RETAIL POINT OF SALE TECHNOLOGY
Modernize retail stores with mobile and cloud-based technology
Retail point of sale technology has made remarkable progress in recent years. The point of sale (POS) solutions that are built with the small retail owner in mind have become smaller facsimiles of the same point of sale systems used by big-box retailers. But before you dive into an upgraded POS solution, there are some important facts that you will need to make an informed decision.
When considering a new POS system, ask yourself some key questions:
Do I need cloud-based technology or data storage?
Is mobility important?
How will my customers pay?
What can I do to get the most out of my data?
The answers to these questions will guide your decision when choosing your POS. These POS features help your business to meet customer expectations with modern technological solutions.
Data analytics and insights
Having a strong data analytics protocol in place is essential for modern small businesses looking to increase their reach with a new customer base. Without the insights provided by a strong data analytics solution, many businesses may find themselves missing out on vital markets that they could be tapping to make their practice thrive. Similarly, they may miss out on opportunities to get rid of business elements that are not doing their job.
Get more information on what items are selling as well as tertiary information like when the most sales are made in the day, which registers customers seem to prefer and preferred method of payment. Similarly, strong sales analytics also tell you what items in your inventory customers are ignoring.
This can help you prevent creating a backlog of unwanted items that sit in your storeroom.
Just as important as the customers who buy your products are the staff who make those sales possible. Staff analytics give you concrete data on employee sales records, attendance, and salary. On the other hand, they also tell you which of your staff may need more training or are otherwise underperforming.
This helps you keep your business running with the highest level of efficiency possible.
It’s important to understand what your customers are most interested in. This is important not only because it helps you decide how to stock your store, but customer histories also give you direction in terms of sending out promotional materials for things they have bought in the past.
This keeps your business relevant to existing customers, ensuring that they are always coming back for more.
Strong data analytics are arguably the most important piece of retail point of sale technology on the market today. Each is essential in its own right, however, all three combined provide you with a holistic view of your company. This allows you to make informed decisions and weigh options more effectively, maximizing profitability wherever possible.
Inventory management
Modern POS systems have intelligent and convenient inventory controls that can change the game for your small business. To use your POS data to build a new inventory strategy, it must have these functions:
Cloud-based data storage
Easy to read reports, including graphical representations of trends
The ability to create and access reports from anywhere
Monitoring metrics to alert you when something needs attention
These features are the baseline requirements for a top-level POS system, however, retail point of sale technology is quickly outpacing even these. With the new inventory strategies outlined below, you can take your business management expertise to the next level.
Par-level inventory
Standard inventory strategies focus on a “count-based” inventory system that utilizes manual counting of inventory items. The amount of time and manpower necessary to keep such a system running, however, is quickly making it outdated. Instead, industry leaders are turning to a “par-level” inventory strategy that uses automated protocols in the place of human effort.
These protocols are pre-set by the user, making them fully customizable and tailored to your business needs.
They allow you to quickly manage your inventory against your sales records, ensuring that you never order too much or too little, leaving your customers high and dry.
Most importantly, though, they keep your staff up and moving instead of being consumed with the granular work of inventory management.
Ingredient-level tracking
Not only does par-level inventory free up your employees, but ingredient-level tracking also automatically places a replacement order once a selected ingredient goes below a pre-set level. These numbers can differ on the ingredient and are individually set by the manager. Companies using this system can both ensure that they never run out of inventory and that they never have too much. The customization options inherent in ingredient-level tracking keep your business running smoothly and up to date.
Menu-level costing
Making your books even more efficient is menu level costing, which automatically calculates the cost of preparing an ingredient for your business. This is particularly helpful when setting levels for ingredient-level tracking so you can make sure that the amount being ordered is appropriate for its expected usage. Finally, you can use menu level costing to plan menus for upcoming special events or dishes to help determine cost vs. amount.
By switching over to modern cloud-based solutions for your inventory management needs, modern retail point of sale technology makes it easier for you to keep track of what’s important. These features make your POS more than just a means of handling transactions; instead, they become an integral part of your business structure.
Payment methods
It’s essential to keep your business up to date in terms of how customers pay you. In the same way that writing checks is less common now than used to be the case, you should center your payment structure with similar expectations about current payment options. This means that, above all, your payment methods should be adaptable to reflect a changing market landscape.
