Tag: POS

Benefits of an innovative POS software for your retail business

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ETP Blogpost - Benefits of Retail POS Software

 

A POS Software is a robust and flexible retail software that offers your customers a unified online-to-offline shopping experience. It seamlessly streamlines all back-end operations and customer-facing services by syncing them with one another resulting in a quality omnichannel retail solution. With the help of omnichannel POS solutions, retailers can connect with their customers quickly, track their buying history which serves as raw input for creating personalized marketing promotions, and offer smooth, consistent quality experiences across various retail channels such as online markets or marketplaces, physical stores, company websites, mobile apps, and many more.

Listed below, discover the benefits of investing in cutting-edge POS billing software for your retail business:

  1. Price Consistencies
    POS billing software is a boon for businesses having multiple outlets at different locations. The software ensures price consistencies by quickly updating product prices across various locations simultaneously, resulting in unified pricing across all store locations.
  2. Fewer Billing Errors
    Cash registers and manual billing processes result in multiple errors, which can create customer dissatisfaction. POS systems leave little room for error and can be automated to quickly rectify errors within a couple of clicks. Apart from this, they are easy to operate too.
  3. Improved Customer Experiences
    CRM-friendly POS solutions can collect and track customer preferences and buying history. The collected data plays a critical role in targeted marketing campaigns, allowing retailers to conveniently market specific products to selected individual customers or groups of customers resulting in improved customer experiences.
  4. Efficient Time Utilization
    A POS billing software is a straightforward system guaranteeing quick transactions and reducing customer waiting time. ETP’s Omni-Channel POS Software system can handle a high volume of transactions, is PCI PA-DSS certified ensuring data security of your customer’s payment information, and can be implemented across multiple countries, currencies, tax structures, and time zones. It also accepts multiple modes of payments, allows quick invoice printing, and leverages your company’s existing IT structure to reduce operating costs.
  5. Efficient Inventory Tracking
    Retailers receive a minute-by-minute inventory status via the retail POS software. With real-time inventory availability, retailers can quickly know the items that are out of stock as well as stop ordering items that do not sell, resulting in a swift stock reconciliation process that reduces the stock take lead time for updating the physical count of the store inventory and ensures your inventory is constantly replenished and updated. A forward-looking POS solution such as the ETP Store solution provides omni-channel order fulfilment for the modern retailer by providing features such as BOPIS/BORIS, Click & Collect, Click & Deliver, D2C, SFS, endless aisle, and anywhere returns or exchanges by means of which you can leverage your warehouse inventory as well as your virtual stock including your nearby store inventory for swiftly fulfilling omni-channel orders.
     
  6. Simple Invoicing, Faster Checkouts, and Secure Payments
    Point of Sale software allows retailers to record and group all invoices for purchases, sales, repairs, rentals, consignments, and others to be able to distinguish them easily during consolidation and audit. A typical retail invoice contains important information for the buyer such as the total value of the transaction, the number of goods purchased, the description of the goods, etc. If this information were to be provided manually or inadequately, performing a follow-up would be complex. A point of sale also helps make payments faster. The employee selects the products the consumer wants to buy and the system automatically calculates the applicable discounts and the effective price. The invoice can be sent by email or printed directly on the spot with a receipt printer. A PCI-DSS compliant POS that is suitably integrated with NFC payment devices enables frictionless or contactless payments that are both fast as well as secure. Thus, the point of sale makes it possible to issue invoices quickly, record purchase information, and collect payments speedily and securely. This enables faster checkouts in-store.
  7. Better Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty Management
    With a POS system, it’s easier to exceed consumers’ initial expectations by providing fast, accurate and efficient service. By combining these three components, customers will surely be more satisfied and will likely return to your store.With better satisfaction, customers will likely be loyal to your store. This can be a huge advantage for your business because it is often easier to keep current customers than to acquire new ones. By having a satisfied and loyal customer base, you can reduce the risk of losing customers and losing money.

 

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The Evolution of the POS System from Cash Registers to Cloud

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Omni channel Retail software | ETP group

“The Incorruptible Cashier” invented in 1879, was considered a landmark invention in the retail industry. Since then the evolution in the POS software has come on leaps and bounds, from the old, bulky cash registers to an elegant cloud-based software that’s compatible with your smartphone. Today we walk you through this 200-year-old transformation.

Back when the first Point of Sales system came out, it served as nothing more than a cash register which could record transactions. 

How it all began

So the story goes that a man named James Witty, a salon owner whilst on aboard a steamboat to Europe got intrigued by a machine which counted the number of times the ship’s propeller went round. 

He realized that the same concept could be used to count the cash at his salon. James and his brother John, a mechanic, made it their goal to design such a device and three prototypes later they had a working model. 

A few years later James sold his company and the patent of the cash register to “NRC” (National Cash Register) a company that still exists till today as NRC Corporation.

