Founded in 1991, Ashley Stewart is an American plus-size women’s clothing company and lifestyle brand. The brand has nearly 100 stores across the United States, in addition to a large ecommerce presence.
Over the past few years, the brand has embarked on a digital transformation, recognizing the need to be more agile and meet customers where they are, both online and in stores. To ensure the best omnichannel experience for customers, Ashley Stewart chose to partner with KWI for POS, in addition to implementation and support.
The decision to partner with KWI over other vendors came down to simplicity and breadth of services. The buying team knew that customers wanted to shop online and in stores and have options for fulfillment, including in-store pickup, curbside or shipping. Eileen Rizzo, Senior VP of IT at Ashley Stewart says, “Having a single platform for all of the capabilities Ashley Stewart needs has been critical for us. Getting all of our hardware, software, and support from one partner is miles better and easier than cobbling everything together ourselves.”
One offering that really resonated with the field leaders at Ashley Stewart was the native iOS application. With a consumerized look and feel, the buying team could immediately see how associates would quickly adopt and easily understand the platform. Eileen explains, “With employee turnover being as high as it is, it was critical for us to have something that would be easy for the stores to adopt.”
Implementation and rollout of KWI’s solution was as smooth as the team at Ashley Stewart imagined it would be. The stores know they have a partner ready to help them in every capacity, from training to day-to-day support. Given KWI’s long history in retail and its technology acumen, Eileen says, “I would recommend it to any retailer that is looking for a mobile solution.”
When Ashley Stewart removed the old bulky registers and cash drawers from the wrap stand, the stores took on a whole new, open and modern feel. With KWI’s mobile POS, associates can now provide better service than ever before. For example, if a customer can’t locate a product on the floor, an associate can easily check stock in another store or from the online business.
Based on her team’s experience with the platform, Eilleen sums up her thoughts, saying, “I think that KWI is the best solution for retailers.”