If someone were to perform a surprise inspection of your cupboards, closets, dressers, and work storage rooms, what would they discover in terms of unused swag? And how much more would be discovered if you had never thrown away these products? Survey data has found that 52% of corporate-branded apparel and gear is either thrown away or regifted, and this does not even account for the even higher numbers of hand-outs that are left untouched in homes and offices. Under the current-but-fading purchasing mentality, this trend will always persist because people don’t have the ability to shop for other people.
Thankfully, there is a new method for engaging, rewarding, and outfitting team members in a way that’s fun, personalized, and much more viral for a company’s brand. It leverages technology to streamline and outsource painstaking processes while eradicating the problematic sides of corporate gifting-such as wasted budgets and time, lack of personalization, harsh environmental impacts, and a lack of sustainable practices. Leading the way in this revolutionary procurement model is AXOMO.
AXOMO is a SaaS platform that companies use to host their online employee apparel stores. Their on-demand (and hybrid) fulfillment model gives managers both the flexibility and automation capabilities to easily support and wow their employees and clients alike, while making life easier for every department.
The industry of employee apparel stores is growing tremendously due to the benefits it provides to HR teams and the satisfaction it provides their employees. In the last 12 months alone, over 80,000 businesses have searched for tech solutions that would morph their rewards and gifting strategies into more of a self-service model. Instead of management trying to guess what individuals need or want, they can simply reward team members with dollars or points and allow them to shop from a wide assortment of company-approved items.
Below are some simple explanations to help clarify the role of an online employee apparel store, useful features you should look for, and a recap of pain points it can resolve for you and your employees.
What is an Online Employee Apparel Store?
An online employee apparel store is a website that allows employees to purchase apparel and swag branded with their workplace’s name or logo. With sites like AXOMO, HR teams, and site admins can send their employee’s credit to purchase branded products they actually want to use. An endless assortment of clothing, accessories, gadgets, and more can be branded and offered on the site so that all employees can find something they want to be gifted from their workplace. (No… Becky from finance is not going to use that bulk-branded mug she was gifted for her work anniversary.)
Key Features of an Online Employee Apparel Store
Product Catalog: An online employee apparel store should offer an extensive product catalog of branded items for admins to add to their store for employees to choose from. With a constantly updated product catalog, AXOMO offers a wide variety of items with an assortment of sizes, colors, and styles to cater to every employee’s personal taste.
Customizable Products: An essential part of an online employee apparel store is the ability to design and brand thousands of products with a company’s logo. AXOMO offers different branding options-including embroidery, laser engraving, direct-to-garment, heat transfer, and more-to print logos on just about every product out there, from coolers to polos to hammocks! With AXOMO, the possibilities are endless.
Order Management: HR teams can finally catch a breath with order management on online employee stores such as AXOMO. With automated ordering and shipping, employees can order their desired products from their desktop or smartphone, and get the items delivered directly to their doorstep! HR directors and other admins for AXOMO stores do not have to worry about collecting sizes or addresses but still have access to order history, shipment tracking, and store credit.
Reporting and Other Tools: AXOMO is an online employee swag store that gives administrators all of the information they could ever want, including order history, customer support, automated ordering, and more. With these different tools, employers can see what their employees order, who has outstanding credit, and the most popular ways their employees are choosing to represent their workplace.
Benefits for Employees
The Power of Choice- Gone are the days of bulk mugs and t-shirts being the go but dreaded-corporate gift. Instead, employees can choose branded products from their company that they’ll actually use in and out of the office. Employees can choose from thousands of items to find what will bring them the most use and satisfaction, rather than being given something that will hang out with the dust bunnies in the back of their closet.
Variety of Styles and Sizes- Not only does an online apparel employee store let employees choose what items they want; but they also can order items in the specific sizes, styles, and colors that suit them best. Rather than fighting for that last size Large t-shirt in a bulk pile, let them order their preferred size and style to be delivered directly to their door. Employees get to represent their company in a way that makes them feel appreciated, confident, and proud.
Increased Job Satisfaction- Employees feel much more appreciated and seen by their employers when they are given a say in corporate gifting. Rather than getting the same branded mouse pad that their office mates received, they can feel represented and recognized by getting to choose the products that they receive from their workplace.
Benefits for Employers
Simplified Employee Gifting– Employers can eliminate the hassle and stress of collecting sizes and distributing branded items to employees for corporate gifting. AXOMO allows for employees to effortlessly choose their company-branded gear in their size and style and order it straight to the doorstep. All that HR teams and other employers will need to do is keep up with all of the positive feedback they’ll receive from this effortless yet intentional corporate gifting strategy.
Automated Gifting Process- Employee recognition will never cause stress again for HR, marketing, and administrative teams with the automated processes an online apparel employee store offers. Employers can set up automated credit distribution to their employees for work anniversaries, birthdays, corporate events, and holidays, allowing for more sustainable and effective corporate gifting.
Cost-Effectiveness and Sustainability- Bulk products gifted to employees usually end up donated or even worse in landfills. Employers can be satisfied knowing that their employee gifting budgets are being utilized in the most cost-effective way when allowing each employee to choose what company-branded products they’ll use and love. There is money to be saved and waste to be prevented by not falling into the tasteless guessing game of bulk corporate gifting. Act more sustainably by keeping employee swag out of the environment and in homes being used and cherished.
Brand Awareness and Company Pride- Employers can begin to see their logo and company repped everywhere in the office as their employees have the power to choose personalized apparel and swag. Not only will employees have increased satisfaction in their workplace, but will have more brand awareness and appreciation as they receive products they actually want to represent their company in.
The digital world of online employee apparel stores is only growing, and it is time to hop onto the platform that allows for the greatest employee experience and satisfaction from their employers. Let AXOMO revamp your way of corporate gifting, and see how an online employee apparel store can benefit your company, too.
