The beginning of the year is the time for retailers to take stock once holiday customers finish up their purchases and returns. The after-Christmas sales capture the attention of two-thirds of shoppers, according to the National Retail Federation, but holiday shopping season becomes quieter once the New Year celebrations end. Many retailers take this time to examine their existing point of sale (POS) system and determine whether it is time to upgrade it and reap the benefits.
1. Grow With the Business
The Chicago Tribune reports that over half of small businesses fail within five years, and one major cause is an infrastructure that cannot support growth. A scalable POS system can handle as many stores and transactions as the retailer wants, effectively managing and keeping up with the growth of the business.
2. Upgrade During the Slow Season
A retailer’s busiest time of the year is the worst time to try to upgrade technology because there is not enough time for testing. However, waiting until after heavy shopping and sales periods are over allows the retailer to test a solution without disrupting the customer experience.
3. Real-time Inventory Updates
Having an up-to-date view of the inventory is useful for back-end inventory tracking and front-end customer information. Real-time access to inventory allows merchants to ensure stock levels for each store and the most popular items are always in stock. Accurate inventory information has also been found to influence 75 percent of shoppers positively to create a better shopping experience.
4. eReceipts and Mobile Payments
Modern POS software enables customer-friendly features such as eReceipts and mobile payment options. These features not only improve customer loyalty by creating a better in-store experience but also allow retailers to capitalize on technology to improve marketing efforts and the store’s bottom line
5. Meet Business Goals
Retailers spend less time on mundane tasks with a new POS system, as many duties are automated, such as auto distribution for dispersing merchandise, integrated employee management and eCommerce features. Sales staff and retail store managers can focus on their jobs instead of data entry or manual inventory management.
6. Centralized Sales Data
Retailers gain more insight and visibility into their sales across all sales points when using an updated POS. Retailers can make more accurate predictions on inventory popularity and sales. Business intelligence reports also allow merchants to conduct an array of reports, including inventory analysis, payable reports, advanced purchase order reporting and more.
7. Omnichannel Integration
Shoppers want access to products across mobile, desktop and in-store channels. Modern POS systems have omnichannel integration to create a consistent experience across all sales channels.
A new POS system brings many benefits to retailers, especially if they have held onto the same POS for several years. Overall, new features can improve the customer experience, make it easier to manage retail locations, and improve employee productivity.
