DIY Industry_hero_1200x200_updated

Do It Yourself (DIY)

Made for the weight
and width of DIY

In the DIY industry, distances within stores are often big. So are some of the articles – in fact, some articles may be so bulky or heavy that customers need to pick them up at specialized collection points. Also, articles may be customized in-store to suit individual customers’ needs before they’re checked out. For example, planks of wood may be cut to measure, or paints may be tinted to exact customer specifications, which requires in-store customization POS capabilities.

The diversity and size span of articles in the DIY industry, combined with a high number of sales to professionals, makes the DIY industry special. So does the requirement for staff to be able to advise customers on their DIY projects as part of the sales process, as well as the fact that some articles in the DIY industry may be potentially dangerous or harmful.

Leading DIY chains in Nordics, like Bauhaus and Jem & Fix, use 52ViKING DIY store POS solutions.

Key challenges in DIY

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High-value articles

Some articles in DIY stores, such as professional-grade power tools, may represent considerable value and require POS staff to print warranty certificates.

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Dangerous or harmful articles

Retailers in the DIY industry may be required by law to print safety data sheets or similar when selling certain articles. Potentially dangerous or harmful articles may require special handling in stores, including at POSs.

 

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Custom flexibility

Stores in the DIY industry often sell highly customized articles, such as articles cut to measure and tinted paints.

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Unified commerce

In many DIY chains, the POS solution works together with webshop systems, Click&Collect, etc., in unified commerce or omnichannel ecosystems, where prices, campaigns, and discounts must be the same across all channels.

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Stock checks

Because distances are large, articles may be bulky or heavy, and because customers often require a particular quantity of articles for their DIY projects, it’s important for staff as well as customers to know if stores’ articles are in stock. This need must typically be filled at the beginning of the customer journey with efficient stock management systems.

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B2B sales

Many DIY stores frequently handle sales to professionals, so they must be able to handle customer accounts, special pricing, VAT exemption, receipt/delivery note signing, etc. To a large degree, the DIY industry’s ability to maintain a close relationship with B2B and project customers corresponds to other industries’ loyalty schemes.

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Physically dispersed POSs

The great physical distances in many DIY stores, which may include garden centers, etc., mean that there’s a need for POSs beyond traditional exit checkout lines. That’s why some DIY stores require department-specific POS displays optimized for special types of sales in each department to supplement exit checkouts.

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What does it take to be successful in DIY?

In the DIY industry, where article barcodes can sometimes be difficult to scan, it’s common to want categorized PLU buttons in POS displays so staff can quickly and easily sell certain articles without the risk of having to do heavy lifts, etc.

Many stores in the DIY industry want to integrate cross-store stock lookups and/or eCommerce websites in POS displays, so staff can advise customers about alternative articles or collection points if required articles are not in sufficient stock in a particular store.

The fact that the DIY industry often sells customized articles also places demands on POS functionality and layouts: POS staff may need to be able to sell specific articles by dimensions such as length or weight, or staff may need to sell – and possibly later help customers reorder – articles that are produced to exact customer specifications, for example, based on specific paint tinting properties.

Fiftytwo meets the needs of the DIY industry

Non-exhaustive examples of how 52ViKING helps the DIY industry:

Mobile POS

With 52ViKING MPOS, DIY store staff can easily take POSs with them inside and outside stores. In addition to mere physical flexibility, 52ViKING MPOS devices can include webshop and stock lookup integrations just like ordinary POSs. MPOS devices typically have built-in scanners, cameras, calculators, measuring apps, etc. This flexibility supports POS for large item management.

Customized articles and unified commerce

Staff in DIY stores often deal with customized articles, and even identical articles can have different content. For example, planks of wood may have the same article number regardless of length. In such cases, 52ViKING lets staff easily sell the article as, for example, 10 planks of 2.70 meters. Staff simply register article quantity with the POS's multiply key, and the POS display then automatically asks for length.

52ViKING seamlessly integrates with 3rd-party article customization systems. For example, a DIY chain’s 52ViKING POS solution features lookup in the chain’s paint mixing service, so staff can quickly and easily sell and re-order custom-made tintings across stores.

Customers can access the same features on the chain’s website and app, and 52ViKING ensures that prices and discounts – including customer and project-specific ones – are always up to date across all the chain’s sales channels.

Outsize articles

 Some DIY chains sell so big or bulky articles that it's not practical for customers to bring them to a checkout to pay for them. Instead, customers typically pick a label from a display version of the article, pay for the article at a POS, and collect it at a collection point in a warehouse or similar. In such cases, 52ViKING can print a dispatch note that customers can use as proof of purchase when they collect the article.

Legally required printing

When customers purchase specific articles, you can easily set up 52ViKING to automatically handle the printing of mandatory safety data sheets on in-store A4 or Letter format printers.

POS design flexibility

With 52ViKING POS Designer, you can customize templates or design your very own POS, MPOS, and even SCO user interfaces to suit the needs of your stores and their various departments, creating highly customizable POS systems.

B2B and project-ready

52ViKING user interfaces support looking up customer projects and professional accounts for special pricing, VAT exemption, purchase history, etc., and you can integrate chain-wide stock searches, eCommerce websites, etc., directly into your POS touchpoints​ as required.

Deployment flexibility

52ViKING comes with full deployment flexibility and the scalability you need to perfectly fit the exact needs of your DIY chains and stores as they evolve, be it with SaaS, private cloud, or edge computing. This flexibility supports hardware store point-of-sale systems and custom POS systems.

Custom order processing

DIY stores often require specific customizations for customer orders. 52ViKING allows staff to manage and process custom orders efficiently, ensuring customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Retailers benefiting from the Fiftytwo POS solution

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Søren Brammer Riis
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My name is Søren Brammer Riis and I am the CCO of Fiftytwo.
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