POS Technology and Where it’s Headed?3 min read
POS technology has been a standard of commerce for longer than you might think. The dawn of the Internet’s World Wide Web forever changed the history of mankind and there is not a single area of life that has not felt its influence. The previous decade has brought about tremendous changes to every aspect of life, and we are still attempting to find our footing amid all the rapidly advancing technology of our present day. With so many time honored leading brands that served as the glue for commerce as we know it, we are now witnessing the collapse of the majority of them. It’s no wonder that the public’s general mood is at best, uncertain. Certainly, retailers everywhere are doing everything they can to positively influence this situation and turn it around – and restore the percentages of their sales that has been overshadowed by e-commerce, as well as far more aggressive campaigns from competitors, everywhere.
The proactive business owner is not always spot-on, when it comes to fully understanding what it is that their customers want. There is often a discrepancy between what the retailer thinks their customers want and what they actually do want. Just how POS technology progresses will depend ultimately on a meeting of the minds of consumers and retailers.
Growth Already in the Works
Consumers are going to be able to take advantage of an increasing number of retailer apps, without which they will stand to lose out on special discounts and store promotions. Retailers are adding and adding to their store apps, all the time. More and more store and restaurant associates are going to be always-equipped with tablets and smartphones for assisting customers and waiting on restaurant patrons. Cash registers are going to eventually disappear, being replaced by mobile devices that are both stationary (but sleek and streamlined,) and mobile. As it is with many grocery stores and drug stores, only those customers who present a customer loyalty card at the time of checkout will be able to receive deep discounts. Much of staff training will be conducted by POS software, and there is likely to be more employee identification in place, such as by using different biometrics tools.
Product and Inventory Knowledge
POS technology is already equipped to effectively track the sources of every commodity and service that comes from a retail establishment or restaurant. This means that everyone from the owners on down will have detailed information about where the food was grown, under what conditions, how long it took to get to the restaurant and many other details. Retailers will be able to find out whether any items in their inventory have been handled by child labor or other unfair practices. This fully accessible information will prove to heighten the standards of growers, packers and manufacturers at every step along the route who will have to answer to questions regarding their integrity in operating.
Same Day Delivery and On Site Store PIckup
Online stores who offer same day delivery will benefit from a winning advantage over traditional stores. Many retailers are discovering the benefits of having a warehouse located within close proximity to their retail establishments. Amazon and Google Shopping Express have already begun partnering up with several retailers. This enables their customers to take advantage of same day delivery and in store pickup, through local stores.
Cloud-Based Shopping
Retailers can now conduct business from anywhere. Shopping today already evolves considerably around the use of tablets, smartphones and computers, and although M-commerce was featured as an add-on in 2012, it is going to be the main method of shopping transactions, beginning in 2015.
