Free scheduling software for private shopping.

Why use a scheduling app for private shopping

There are several reasons why private shopping can be a useful addition to your store. The hassle of organizing all the visits is time-consuming, but it should feel like a breeze for everyone involved. As soon as you have communicated the option to book personal shopping and you haven’t thought about the organization of it, the phone will ring all the time.

All your store employees will be answering emails and phone calls while they actually should help the customers who are in the shop. Or imagine when people try to reschedule their appointment. A scheduling app to offer private shopping appointments is a crucial addition.

When to use private shopping software

As a store manager, you may find scheduling software for a personal shopping experience helpful when you:

• Want to optimize your store opening hours: There are certain periods in the week when private shopping isn’t the optimal solution for your store. During weekends, holidays and other busy moments, people are strolling around the city and could potentially face your store for the first time. If they want to pay your store a visit, you don’t want to sell a harsh “no” and suggest that they come at a different time. When using private shopping software, you can set the availability of personal shopping time slots beforehand. Alternatively, you can also make use of a QR code that people scan and see when the next slot is available.
• Want to increase efficiency: Organizing and scheduling all the bookings for a private shopping experience can consume quite some time. Minimize spending your time on organizing personal shopping with tailor-made software.
• Want to lower the barrier of booking a private shopping experience: In a digital era, a phone call or sending an email can feel like too much hassle. With offering scheduling software, that barrier vanishes. Share the link to the scheduling software with your customers and they can book a timeslot for themselves. Or distribute business cards with a QR code that people can scan to book themselves a slot.

Benefits of using personal shopping software

There are multiple benefits of using private shopping software. The biggest advantage: saving time for you and your customers.

Imagine helping a customer with an item that they want to purchase. Behind the counter, you hear a phone ringing. It is one of your most loyal customers that want to set up a private shopping appointment. Since both of your schedules are pretty busy it can take up to 5 minutes trying to find a slot that works for your store and your customer. As soon as you hang up the phone, you realize that you left your actual customer in the store hanging for 5 minutes. This is not only a little awkward, but it can even cost you a sale.

Similar situations can be prevented by using software to accommodate private shopping. It can still be the case that the phone rings, but sending a link to your digital calendar is a time saver for everyone. You can also book these appointments on behalf of your customer. They’ll receive an automated email and can reschedule themselves if needed.

Apart from that, you can also notify loyal customers of a new collection arriving in your store. Let’s say you remember from a previous visit that a customer has been waiting for a certain item. Some time has passed and the item has arrived. From the client list that has been built up in your personal shopping software, you can quickly reach out to the customer and ask if they want to set up an appointment.

As a store owner, you probably have a webshop running as well. Though certain items need to be seen in person first. Your personal shopping software can offer you the ability to lure people toward your physical store and let them experience the items they might be interested in.

Other great benefits of working with a personal shopping system are:

• Reduced paperwork and phone calls
• Fewer scheduling errors
• Increased organization and efficiency.
• Improved customer care and satisfaction

What to think about when picking personal shopping software?

It all boils down to convenience. Is everything easy to use for you and your clients? If not, the temptation to just use a physical calendar and get in touch with clients the old-fashioned way is big. Therefore pick software that is easy to use for you and your customers.

Does that mean that you become fully reliant on the software? No, that should definitely not be the case. Perhaps you have some loyal customers that will just pop by unannounced or send a text to book a slot. That’s all fine.

Vev created software that has the ability to schedule appointments yourself and give you the space to provide the extra bit of personal service that your customers deserve.

Getting started with personal shopping software

You need to figure out which type of personal shopping software is right for you. Since there are plenty of choices, take some time to find the one that fits all your needs.

Vev created one that is free of charge, which might be a great place to start. It is tailor-made for private shopping experiences. The only thing that you need to do is create an account, fill in your information and share the link wherever you want to; your website, your newsletter, or a QR code that can be displayed in the store or printed out on business cards.

After signing up, take some time to familiarize yourself with all the features and capabilities. A great way to do just that is by creating a couple of test appointments to see how the system functions.