Sense turns to cloud EPoS technology to close profit gaps and improve supporter engagement

KNOWSLEY, U.K. - Nov. 1, 2016 - PRLog -- Sense, which has 100 shops across the United Kingdom in addition to eBay and Amazon online stores, knew its previous retail system, which was used alongside paper based tasks to manage the stores, was becoming increasingly inefficient. With the knowledge that massive losses were being made, the charity decided to invest in a modern EPoS system to future-proof its retail operations.

With the evolution of multi-channel retail fuelled by new technology advances and changing consumer demands, Sense chose CharityStore from Cybertill to help it successfully achieve its goals of sealing profit gaps, closing silos, reducing admin' and increasing supporter and community engagement within its retail division.

After rolling out the solution in June 2016, Sense is already making significant headway in increasing profit margins, having doubled new goods margins to 74.7%, and increased second-hand goods margins from 45% to 77% with a more accurate view of stock using CharityStore. In addition to this, a better pricing structure has enabled the charity to increase its average transaction value from £4.16 to £4.24.

Previously, Sense managed Gift Aid claims separately to the store system, but the new software has enabled the charity to integrate this into its EPoS system.  All data is now stored and managed from one place, which helps to close silos between finance and retail. This has helped Sense to prompt more staff to push Gift Aid at the till point, resulting in a 31% rise in Gift Aided sales.

"We place a strong emphasis on partnering with our customers to ensure our system is aligned to their strategic goals, helping them successfully achieve a significant return on investment from CharityStore," comments Ian Tomlinson, CEO at Cybertill.

"We are pleased to have Sense on board.  The results they have seen so far are fantastic and we look forward to continuing to work with them as we further develop the CharityStore solution to assist retailers in long-term revenue growth."

The CharityStore retail system has also enabled Sense to unite the fundraising and retail divisions as well as improve supporter and community engagement.

Adrian Darkin, trading manager at Sense, explains: "The fundraising department is really excited about being able to tap into retail CRM and loyalty clubs to increase fundraising. Before, there was a massive gap of data capture and communication with community charity shoppers, but CharityStore is helping us to close it.

"There are many creative ways to use CharityStore to increase community engagement and, ultimately, sales. We are really looking to harness the technology CharityStore provides to ensure cross-organisation revenue streams are maximised."

Headquartered in London, Sense is a national charity that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind, and those with complex needs. Sense uses Cybertill's CharityStore platform, an intelligent cloud-based charity retail solution which includes modules for EPoS, Gift Aid, eBay, Ecommerce, Lottery, Loyalty, Event Management, Mail Order and Supply Chain.

About Cybertill Limited – www.retailstore.co.uk

Cybertill's flagship product RetailStore is a single intelligent cloud platform solution combining EPoS, ecommerce, mail order, supply chain and head-office software, all of which come together to deliver a real-time, cost-effective solution, allowing retailers to overcome the steep challenges presented by multi-channel selling and to deliver an omni-channel customer experience. The company's client base spans most sectors of speciality retail as well as mainstream retail. Charity retail is a particular strength, for which there is a tailored solution, CharityStore.