Welcoming the Millennium

Following “NRC”s take over, several progressive changes were made to the cash register. As a result in the early 1900’s several businesses started using it. The cash register solved a genuine problem for enterprises and made managing capital along with recording transactions effortless. Business owners would get cheated less because of the cash register and by the middle of the 1900s, every medium to large scale business had a cash register.

Cybernated

By the end of the 20th century, the retail industry saw the rise of electronic registers which were computerized. Along with bar codes and credit card terminals, these innovations kick-started a new era in the “Point of Sales” industry. 

mPos

“The Future of Mobile is the Future of Everything.”  Eventually, most software systems move to the phone and this move is considered the last step in the evolution of a product. 

The original cash register has made this step already. 

Today Point of Sales systems are integrable with a smartphone and this step in the evolution is integral as it preserves hardware costs.

It’s not just the hardware that has evolved over the years. Point of Sales Systems has moved from being simple cash registers to full-fledged retail management solutions. Modern Software Management Systems offer inventory reporting and customer management that save data on an external cloud. 

More than 144 million people will make online purchases in South East Asia in 2019. This amount is projected to reach 50% by 2024.  The retail market is still at its infancy stage and Point of Sales systems are going to have to handle a large volume of transactions as the industry picks up.

 

10 Things to look for while replacing your legacy retail systems

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Today’s retail consumer is smarter, tech-savvier, and extremely demanding than ever. Not only is she shopping across online and offline channels, but they also expect to have a unified, splendid experience as they switch between channels. They expect retailers to offer the choicest deals on the finest products at the best prices and to fulfill orders in the speediest and the most affordable manner possible. Phew! Those are some very high, almost back-breaking expectations that most retailers cannot meet using their legacy retail systems.

To fulfill the stringent demands of modern consumers, retailers need to equip their businesses with a new-age, robust retail solution that is scalable and dynamic enough to manage customers, inventory as well as valuable business data across multiple stores and touchpoints. It may seem like a difficult task at first; but with the right retail solutions replacing their conventional legacy systems, retailers can cakewalk themselves through this.

Also, it is something retailers will need to achieve if they wish to stay in business. Retailers need to bear in mind the following 10 things while replacing their legacy retail systems:

1. Start with the customer
Focus on who you are overhauling your retail management system for – the customer. Discern their expectations from an ideal shopping experience; and then choose a system with features that can help deliver that experience.

2. Solution mapping for business
Define the project/business objectives clearly. Map the deliverables of the new solution with the business needs and goals set. This will help in setting priorities right to successfully find and deploy the right solution for your business.

3. Make it a gradual process
Break down the process into batches if the prospect of launching a new retail management system across the entire operation seems overwhelming. For instance, rolling out the new system to a few stores before moving on to other locations allows the enterprise to ease into the new solution and keeps the project from becoming overwhelming.

4. Be wary of probable drawbacks
Before signing up for a shiny new system, think about how to transition users to the new solution. Is it easy to understand or would it be necessary to invest resources in training? Is it customizable? Would it be necessary to modify existing workflows? Can the new system integrate with other solutions that the business is already using? These are just some of the questions you should answer before deciding on a new system.

5. Get organized
Replacing the legacy retail management system needs a process that is best fit for your business. Set up a procedure that can keep the implementation on track.

6. Bring in the specialist
Have in-house experts research, evaluate, and deploy a new retail management system, or consult with third party experts who can assist in all phases of the project. Tap into their technical knowledge and expertise to make smarter decisions throughout the process.

7. Choose a system with robust inventory capabilities
Inventory is the building block of any retail business. It is also one of the most challenging aspects to manage at company-wide stock levels. The vast majority of multi-store retailers specifically look for cross-channel inventory management capabilities in their new POS to streamline inventory management.

8. Embrace new technology with open arms
Try to find the most forward looking innovations in retail technology that are right for the business.

9. List the “must haves”
Create a “must have” list of features and capabilities that are absolutely needed versus the “nice to haves,” to avoid ending up with a beast of a project.

10. Test, test, test
Thoroughly test the retail management system to ensure that it works right for your business.

How long should the process take? Wood advises retailers to allocate six weeks to for the search as “this is the average length of time companies are able to find a replacement software in.”

 http://www.capterra.com/point-of-sale-software/user-research

‘More Is Less’ – The New Retail Mantra!

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The retail industry has come a long way – from being a simple barter system to the modern day retail that is all about ‘omni-channel’. This journey has helped retail to evolve and match the technology trends to meet the expectations of economic growth of regions, boost the revenue for businesses and ensure availability of products for consumers. But, the more one gets, even more is desired and thus for retail today, ‘more is less’.

