Customer Service

UK retailer taps Oracle POS

Photo by istock.com

October 5, 2020

A leading U.K. retailer, McColl's, is enhancing and enriching the customer experience with the deployment of Oracle's Retail Xstore Point-of-Service.

The technology enabled the retailer to support the local community during the COVID-19 pandemic and help the most vulnerable in the local neighborhoods, according to a press release.

The retailer, which has 1,400 stores, is now able to process a weekly egift card, providing a free school meal, the government issues to parents and caregivers.

"Supporting our community is at the heart of our business," Karen Bird, operations director at McColl's, said in the release. "Never has this passion been tested more than during the current health crisis. With Oracle, we were able to pivot quickly to support new programs and protect our most vulnerable customers."

In the free food voucher program, a caregiver received an egift card on their phone. In the store, a QR barcode was scanned and validated at the POS and the balance of the card was updated for future shopping.

In just 11 days, Oracle Retail Consulting enabled McColl's to accept these egift cards in all stores.

McColl's has helped its customers redeem more than 30,000 egift cards since the program began.

"Working closely and quickly with McColl's, our consulting team was able to help them rise to the challenge when the community needed them most," James Kelly, regional director, Oracle Retail, said in the release. "Leveraging community knowledge and with the support of Oracle Retail, the chain had the agility to navigate new demands and uncharted waters to take care of their customers when they needed them most."