Great Lakes Advocate

How POS systems are improving for retail businesses

How POS systems are improving for retail businesses
How POS systems are improving for retail businesses

This is sponsored content from Retail Express.

A Point of Sale system or POS eases up the payment processes using software and digital devices to record and update inventory with customer management features.

Retail stores benefit much from POS, making business operations more straightforward and faster than before.

But how do POS systems improve for retail businesses? What were the innovative features added in recent years, and what could be done further in order to enhance and improve it?

How do these improvements affect your retail business?

POS systems accept more flexible payment options

From the simple or basic cash register, POS systems have revolutionised and transformed, becoming more reliable and secure for retail businesses.

In the past, people could only pay through cash or credit card in retail stores. But times have changed, and point of sale solutions have brought innovation to POS systems, bringing more comfort and ease to retail shop owners and customers.

Customers can pay via PayPal, Bitcoin, and other payment modes.

Also, many POS systems can generate e-receipts (receipts sent via email or text message), which can help retail business owners save money and protect the environment by reducing the use of paper receipts.

One of the improvements in POS systems when it comes to payment processing is Facial Payment.

Face-based payments can replace credit cards and cash payments, wherein a customer can pay even without pulling out their wallet.

Facial-recognition software can detect the registered facial information of the customer. It triggers a picture that's matched to your profile picture on your credit card or PayPal account, and processes payments automatically.

Here are the other benefits of face-based payments:

  • Customers experience more personalised experience without the long wait times and lines.
  • Facial-recognition systems enable retailers to track repeat customers without gathering any personally identifiable information.
  • Face-based payments help drive marketing, and monitor and analyze purchase patterns.
  • Facial payment solutions promote customer loyalty because of effortless and more fun shopping experience.
  • Retail businesses can even set up self-ordering kiosks for faster and easier transactions.
How POS systems are improving for retail businesses
How POS systems are improving for retail businesses

No checkout POS made possible

Started by Amazon, the no checkout POS allows shoppers to go and enter into a store without checking out. Innovative POS can automatically generate payments the time you walk out the door.

Here's how it works:

  • Customers can take whatever product or item in a retail store and leave without going through a long checkout line.
  • Artificial intelligence and sensors calculate the amount of the products put on the cart. The price of the item that is picked and held by the shopper is automatically added to the shopper's account.
  • The minute a customer walks out the door, automatic payment is processed for the total amount of the products and charged through the customer's bank account.
  • The retail store gets the same information plus a copy of the stock-keeping unit or SKU number of the item for accounting and inventory management purposes.

Emergence of mobile POS apps

POS mobile apps are tools that individual sellers and retailers can install on mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, to accept credit card payments and track sales and inventory.

The most popular mobile POS apps include Square and Lightspeed.

Here are the best features of mobile POS apps:

  • Device Compatibility: Retail business owners can use devices to manage the mobile POS app, such as iPhones, iPads, and Android products.
  • Payment Processing Features: Many POS apps have built-in payment processing and easy integrations with major merchant services providers.
  • Business Management Features: The best POS systems have business management features to help retail businesses manage inventory, customers ( CRM ), employees, and more.
  • Ease of Use: POS apps are operated on touchscreens, which are simple and easy to use.

When choosing a mobile POS app, take into consideration the app costs, including start-up fees, monthly software fees, and hardware costs.

Retail store tablet virtual shopping

Innovative POS systems enhance customer experience without having to visit every retail store.

The items are kept on display, wherein a giant tablet is provided in the store window so that customers can go through the latest clothing collection of their favorite brand.

Customers would have easy access to colors, designs, sizes, and a wide array of choices on their fingertips without entering the store and going through rows and stacks of clothing. Also, the same tablet could be used to place orders and pay for them.

Conclusion

POS systems are now more innovative, reliable, secure, and faster, and retail businesses can take advantage of this technology.

It improves business operations by automatically updating inventory, calculating the total items purchased, and processing payments through facial recognition, no checkout shopping, and other new features that make shopping fun and easy.

This is sponsored content from Retail Express.