Aptos, a leader in unified commerce solutions, announced today that Halfords has recently extended its use of Aptos software to support its customer engagement and store operations strategies. Halfords is leveraging Aptos’ POS, CRM and Sales Audit applications, with each of these solutions working together to help Halfords deliver inspiring journeys to millions of customers each year.
Founded in 1892, Halfords is the UK’s leading provider of motoring and cycling products and services. Customers can shop at over 400 Halfords stores, 3 Performance Cycling stores (trading as Tredz and Giant), over 600 garages (trading as Halfords Autocentres, McConechy’s and National) and have access to more than 200 mobile service vans. Customers can also shop at halfords.com and tredz.co.uk for pick up at their local store or direct home delivery, as well as booking garage services online at halfords.com.
In recent years, Halfords has invested heavily to accelerate its digital transformation, with a key emphasis on unifying the customer experience across brick-and-mortar and online touchpoints.
“We view the customer journey in a very holistic way,” said Adam Gerrard, chief data & information officer at Halfords. “With the majority of people in the U.K. living in close proximity to a Halfords location, we leverage our store network to connect on a deeper level with customers through unrivalled expertise and services and an unbeatable range of products.
“We recognise the importance of taking a digital-first approach.” Gerrard continued, “We have made it easier than ever for people to find us online, and we’ve invested in high-performance websites. The greatest benefit is then linking up digital and store experiences in a way that is completely seamless for the customer. For example, a customer browsing online for a product can quickly and easily arrange for click and collect at their local store. We view Aptos as an omnichannel technology specialist, and we are pleased to continue our long-standing partnership with this firm.”
As part of the software renewal agreement, Halfords will upgrade to newer versions of Aptos’ POS, CRM and Sales Audit applications. With Aptos POS, Halfords has highly advanced core POS capabilities, offering its employees access to extensive product, inventory, pricing, customer and order information, ensuring that each customer interaction can be informed and efficient.
To further enhance and personalise the customer experience, Halfords runs Aptos CRM, integrated with its POS in its retail stores, which feeds into a group wide 360-degree view of customers. Aptos CRM plays a major part in Halfords’ successful loyalty programme, the Halfords Motoring Club, which has over 4 million members.
Gerrard said: “The Halfords Motoring Club is a key pillar of our business, offering our loyalty members greater value through exclusive benefits and personalised services. The Motoring Club also provides a platform to tightly connect our retail and services formats, facilitating cross-promotion to an engaged audience. Aptos’ POS and CRM solutions play an important role in the success and growth of our loyalty programme.”
In addition to Aptos’ POS and CRM solutions, Halfords leverages Aptos Sales Audit, a powerful back-office tool that validates and consolidates Halfords’ transaction data. With Aptos Sales Audit, Halfords ensures its downstream systems benefit from a single, verified version of the truth.
“Halfords continues to lead in its markets through innovation and its commitment to understanding and optimising shoppers’ omnichannel journeys,” said Zaki Hassan, general manager, EMEA and APAC, at Aptos. “We’re proud to support Halfords in its efforts to create a store environment that is highly experiential, inspirational and service-oriented.”
