Futura's web services help Howleys Toys level the playing field

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Futura's web services help Howleys Toys level the playing field.

Howleys Toys, a family business with over 30 years' retail knowledge and a member of the Toymaster buying group, has selected the Futura EPOS and retail management solution to improve core retail processes, including stock allocations between store and web, merchandise planning, customer data capture and reporting.

By integrating their online and in-store business in a single retail system, Howleys Toys, which has stores in Weymouth and Dorchester, will benefit from increased management control, accurate stock management and better all-round visibility. Implementing Futura's web services, due to be completed after Christmas, will also provide a robust seamless link with the Channel Advisor e-commerce platform to extend the retailer's footprint to multiple online channels including Amazon, eBay and more.

"Online shopping, E-commerce and social media present a huge opportunity for a business of our size, and it's also a chance to level the playing field," says Ian Moore, company director of Howleys Toys. "Moving to Futura is a big step up. We'll be replacing many manual procedures and believe the benefits we'll get in terms of stock management, allocations between store and web, seamless integration with Amazon and online marketplaces via the Channel Advisor platform, will be huge for a business of our size."

Web services effectively provide a two way link from the Futura retail management system and will enable Howleys Toys to monitor sales, capture customer data, send product information and manage stock all within one system - extending the retailer's reach to dozens of online channels.

Improved understanding will also be crucial to Howleys via data capture and customer analytics within Futura to simplify analysis and reporting, at the same time making it easier to spot trends, fine tune product ranges and develop more effective and targeted promotions.

With Futura just installed on 6 Aures touch screen tills, Howleys is already enjoying greater flexibility and the system has been quick to learn. "Replacing manual systems is already driving efficiencies and we believe having more time to think about the business will make us more effective, especially in terms of how we compete with discounters and significantly larger brands. Support has been fantastic and Futura's gift card solution and loyalty module could well be next on the agenda," concludes Ian Moore.