PoS IN RETAIL
For retailers in a hugely competitive market – competing not just against other physical shops but online retailers – the shopping experience can make a difference in gaining sales or not, and point of sale (PoS) systems have an important role to play. Nick Harrison, sales director at Star Micronics EMEA, says that PoS systems are increasingly popular. “Moving from a traditional setup is taking on greater importance,” he adds. “Depending on the store and items sold, mobile PoS can allow retailers to provide enhanced customer service,” he says. “For instance, in a large retail store where an item is typically sold on a 1-2-1 basis, having mobile PoS and being able to serve the customer anywhere in the store can provide a more tailored approach. With technology built for retail, options are there to cover all bases. The three key areas in PoS now are fixed PoS/mobile/ kiosk and most areas suit at least two.” Peter Holland, regional sales manager, Northern Europe at Jarltech, adds that mobile PoS systems enjoy continued growth. “Mobile PoS systems saw strong growth over the last decade, particularly during and immediately after the pandemic, when retailers needed flexibility, queue busting and contactless payments,” he says. But he also notes that the market is shifting. “Today, many retailers are reassessing the true operational value of mobile PoS against rising labour costs and shrinking margins,” he adds. “In practice, mobile devices still require staff to operate them, which limits the long- term cost savings retailers can achieve. “The bigger transformation in retail is now happening around self-service technology — particularly kiosks and self-checkout systems. These solutions allow retailers to reduce dependency on staffing, improve throughput and maintain service levels despite recruitment challenges and wage inflation.
“So while mobile PoS still has a place in assisted selling and hospitality-style environments, investment momentum is increasingly moving toward automation- led retail experiences rather than staff- operated mobile checkout systems.” Retail priorities This shift is reflected in the criteria retail customers have when choosing a PoS system. “Retailers today are prioritising efficiency, automation and cost control above almost everything else,” says Peter. “Historically, retailers focused heavily on mobility, customer engagement and flexible checkout experiences. Now, the conversation is much more commercially driven. Retailers want systems that can: reduce staffing pressure, shorten queues, increase transaction speed, minimise training requirements and improve operational resilience. “That is why self-checkout, kiosk ordering and hybrid unattended retail models are seeing significant growth.” Peter adds that retailers are also demanding: 🚀 Easy deployment and management 🚀 Cloud-based control 🚀 Reliable integration 🚀 Strong analytics 🚀 Long lifecycle hardware to protect investment. “Ultimately, the priority has shifted from simply enabling transactions to optimising store operations and reducing the cost-to- serve each customer,” Peter adds. Nick says customers are also seeking modular, flexible PoS systems that can expand at busy periods or be repurposed seasonally with additional pop-up checkouts etc is key. “Hardware that is multi-use and multi-connectivity with the same products set up at checkout, mobile or in a self-service kiosk simplifies inventory and rollout for integrators/ resellers and enhances store flexibility,” he adds. “Priorities must focus on the system
Contributors
Nick Harrison
https://star-emea.com
Peter Holland
jarltech.com
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Retailers today are prioritising efficiency, automation and cost control above almost everything else.
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