep shopping without even putting his shoes back on.

Treat retail execution software like a revenue driver

When used strategically, retail execution software serves as a force multiplier on the sales floor, empowering associates to serve customers unburdened by logistics and equipped with accurate inventory data. Retailers that have adopted it aren't just running leaner stores. They're running more profitable ones.

About Akash Gupta

Akash Gupta is the CEO and Co-founder of Grey Orange, a hyper-intelligent warehouse orchestration and store inventory management software. Its AI-powered GreyMatter and gStore solutions continuously optimize automation, inventory and workforce management for some of the world’s largest retailers and 3PLs.

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