In today’s world, the critical need to update and maintain the latest technology for your business arises from the simple reality that to succeed in the current business environment, your business must be able to compete not just locally, but also globally.

Firms have prioritized being able to operate globally while adhering to local compliance and human resource requirements to remain competitive. As a result, they must centralize all of their enhancement functions to save money, streamline procedures, and minimize redundancy to manage and coordinate global operations.

This is where  Oracle Retail Xstore Suite Release 21.0 comes in. Oracle Retail Xstore Suite 21.0 is designed with the unique and varied challenges that businesses are likely to experience while competing on a global scale in mind. This section addresses the functional enhancements included in Oracle Xstore office Suite, Release 21.0.

Pay by Link

What is Pay by Link?

Pay By Link tenders are now enabled by Xstore. Customers can tender for transactions remotely as a result of this. Pay By Link accepts a variety of different payment forms that are supported by the payment provider and the retailer. This tender type enables consumers who are not physically present in the store to purchase things, pay for them in full without providing credit card information. Pay by Link tender type can be used for the transactions either pick up (Local Inventory Orders) or have them shipped (Send Sales).

And How it works?

It is categorized into two types: “Customer Not Present” and “Customer Present”; how does it operate for the customer who is not present?

The customer is emailed a PBL link; to complete the payment, they can choose any payment method offered by the payment provider; the payment provider sends a notification to Xcenter with details of the payment made by the customer; Xstore periodically collects these payment details from Xcenter, and updates the payment details against the customer’s order/account. This is more secure, and it also gives the customer a wide range of payment alternatives.

Now for “Customer present”

This is a simple and beneficial invention; in this scenario where the customer is present, the customer can pick the items and chose Pay by Link tender and verify the transaction amount; the payment terminal displays a QR code showing the PBL link. Customers may now scan the QR code with their smartphone to be sent to the payment provider’s secure checkout webpage. They may choose their preferred payment method, and Xstore will complete the transaction.

Local Inventory Orders

Local Inventory Orders is a new extended transaction type in Xstore POS. This transaction type is for store associates who are in contact with customers but are not physically present in the shop and would want to purchase products from the store’s inventory and pick them up later.

How does it work?

This allows a customer to scan/click a PBL URL to tender the transaction on their own device. However, the customer is expected to pay for the purchase as soon as the link is delivered to the customer, and the transaction will take place over the phone with the salesperson. The order will be generated, and the payment will be processed.

The store associate selects the item(s) and marks them as reserved, but ONLY once payment is received. When a customer picks up the item(s) from the shop, the order is completed on Xstore POS and the item(s) are removed from the store’s inventory. If the customer decides that they do not want to pick up the item(s), the order is cancelled and the refund will be processed – everything will happen so quickly.

Xstore Mobile Server is now Container Ready

Xstore Mobile Server is now Container Ready – Containerization is an effective way for application deployment and management. Containerization enables developers to construct and deploy extensions more quickly and securely.  As a base deliverable, a docker file is given that the retailer may use to construct a containerized version of the Xstore Mobile server. It helps the retailer to configure the changes, and speed up their process easier.

Oracle Xstore
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Country Accelerator Enhancements

Country Accelerator Enhancements bridges the gap between single-region and multi-region deployments by optimising network routing for local and global user traffic.

Regulatory Support Enhancements for India, Italy, Portugal, France, and Poland have been completed in the Oracle Retail Xstore Suite v21.0 upgrade. Germany and Sweden are meeting legislative standards, and Portugal and Poland are supporting new tax-free regulations. It not only enables new integrations to the Global Blue and Planet Connected Validation APIs, but it also manages Paperless Tax-Free Invoices (eInvoices and eReceipts) and an external browser with Global Blue IC2. Moreover, the fiscal number sequence can be managed based on transaction types.

Enhanced Self-checkout mode

Self-checkout systems let customers scan items and pay for their purchases without the help of store employees.

What are the features of the new Release included?

The Supervisor Access menu now includes an Item Lookup search capability. Instead of hitting the Start button, customers can begin the transaction by scanning their first item. During a transaction, cashiers can adjust an item’s inaccurate pricing through the Supervisor Access menu. In the SCO, the system language may be readily adjusted on the screen to meet the shopper’s preferred language.

Engagement Activity

For whom is it designed? Specifically, fashion retailers can leverage this enhancement and can utilise the new Engagement Activity to track and collect pre-transaction behaviours such as which items are tried, cart abandonment and more.

How to use it?

When you click the Engagement Activity quick action button, you will be directed to the Customer Search capability. Where you can track the customer’s shopping journey from products added to the cart to sale. Even in Exit Engagement Activity – After adding products to the wish list, Xstore receives confirmation from Oracle Retail Customer Engagement that the items have been received. The Wish List tab in the Customer Maintenance area allows you to access the customer’s wish list. Then what strategise!

Important Note – Xstore must be integrated with Oracle Retail Customer Engagement (ORCE).

The bottom line

Pay by link, local inventory orders, Xstore mobile server is now container ready, country accelerator enhancements, enhanced self-checkout mode, engagement activity, support for Omnichannel retail customer experiences, and easier workflow are all enabled by the latest v21.0 updates to the Oracle Retail Xstore Suite Portfolio of solutions. Oracle’s reasoning behind this feature was that taking a global perspective will allow a firm to drive out financial complexity and focus on value-added activities, and the principles can then be applied to any level of operation or size of the enterprise. Oracle Retail Xstore Suite caters to customers, suppliers, management, and employees who expect easier access to their data, with trust in its consistency, quality, and timeliness with the proliferation of information available today.

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