For centuries, retail has been done in physical stores. Then, ecommerce platforms like Shopify enabled entrepreneurs to build digital native brands that could deliver to a customer’s door. But even as online retail continues to grow, offline retail is here to stay. The missing piece of the puzzle is an elegantly simple way to facilitate an offline store pickup or redemption for an online order.

At Wave Commerce, we are constantly working on the last mile of customer experience -- localized loyalty programs, locker and pickup options, and contactless offline redemption.

When thinking about the last mile of the online-to-offline (O2O) customer journey, the missing piece of the puzzle is the QR code. Since ecommerce has grown alongside smartphone adoption, many online shoppers have smartphones to present a unique QR code to be scanned the way print coupon and voucher barcodes are. Up until now, automatically generated unique QR codes for orders such as train tickets, dining vouchers, or spa vouchers must be custom-built. Our app, Wave Vouchers, helps any Shopify store generate unique QR codes for online orders that can be scanned offline for pickups or service redemptions.

Create QR Codes For Any Shopify Store Item

Working with established global and digital-native brands, we have learned a lot about attention to detail when delivering seamless customer experiences. Increasingly, we have had brands come to us imagining how an online store could be integrated into their existing business to give customers greater convenience. Could a Shopify store be used for pre-sales, exhibitions, efficient in-store pickups, or wine tastings? The answer had previously been yes, with customization.

The demand for an intuitive omnichannel and O2O customer journey came from many types of business, such as retail, hospitality, F&B, education, and services. That is why we have built Wave Vouchers -- a tool that helps any business close the gap for offline order fulfillment and a seamless O2O brand experience.

In light of the global pandemic, contactless order fulfillment and pickup has become more urgent than ever, as traditionally offline businesses have gone online to sell to shoppers in a safe way. Using QR codes helps businesses that still have offline operations take Covid-19 precautions while still offering a professional in-person service for their customers.

How Can E-Vouchers and QR Codes Fit Into Your Business?

Before we explain how to use the app, we want to introduce some quick O2O customer journeys that unique QR codes and e-vouchers can be used for. Based on our conversations with businesses, it turns out that they can be adapted for many cases. Some ways QR codes can be used include:

• Sales promotions such as free gifts to drive in-store foot traffic
• Offline events to book demos at exhibitions or to limit attendees to each time slot
• Offline experiences from one-off tastings to a semester of classes
• Online marketing campaigns that send customers to a hidden store item
• Referrals and gifts, such as a cash voucher for a club membership
• Loyalty programs that want to offer customers appreciation gifts

Improve Your O2O Conversions with Redemption Data

Conversions no longer happen in silos, but through a cohesive omnichannel strategy. Using e-vouchers will allow you to track which campaigns are driving onsite conversions. Your redemption data on the e-vouchers created and redeemed ties back to your O2O strategy. With these insights, you can better understand your customers’ interests and behaviour to optimize your operation and inventory management.

Offer Safe, Contactless Curbside or In-store Pickup

For many reasons, door-to-door delivery may not be an option. With many retail stores reopening after Covid-19 lockdowns, new measures help protect both staff and customers. In addition to having distancing measures, having a streamlined way for customers to present an order and your staff to confidently pre-pack, identify, fulfill the order helps differentiate your business.

Connect to Your Local Shoppers

More than ever, online shoppers are looking for local brands and neighbourhood businesses to support from the safety of their homes. Whether you are ready to reopen or not, you can set up a Shopify store and sell vouchers to be redeemed in the future at your offline locations. To sweeten the deal, you can use digital marketing and social media, and delight them with online-only specials.

How to Use Wave Vouchers

Wave Vouchers helps you generate your first e-voucher in three steps. After downloading the app, we will walk you through creating your first voucher. Below are the step-by-step instructions.

Once you have installed the app, go to your Shopify admin and click into the Wave Vouchers app. To create a voucher, you select a product from your Shopify store.

Once you have selected the product, you can confirm that you want to offer vouchers for this product. Now, your product is now selling a voucher!

Next, you follow our instructions to update the automatic Shopify shipping confirmation email. You copy the provided code into the specified location. This code helps us send the unique order QR code to the customer when they order one of your voucher items (free or paid).

You can also update your voucher settings in the Wave Vouchers admin console within the settings page.

After you have created the voucher option for your item, you can also make further updates directly from Shopify’s product admin page. You can set inventory limits for the number of available vouchers and update product information, such as settling cash voucher, price and redeemable value. For example, if it is a cash voucher, you can set the value, such as $500.

From the Wave Vouchers admin, you can see your issued QR code and also disable an issued QR code. In the scan section, you can scan the QR code when a customer comes to redeem their order. You can also manually enter in the order number as well.

What a Customer Sees

You can create QR code e-vouchers for some of your Shopify products or all of them. An online shopper sees all items in your store the exact same way, whether you have created QR code vouchers for them or not.

Wave Vouchers is only responsible for creating a QR code for an order, delivering it to the customer, and helping your store staff mark an order as redeemed. Below is an example of how a customer who has purchased three cash vouchers with a $500 value would proceed to checkout and pay. Once they have paid, they will receive the three unique QR codes for that cash e-vouchers in their shipping confirmation email.

We are excited to finally launch this for the Shopify merchant community and we are very eager to hear your feedback. Please try it out and you can always email us with any and all feedback.

Try Wave Vouchers for Free Now

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