Now that the holiday rush is over, it’s time to consider how to build your retail establishment or restaurant operation during the coming year. Developing and executing a strong, viable POS strategy is a highly effective way to position your establishment for growth. To foster success in the New Year, your 2015 POS strategy should call for:
Offering an expanded menu of payment options. Just as consumers want the merchandise they want, when and where they want it, they demand flexibility in the manner in which they pay for their purchases. In addition to accepting payments at a traditional checkout counter, consider setting up self-checkout kiosks and/or equipping employees with tablet POS or other mobile devices so that they may handle transactions anywhere in the store or, in the case of a restaurant, at the table. Some merchants have begun to include a cash payment option here in addition to the ability to pay for merchandise with a credit or debit card.
This component of your POS strategy might also stipulate that customers be allowed to make mobile payments from their own devices, using an app like PayPal Here or a mobile wallet like Google Wallet, Softcard (formerly ISIS), or Apple Pay.
Embracing rugged tablet POS technology. Adopting rugged tablet POS technology is a great way to expand your infrastructure of POS hardware. There are a variety of advantages to making rugged tablet POS technology a part of your POS strategy. With rugged tablets, store associates can perform a variety of functions, including accessing customers’ records for the purpose of suggestive selling, checking prices, and, as mentioned above, ringing up sales anywhere, anytime. This minimizes lines and maximizes shopper engagement and throughput, increasing customers’ perception of top-notch service and garnering their loyalty.
Rugged tablet technology also enables space savings and better use of valuable square footage. For some stores, this can mean stocking more inventory; for restaurants, adding a table or two.
Additionally, rugged tablet POS technology ensures that your investment will be hardy enough to withstand the drops, spills, and dust accumulations that happen in a retail or restaurant environment. Rugged tablets will consistently out perform and out last consumer-grade tablets in tough environments.
Maintaining an infrastructure of stationary POS terminals in addition to mobile units. Mobile POS technology should never replace stationary terminals. Instead, the two should be used in a dual configuration where they complement each other. Stationary terminals provide certain functionality that cannot be achieved with tablets. For example, they can double as digital signage at the POS.
Ensuring scalability. Any POS solution implemented as part of a POS strategy must be highly scalable, with the capability to expand with your business and its needs. Otherwise, you will be unable to truly maximize the return on your technology investment.
A scalable POS solution will easily accommodate additional users and workstations in existing stores, as well as in new locations as they open. Its configuration will allow you to easily integrate new capabilities and features over time and in light of changing business conditions, such as the addition of different payment options, on-site services, and software modules. Scalability also means the flexibility and capacity to store years and years of POS, customer, and other data for purposes that range from devising customer engagement campaigns to practicing effective inventory and order management.
Clearly, 2015 will be a year in which mobile payment technology and varied payment options become an important part of retailers and restaurant operators POS strategy. The sooner you begin to formulate such a strategy and ensure that these rank among its elements, the greater your operation’s potential to remain firmly in the black this year.
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