As current trends are concerned, however, the top-of-the-line retail point of sale technologies on the market today focus on three categories:
With remote businesses on an increasing rise in recent years, mobile capabilities have shot to the forefront of the POS business market. From food trucks to mobile vets, small businesses have been aching for a way to take their practice on the go, bringing it to where their customers are.
Mobile apps don’t just extend your reach, however; they also bring your information and payment methods into the cloud. This syncs your data automatically, making it easier to access later for analytical purposes.
Combining customer insights with mobile payment options, virtual terminals are perhaps the most exciting retail point of sale technology on the market today. Not only do they integrate seamlessly with mobile payment apps, but they also harbor customer information internally, allowing the use of apps like PayPal or other digital wallets.
This increases the reach of your practice to those who might not have a card available, despite having money to spend.
In the modern world, having a contactless payment option just makes sense. This technology allows you to use your POS system by simply tapping the customer’s phone against it or holding it directly over a sensor.
This automatically interacts with the digital wallet installed on the phone, allowing for a quick and easy payment done entirely without a card or the need to hand a card back and forth.
These three options together—mobile apps, virtual terminals, and contactless payments—give customers more ways to pay and even more reasons to come back. This keeps your business running smoothly and opens the door for even more customers who may not have made a purchase otherwise. More importantly, they fulfill the promise of any business—to make the buyer’s life as easy as possible.
Data storage options
Foundational to all these individual features is the aspect of moving your data storage to the cloud. Traditional cash registers have used manual tills which need to be counted at the end of the day by an employee. As card payments became more common, this data too was stored in the register itself. Modern point of sale technology, however, moves this payment data online where it can be accessed via the POS provider’s website.
Cloud storage offers several advantages over the traditional model:
Integration
Cloud models are inherently more adaptable, upgrading as new technology becomes available. By switching to the cloud, you will keep your POS current and open to new developments.
New payment methods
Being as adaptable as they are, cloud-based POS systems integrate with many more payment types than traditional models (cash, check, card, etc.).
Data security
By switching to the cloud, you maintain access to your sales records whenever or wherever you can log into a website. This ensures that your records will be available even if your manual records are destroyed.
Most importantly, however, cloud storage improves the customer experience. By moving your payments to the cloud, you and your customers can have a streamlined and safe experience within the POS.
Customer experience
Your customers and the experience they get when at your business can be a make it or break it for some patrons. So consider these features when choosing a POS for your business:
An online shopping website that is directly integrated into your
POS software
Virtual terminals
to expand
payment options
QR-code support
for contactless
interactions
Accurate pickup times
Adding POS software that gives you options is a solution that will change how you do business. These features give every customer the option to craft their individual experience with your brand and provide them with convenience and comfort throughout the process.
Maximize staff productivity with retail point of sale technology
The data analytics provided by a small business retail point of sale technology can be used to evaluate staff. Performance metrics can be built and monitored with these tools, offering you the chance to boost their productivity. Establishing incentives or identifying and/or retraining underperforming employees will all be backed by data, allowing you to put forward a powerful performance review process.
You can encourage productivity gains in commissioned staff as well by using the same data analytics. The improved accuracy of sales data combined with the data analysis capabilities of a cutting-edge POS platform gives you an automated view of sales performance. These also work to help you maintain a payroll process that is precise and fully transparent to your employees.
POS partners are your guiding light
Choosing the right POS solution for your retail business will require an in-depth comparison between your needs and the tools available to you. Focusing on the vitals is a great place to start but even better is engaging the engineers at talech to help you through the process.
The consultants at talech have developed in-depth knowledge about retail point of sale systems and small business options. With the ability to adapt our retail POS systems to a retailer of any size, you will be assured of getting only the technology you need to drive your business to the next level. Contact us to learn more about our retail POS solutions or to take part in a free demo.
Featured articles
HOW ONLINE FOOD DELIVERY WORKS
How online food delivery works with point of sale technology
Modern point-of-sale technology solutions can be leveraged through their ability to provide key, all-inclusive features that make your point of sale (POS) solution and internal business operations one and the same.
POINT OF SALE SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY
How point of sale system technology can boost your sales in the next 90 days
Here’s how point of sale system technology can boost revenues and broaden your brand’s reach.
CASHLESS PAYMENT TECHNOLOGY
Cashless payment companies are leading the way with the technology
In addition to keeping their clients happy, cashless payment companies realize many other benefits as their reliance on cash payments declines.
