Road Runner Sports adopts mobile POS to boost service & reach

Road Runner Sports will implement the Aptos ONE mobile-first point-of-sale (POS) platform across its more than 50 retail stores in the United States.

The footwear retailer, based in San Diego, offers athletic shoes, apparel, and fitness devices from numerous brands and is recognised for its Fit Finder shoe-fitting technology and customer membership programme. With the adoption of Aptos ONE, Road Runner Sports aims to increase the personalisation and efficiency of its customer service, while enhancing both in-store and online transaction capabilities.

Aptos ONE will operate alongside Road Runner Sports' current suite of Aptos software, including solutions for merchandising, order management, customer relationship management and sales audit, to support real-time inventory checks, streamlined ordering, connected customer profiles, and flexible purchasing options.

"At Road Runner Sports, we've redefined the traditional shoe buying experience – from our groundbreaking shoe-fitting technology to our comprehensive membership program to our curated assortment of top brands. We're always looking for ways to elevate our customers' journey with us, which led to our interest in Aptos ONE." Tom Compogiannis, Chief Financial Officer at Road Runner Sports, said. 

The POS platform runs on mobile devices, allowing store associates to provide a broader range of services from a single device. These features include mobile checkout, real-time inventory look-up, order placement for items not available in-store, customer profile and loyalty programme access, returns processing, and order status updates.

Compogiannis noted the potential impact on daily store operations: "With Aptos ONE, our Team Members will have everything they need to serve shoppers – whether that's mobile checkout, looking up real-time inventory and placing an order for an item not at that store, accessing customer profile and loyalty information, processing returns, checking order status and much more – all on a single device,"

"We are proud of the experience we offer in our stores today, and we believe that equipping our Team Members with this next-gen POS solution is going to make our store experience even better. With Aptos ONE, we can offer shoppers more personalised, streamlined and informed service – without ever leaving their side or asking them to wait in line. Aptos ONE has the power to transform customer and Team Member interactions," he continued:

An additional advantage of Aptos ONE's mobile and cloud-native design is the ability to facilitate transactions and customer engagement outside traditional retail locations. Road Runner Sports plans to use the system in pop-up shops at events, expos and other gatherings, which is seen as a significant opportunity to reach new customers and drive off-site sales.

"We want to interact with Road Runner Sports customers and potential customers wherever they are," Compogiannis said. "As a cloud-native, mobile-first solution, Aptos ONE makes it easy to conduct selling activities just about anywhere."

"Our store teams can go out and fully immerse themselves into their local communities, inspiring people to find their perfect shoe fit and live an active lifestyle. The potential for customer acquisition and sales transactions outside the store is endless; Aptos ONE's ability to enable this is one of the key reasons why we selected this platform." He added. 

The selection of Aptos ONE continues a relationship that has existed for over ten years. Compogiannis reflected on the ongoing partnership: "Road Runner Sports is a customer-centric company, and so is Aptos. Aptos listens to us, understands our needs, and develops solutions that address the needs of our business and our customers."

Jeremy Grunzweig, General Manager at Aptos, commented on the solution's development and the partnership's future. "As Tom mentioned, there are significant benefits to retailers in adopting mobile POS solutions, yet we've heard from many retailers that they weren't willing to sacrifice robust POS functionality for the sake of mobile. That is why we developed Aptos ONE with the best of both worlds – advanced enterprise-grade, omnichannel POS functionality with a mobile-first design.

"We're proud to be on the Aptos ONE journey with Road Runner Sports – a true leader in footwear retailing innovation," Grunzweig said. "We will be there every step of the way as Road Runner Sports explores the benefits of Aptos ONE to drive business growth, customer loyalty and associate satisfaction."