PoS SYSTEMS
Pole PoS-ition Point of sale systems are evolving to meet the changing demands of businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors, including providing more data and insights, as Jay Kim, managing director of BIXOLON Europe GmbH.
Point of sale (PoS) systems and receipt printing are crucial to retailers and hospitality businesses. Without them, they cannot enable sales effectively and grow their businesses optimally. To say they are important, for many, is an understatement. Especially when you consider their strategic importance to not only drive sales efficiency; but to track and record sales data and provide an optimum customer experience. What is more, within this, retailers and their customers have many different needs when it comes to managing and accepting payments. So, as the market evolves what should retail and hospitality organisations consider when deploying PoS systems and related technologies? PoS needs vs wants Within busy retail and hospitality environments it is vital that PoS systems are ‘always on’ and do not experience downtime. Simply put, failure to execute transactions can lead to lost revenue and a poor customer experience. Therefore, when purchasing these kinds of technologies, retailers typically consider an array of important factors including network connectivity options, the performance of PoS systems, how these system looks aesthetically when installed, how they integrate into the business and the price of the investment. Additionally, with the need to keep up to
date with the latest technology trends and requirements, many retailers are turning away from only using Serial or Parallel connectivity for printers. Instead, they are and moving to ethernet, USB, Bluetooth and WLAN for integration with tablets and other peripherals as part of PoS systems. Since technology has always been central to buying decisions, many retailers now build their hardware solutions around their software – whether this be a simple payment solution for an independent company, or part of a more complex omnichannel ecosystem. Naturally, the performance of hardware within these systems is key. Printers form a vital component at checkout. They enable the printing of receipts, coupons, vouchers and more depending on the scenario. They are rated not only on the speed and reliability of the printing hardware, but also the performance of the cutter and print head, which leads to less maintenance and possible downtime. Within retail situations, sleek, compact printer designs are becoming increasingly popular, because retailers are looking to streamline their cash desks. For instance, cube printers have increased in popularity with their compact features and front exit feed for either on-the-desk or under-desk integration, which allows it to just fit into a PoS set up easily and attractively. Ease of integration is also essential. With many retailers looking to upgrade their systems, many look for hardware that they can essentially plug in and play. As time means money, retailers look for installs that take hours rather than days to avoid costly downtime and loss of productivity. Pricing is also a factor; but a lower priced printer doesn’t always provide the quality and reliability required. Typically, when you buy cheap, you buy more, as the adage goes. Driving insights and protecting data Data and reporting are important to retailers. They need to know what inventory is being sold and when to restock. Sure, smaller
As time means money, retailers look for installs that take hours rather than days to avoid costly downtime and loss of productivity. “ ”
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