Home goods omnichannel case study

Client context

A home goods retailer operated six showrooms alongside an ecommerce store. Their systems were disconnected: retail ran on a legacy POS, ecommerce on a separate platform, and inventory was managed in a third system that struggled to keep all channels in sync.

The disconnect created customer experience problems. Customers could not buy online and pick up in-store. Online inventory was often inaccurate because store sales were not reflected in real time. Sales associates had no visibility of online browsing or purchase history when helping customers in showrooms.

Stock utilization was poor. Popular items sold out online while sitting in store inventory that was not available for web fulfillment. Returns created additional complexity when customers wanted to return online purchases in-store.

The challenge

The retailer needed a unified platform that could:

• Consolidate retail and ecommerce onto a single platform with shared inventory
• Enable ship-from-store to fulfill online orders from showroom inventory
• Implement click-and-collect (buy online, pick up in-store)
• Give sales associates visibility of customer history across channels
• Support cross-channel returns without friction
• Integrate with their ERP for centralized inventory management

The migration needed to happen without disrupting busy showrooms or the online store during trading hours.

What Starcodia delivered

Starcodia implemented a unified omnichannel platform on Shopify with POS across all retail locations.

Shopify POS deployment. All six showrooms were migrated to Shopify POS with hardware setup, staff training and cutover support. POS configuration included location-specific inventory, staff permissions and reporting by location.

Unified inventory. Inventory was consolidated in Shopify with accurate quantities by location. ERP integration synced inventory from the central system while location-level adjustments from sales and transfers updated in real time.

Ship-from-store. Online orders could now be fulfilled from showroom inventory when the central warehouse was out of stock. Orders routed to the nearest stocked location, and staff received picking lists on their POS devices.

Click-and-collect. Customers could choose in-store pickup at checkout. Orders were prepared at the selected location and customers received notifications when ready. Staff could see pending pickups in the POS.

Clienteling. Sales associates could look up customer profiles showing online and in-store purchase history. This supported better service when customers visited showrooms and enabled personalized follow-up.

Cross-channel returns. Returns could be processed at any location regardless of where the original purchase happened. Inventory was automatically updated and customer records reflected the return.

ERP integration. ERP integration ensured centralized inventory management while Shopify handled the customer-facing experience across channels.

Results

The unified platform improved operations and customer experience:

• 20% reduction in lost sales from stockouts. Ship-from-store unlocked inventory that was previously not available to online customers, reducing out-of-stock situations.
• 15% of online orders fulfilled from stores. Showroom inventory contributed to online fulfillment, improving delivery times for customers near showrooms.
• 25% uptake on click-and-collect. Within three months, a quarter of eligible orders chose in-store pickup, driving additional foot traffic to showrooms.
• Improved customer satisfaction. Unified customer data gave sales associates context for better service, reflected in improved post-visit survey scores.
• Simplified operations. Staff now work in one system rather than switching between legacy POS and other tools.

Services and capabilities demonstrated

• Retail POS and omnichannel
• Home and lifestyle expertise
• ERP integration
• Ship-from-store configuration
• Multi-location retail deployment

Discuss a similar project

If you operate retail alongside ecommerce and want to unify your channels on Shopify, Starcodia can share more details and discuss how the approach would apply to your business.