In one sentence, what is your product/service?
Tulip Retail delivers a mobile platform for retail sales associates that gives them access to the information they need to deliver breakthrough customer service.
What problem(s) does it solve?
Today’s consumers are better informed about their purchasing decisions than ever, but sales associates in retail stores (where 90% of retail sales are closed) are not equipped to support these customers.
By giving sales associates technology that brings contextual knowledge like detailed product information and customer details to the sales floor, they are better able to offer personalized help to customers, deepening brand loyalty and closing more sales.
What are your immediate goals?
We are currently deploying our technology with select customers that are working to raise the bar of their in-store retail experience. We are working alongside them to ensure they achieve the expected value from our technology.
Next up, we plan to grow our team and sales/marketing reach to reach new customers more quickly.
What were the biggest challenges involved in building the tech or your team?
We’re fortunate that most of our team has worked together in a prior ecommerce retailer. Our challenge now is to continue building a product that sales associates love to use over time, that shows measurable results to their employers – the retailers.
How will the company make money?
Tulip Retail makes money by offering our service in a SaaS model which includes an upfront setup fee and monthly license to support and expand the platform.
We are deploying our technology with marquee retailers in their stores across North America.
Who is on your team?
We are led by Founder and CEO Ali Asaria, who previously founded Well.ca – one of the world’s biggest online retailers for health, baby and beauty products. The team has been working together for several years developing mobile and web technology in the retail space, including patents in the robotics and 3D visualization spaces.
Where would you like to be in one, three and five years’ time?
In the near-term, we are focused on taking our product to market. The retailers that see our solution immediately understand its value, so our goal is to show it more broadly.
The greater opportunity is the enablement of seamless experiences for all shoppers, regardless of how and where they prefer to shop. We see a future where retailers can serve you with a personal experience, making use of your prior relationship with them and a complete understanding of the products they carry in-store and online.
One day, all sales associates will be supported by mobile technology on the sales floor, and we will be the platform that services them.
Other than your own, what are your favourite websites / apps / tools?
Internally, we’ve taken a real liking to Slack for messaging, Google Apps for productivity and Canva for mocking up creative.
Our goal is to be the in-store retail platform of the future, so we’re watching for developments wherever they appear.
Websites we’re visiting regularly are RetailWire, Retail Online Integration, Retail Touchpoints, resources put out by the NRF, Business Insider Retail, The Guardian Technology in Retail and naturally, Econsultancy.
Visit us on our website or send us a message on Twitter to learn more.
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