Not only does every retail business want a share of the revenue pie, but it also wants to grab a bigger share each time. To do this, businesses are looking for modern ways to improve their operations and business models, to strategize effectively and increase the chances of boosting profits and margins. Further, they also want to expand and scale-up their businesses by venturing into diverse geographies or by sourcing and in some cases manufacturing new products for retail. In recent times, new channels of retail such as e-commerce have become the next big thing and retailers who were quick to jump onto the bandwagon, reaped its benefits. Many more are still following suit. But, even e-commerce has not been enough – mobile commerce (m-commerce) and social commerce are the latest retail touch-points. Taking timely advantage of these, can provide a fast paced growth for the retailers. It also provides for an opening for new entrants looking to foray into the retail business thus leading to more competition and this can just keep snowballing further.

Along with the modern trends in retail, there are a host of forward-looking technologies that can be infused in to the business in order to enhance it further. One significant example would be, the way POS technology has evolved from regular billing counters to being CRM integrated and even to Mobile POS (m-POS). Innovations in technology has enabled retail software solution companies to integrate even more advanced features to the POS such as augmented reality. With all certainty, there is still more to come in the future.

ETP blog - More is less

Big Data analytics is another such important and revolutionary technology. From simple capturing of data to offering analyzing capabilities, progressing into predictive and intuitive analytics, technology has paved the way not only for retail, but also for other businesses to plan their next steps for growth. Big Data allows retailers to capture and analyze large volumes of data – of their customers, employees and inventory – to be able to understand and predict market trends. Further advancements in technology will surely add more capabilities to POS, Big Data analytics and other retail solutions.

Just like technology, there are other aspects where ‘More is Less” influences the retail businesses. A growing global population means more consumers, more demand and eventually, more business opportunity. The need to fulfil the rising demand leads to creation of multiple product variants, versions and alternatives, and also varied pricing. Retailers can create separate brands to target the different customer segments. Offers and promotions also help to attract more customers. With a focus on customer centricity, retailers also need to provide more information about their offerings. For the consumers, all of this means more avenues or channels from where they can buy or research about the product options, more choices and more discounts on the products of their choice.

‘More is less’ is definitely the new retail mantra of today! If retail businesses can get more done, they can certainly achieve more. The opportunities to stand-out are galore if, after evaluating all factors and employing the right technologies, from planning to execution, they can get it right in retail.

A Millennial Match Made In Retail Heaven!

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The term ‘Millennial Retail’ seems to gather popularity and confusion in equal parts. Suddenly one finds themselves floating neck deep in ‘quick-fix-home-grown’ millennial solutions which threaten to make necessary relevance rhetorical! But the right retail technology applied through the right business practices can help navigate these choppy waters and turn the tide to one’s advantage, harnessing the industry potential that lies within this world-wide phenomena.

Industry experts project one-third of the global retail revenue to be contributed through the millennial generation by Y2020. The good news is, this number will permanently be on an upward trend hereon. But the challenge lies in managing expectations.

Millennials expect quick service, this is often the key distinction between a sale and no sale situation. Apparently, patience is not a virtue to hold dearly in the new age. Retailers are beginning to understand that their in-store experience is only as good as the customer wait-time it reduces. Quick Billing and express counters ensure the instant gratification millennials seek. Your POS stations are battle grounds combating the biggest deterrent to your conversion ratios. This means there is no down-time and service continues even in offline mode.

ETP blog Millenial retail

A personalized shopping experience has the multi-fold effect possible almost exclusively through millennials. Since they are more open to share information about their preferences and often know exactly what they want, you populate your CRM database with more accurate data. This leads to better promotions and developing key value-add services that make your brand personable and closer to your customers. Also, help spread the love! 19 out 20 millennials (globally) own smartphones and are active on social media. That makes for a lot of first impressions, daily, through multiple networking and information sharing sites.

As a group, millennials favor engaging with companies and brands on social media and also prefer receiving hyper targeted content. With sales soaring as a result of positive social media influence, it is no wonder that most marketing budgets today are skewed towards building an omni-channel presence for their organization. So when your customers exit your store, they still carry your brand experience (quite literally) with them, on their smartphones, tablets and laptops. Within the store, the staff uses a similar mobility to lookup customer info, frequency-regency of purchase, buying history like preferred products and payment modes. They now hold the right information to help customers make better choices, deliver value through applicable promotions, up/cross-sell and conclude the transaction from anywhere in the store. Again saving their time and fortifying customer loyalty which induces and influences more people to try your products and services.

It is important to note that although the retail market is a dynamic arena, the millennial trend has pushed to permanence certain course correcting measures which were inevitable. They include striking a better balance between demand and supply, optimizing supply with better visibility and control over production, process and people to satisfy and supplement existing demand. A centralized data management system enables you to analyze better, faster and get that much closer to your yearly projections. The necessary operational overhaul, in reality, has led a more enlightened practice and pace of doing business. And you are sure to be the quickest to the draw, with those young guns at your side.

Also Read: 5 Questions – Before Investing In Retail Business Intelligence (BI)