Whatever many might think about the effect on the UK's high street retailers, 'destination shopping' offers the consumer a far greater choice and is perhaps the most convenient way for them to make major purchases, particularly for the home.

As might be expected, the DIY superstores have adapted to this trend. However, they are not alone. One independent retailer which has responded to this trend is PAGAZZI Lighting, a Glasgow-based home lighting specialist which was established in the city 22 years ago. In September 2002, the company moved onto a retail park where it now occupies 6,000ft² of retail space, as well as a warehouse. The new store effectively offers customers a one-stop-shop for all of their lighting requirements. There's a choice of 2,500 different stock lines, ranging from £3 up-lighters to £1,500 crystal chandeliers; a Catalogue Area where they can order from an even wider selection; a bespoke Fitting and Design Service; and even a Kids Play Area to entertain customers' children whilst they choose their lighting.

To support its expanding operation, PAGAZZI Lighting appointed Scotland-based ISI Systems (previously City-Gate) which delivered a complete front and back office solution to replace the company's paper-based system. At the point of sale, the system uses PayPoint software from Daventry-based APS, running on Epson's touchscreen Intelligent Registers (IRs). This integrates with a back office Pegasus Opera accounting system and a CRM software package which contains a database of PAGAZZI Lighting's 19,000 UK customers.

"We simply couldn't run an operation of this size without an automated system," said Managing Director, Alan Pagan. "We also needed something which was easy for staff to use, as many were newly recruited and had little or no experience of the large selection of lighting that we stock. The touchscreen terminals were ideal in this respect as they are so intuitive, and include features such as on-screen prompts, while the barcodes eliminate inputting errors and ensure sales transactions are handled efficiently."

"It's enabled us to offer our customers a more efficient service, even on busy Saturdays and Sundays when 50%-60% of the week's sales are made," he continued. "For example, the level of stock information available at the point of sale, means our shop floor staff can stay where they are needed rather than going back and forth to the warehouse to check availability."

"As far as the back office is concerned, the detailed audit trail attached to each sales transaction helps us to trace any missing information and reconcile our accounts. In addition, because comprehensive customer information is fed back into our CRM customer database, we can target promotional mailers and discount offers more effectively."