Plantagen (Plantasjen) is a well-known chain of garden centers originating from Norway. It was founded in 1986 and quickly grew to become a prominent name in the gardening and plant retail industry. Today, they operate almost 130 stores across Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
From the start, Plantagen had a culture where their employees roam together with their customers and engage in discussions about plant advice, general and seasonal gardening guidance, and pest and disease management. This approach was the reason why Plantagen partnered with Softpay to provide their customers the ability to complete their purchases outside, on the spot, and without waiting in lines.
Limitations of traditional payment systems
- Inflexibility in Payment Processing Locations
Traditional POS systems are typically stationary terminals and fixed at checkout counters, which limits the flexibility of where payments can be processed within the store. This was problematic for businesses like Plantagen that have outdoor or large garden areas where customers might want to make purchases.
ㅤ - Customer Frustration Due to Extended Queues
During peak business hours, Plantagen can experience high volumes of customers making purchases. Traditional payment systems, being at a fixed place within the store, are not optimized for quickly processing large numbers of transactions, resulting in longer queues and customer frustration.
ㅤ - Limited Payment Options
On the other hand, there was a problem with limited payment options that could be done on the spot. Plantagen was able to offer Vipps in Norway and Swish in Sweden to their customers but no card payments.
Embracing the Mobile Workforce with Softpay
- With Softpay, Plantagen can now offer customers the convenience of making purchases wherever they are in the store. This is especially valuable in a garden center, or similar large-space retail stores, where customers might need assistance or want to make spontaneous purchases while exploring different sections. Using Softpay allowed Plantagen to adopt a more personalized approach to customer interactions by allowing staff to assist with payments anywhere in the store.
ㅤ - Hand in hand with the ability to embrace a mobile workforce, Plantagen experienced a significant reduction in queues and waiting times at checkout counters. Staff can now help customers in line make quick transactions using Softpay, reducing the congestion at traditional checkout counters.
ㅤ - In terms of payment options, Plantagen is now able to accept Visa and Mastercard cards on the garden center floor, along with their digital wallet counterparts.
“The flexibility and convenience of using existing phones and tablets as a point-of-sale terminal have been a game-changer. Softpay has allowed us to serve our customers seamlessly across our garden centers, from the checkout lanes to the large outdoor spaces, and provide a more engaging shopping experience for our customers.”
Odd Dyhring - Product owner at Plantagen (Plantasjen)
Secured against breakdowns
Plantagen also decided to use Softpay to solve another problem: as a backup to their regular payment terminals.
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This allows Plantajsen to have better security in the event of payment infrastructure breakdowns or cyber-attacks and keep their transaction volumes stable and uninterrupted. Softpay’s EmergencyPOS service can be set up to use a different payment acquirer than your main one. Learn more about EmergencyPOS here.
Summing up
Incorporating Softpay tap-to-pay solution to embrace a mobile workforce aligns with today's retail landscape, where convenience and flexibility play a vital role in customer satisfaction. It not only streamlined the purchasing process but also created opportunities for improved customer engagement for Plantagen and will increase revenue in the long run.
