/EINPresswire.com/ -- NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jan 16, 2017) - NRF 2017 Big Show Booth #4525 - Claris Solutions Group, a global management consulting firm serving the retail industry for twenty years, has launched a new software platform that enables retailers to examine changing trends in non-selling in-store personnel as well as shopper traffic opportunities to bring new levels of efficiency to workforce management optimization.

The platform, an extension of Claris' OnTask™ suite of products, changes the traditional view of retail labor optimization by factoring in analyses of shopper traffic -- or opportunity -- and addressing changing trends resulting from in-store order fulfillment of on-line orders that has tipped the balance of selling and non-selling personnel in their stores.

"Most retailers are slow to realize that there is a cost associated with the quest for omnichannel sales being processed at the store level," said Dan Natale, partner of Claris Solutions. "The industry-wide growth of online orders being fulfilled in stores is driving retailers to employ excessing numbers of non-selling personnel for in-store order fulfillment and associated tasks like inventory management. While this trend may or may not Increase overall store payrolls, it is shifting large amounts of payroll away from revenue generating personnel."

Tony Chaplin, managing partner of Claris, explained that too many retailers estimate labor costs based on a percentage of sales, rather than labor standards analysis and optimization of tasks and sales opportunities driven by shopper traffic.

"So many retailers are upside down on their staffing, typically telling us they have a 30:70 percent ratio of non-selling to selling personnel; however, we commonly find through our data collection and observations that their non-selling staff account for closer to well over one half of their payroll costs. That upside down ratio results in failure to meet the needs of your customers and allows sales opportunities to walk out the door."

The Claris OnTask platform provides deep analyses of all non-selling tasks within the store and accurately charts the staffing requirements based on proven labor standards. The platform also examines shopper traffic patterns to identify peak and non-peak sales opportunities, and plots selling personnel requirements to best meet the needs of customers and maximize sales opportunities.

Wade Mosteller, Claris senior partner, elaborated that retailers applying the OnTask platform are consistently realizing overall labor savings or reallocation of 15 to 20 percent, and achieving consistent revenue growth of up to 7 percent.

"The shifting trend toward in-store fulfillment of online orders will continue to grow, which means retailers need to similarly adjust their thinking of how this impacts personnel requirements and costs," he said. "It is imperative that they carefully measure both traffic and in-store work requirements, sharply optimize their payroll spend on non-selling personnel, and shift most of their labor costs to revenue generating staff members."

Claris Solutions will showcase details of its OnTask platform at the NRF 2017 Big Show in New York January 15-17 in Booth #4525.

About Claris Solutions Group
Founded in 1998, Claris Solutions is a global management consulting firm specializing in all aspects of retail performance improvement and growth. The company offers a broad range of consulting services for retail executives in design, merchandising, distribution, operations, information technology and finance. Additional information is available at www.claris-solutions.com or by contacting dan@clarisretail.com.