Business Insights: Data Analytics for Business Insights

Future-Proofing Retail: How Google Workspace Sets Retailers Up for Success

Written by Nancy Van Delist | Jan 17, 2024 8:29:58 PM

Google is rolling out a number of AI-driven capabilities in Google Workspace that have the potential to dramatically increase productivity, while boosting employee, and customer satisfaction.

Google Workspace is built for flexibility, giving retail workers a seamless experience with tools that allow them to work from anywhere, even in offline mode. It brings together all the resources that retail employees need to instantly share ideas, collaborate in real time, and join meetings from anywhere.

From an administrator’s point of view, Google’s cloud-based approach provides ease of management, security, privacy, and compliance. Many people are already familiar with Google products, and single sign-on combined with a familiar UX makes it easy to onboard and train employees. And, with endpoint management, IT can easily activate and deactivate devices, which is particularly useful for managing seasonal retail staff.

Now, Google Workspace is getting a revolutionary upgrade through Duet AI for Google Workspace, which embeds Generative AI (GenAI) across all Google Workspace apps.

Here are some of the reasons retail workers love using Google Workspace:

Enhanced customer interactions: Google Workspace, equipped with AI-driven applications, allows workers to easily access real-time customer data from any mobile device. With instant access to purchase history, preferences, and inquiries, they can provide personalized recommendations, ensuring every customer interaction leaves a lasting impression.

Built-in security: With a cloud-first, browser-based approach, Google Workspace is constantly updated so the team always has the most up-to-date version—no need for patching. It also offers built-in controls, encryption, and verification with a Zero Trust approach, so your endpoints are secure—whether employees are using company-provided or personal mobile devices. Thanks to Google’s global scale, retailers can also benefit from its built-in security for phishing, malware, ransomware, and supply chain attacks.

 

Easily accessible training and support: Only 32% of organizations use a learning management system, most relying instead on inefficient paper-based orientation materials. Google Workspace enables you to create and distribute up-to-date onboarding and training materials in real-time—all on a platform frontline workers may already be familiar with—ensuring employees have the answers and tools they need to feel connected to the organization and provide consistently exceptional customer service. Since 33% of frontline workers include training and skill development in their list of reasons to stay at a company, an effective training platform can also positively impact employee engagement and retention.

Empowering mobile workforces: Google Workspace’s mobile integration allows workers to access critical information on-the-go on their own mobile apps and across any device, using secure-by-design cloud-based technology. They can also use AI-enhanced applications to check product availability, process transactions, and provide exceptional service anytime, anywhere.

Boosting team collaboration: Google Workspace helps to foster teamwork and collaboration among workers with tools like shared calendars, real-time document editing, and video conferencing. These features empower them to collaborate seamlessly, enhance efficiency, and ensure a unified customer experience.

Optimized scheduling: With a shared calendar or chat app, workers have better visibility into one another’s schedules. AI-driven insights can help to inform scheduling, and teams can use AppSheet to build custom no-code apps that automatically alert them of shift changes via text or email. This makes it easier to schedule shift-based work while offering workers more flexibility and predictability.

If you’re looking to do more with Google Workspace and leverage the new capabilities of Duet AI, get in touch and see how our team can help you get to value faster.