Beyond the POS Register By David J. Gosman, CEO, pcAmerica
What does your local supermarket, chain coffee shop, and mall clothing store have in common? Your credit card will process in less than two seconds, sale pricing calculates automatically, and some point-of-sale (POS) systems can even count out your change for you. Most small and large businesses that have adopted a modern POS system are evidence that ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) have done a good job delivering fast checkout, one of the primary objectives of a point of sale system. Most POS software packages have adopted some "beyond the register" functionality including a varying degree of inventory tracking, customer history, and employee labor tracking. Recently, new marketplace trends have emerged, and point of sale ISVs have been introducing new software features to address these trends.
Speed and ease of POS checkout, while still undergoing some notable advances with new technology, have lost the spotlight to emerging trends. These new trends, gaining attention from several ISVs, focus not so much on the speed of checkout, but rather the staffing and experience surrounding purchasing products or placing orders. Some of these trends save the business money, others concentrate on increasing customer spending, and others specifically concentrate on repeat customer business; but all of these highlighted trends have a common theme of changing the experience of spending money with a business from what we've seen in the past from traditional checkout.
The Retail Experience
Self check-out, most prevalent in supermarkets and other large multi-lane retailers, is a simplified interface for a POS system that lets customers scan their own items and submit their own payment without cashier involvement. More recent renditions of self check-out consist of a customer carrying a mobile device around the store, scanning the items before putting them in bags inside the cart, and paying at a kiosk before leaving. ISVs adopting this trend are introducing benefits to both the customer and the cashier.
Shoppers have the control in their own hands, usually resulting in faster checkout times and for some customers a fun experience. Retailers enjoy reduced staffing, as one staff member is capable of centrally managing and monitoring four to six self-checkout lanes from a remote terminal. Self-service technology is catching on as average shoppers become more familiar with the systems, increasing their usage and strengthening the value proposition for a retailer to install them.
Quick-Service Components
Self-ordering systems, mostly used in quick-service food operations, or in retail stores that offer limited food service, have some similarities to the self check-out systems discussed above, but have distinct differences and uses. These customer-facing terminals are typically used when patrons are arriving at the establishment, as opposed to a payment system used immediately before departure. They focus more on experience than speed. A person will approach one of the touch-screen kiosks and order their meals, sandwiches, drinks and other food through a series of prompts. The interface is usually well-polished and provides the business the opportunity to expose customers to branding as well as specific products. Customers enjoy a fun experience that allows them to take their time, study the different menu options and create their order without the pressure of someone waiting on them. The business can enjoy some staff benefits, such as reduced staffing or increased throughput resulting from a shuffling of employees from order taking to other areas of service.
The primary benefits, however, are not in staffing, but rather in the ability to consistently present customers with new products, suggest higher margin products, and suggest meal upgrades and side orders. For example, a self-ordering system can be configured to suggest cheese on a sandwich for an extra 50 cents, or offer a pastry to enjoy with their coffee. Patrons can review their order before final submission, resulting in less waste and higher customer satisfaction. Self-ordering systems have shown results; several individual clients and market surveys have reported double digit percentage sales increases for orders placed through these type systems.
Marketing Analysis
Personalized marketing is another trend that's become increasingly popular. POS systems are being enhanced to gather more details on items being sold, and who they are being sold to. Marketing teams, armed with this data, their own set of tools and yet more POS functionality, are using this information to personalize their marketing efforts and the customer shopping experience. Stores and restaurants, with tools from the ISV, are creatively marketing to the individual before, during and after a transaction, including tools such as personalized coupons, customer-facing displays encouraging up-sells, and even text messaging advertising to cell phones at roughly the same time and day that businesses have seen you make consistent purchases. When used properly, targeted marketing has great potential to accomplish better results with an equal or smaller marketing budget.
Areas for Growth
The customer experience at retail stores and restaurants has changed substantially over a short period of time, and several forward-thinking point of sale ISVs have been working with these businesses to design the features to accommodate these needs. The trends described above are different than in the past, as while they still relate to the POS system, they have moved beyond the traditional computerized cash register perspective and more strongly than ever into the realm of customer experience. I am confident these trends will gain further traction in retail stores and restaurants, as evidenced by the new self-ordering kiosk and online ordering systems we're about to deploy, and other forward-thinking ISVs have been on a similar path to provide streamlined solutions to respond to trends and help stores and restaurants thrive as their businesses change.
David J. Gosman is CEO of pcAmerica, a Pearl River, N.Y.-based ISV, which provides retail and restaurant point of sale software to an established VAR and distribution channel. For more information, David can be reached via email at: david@pcamerica.com.
What does your local supermarket, chain coffee shop, and mall clothing store have in common? Your credit card will process in less than two seconds, sale pricing calculates automatically, and some point-of-sale (POS) systems can even count out your change for you. Most small and large businesses that have adopted a modern POS system are evidence that ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) have done a good job delivering fast checkout, one of the primary objectives of a point of sale system. Most POS software packages have adopted some "beyond the register" functionality including a varying degree of inventory tracking, customer history, and employee labor tracking. Recently, new marketplace trends have emerged, and point of sale ISVs have been introducing new software features to address these trends.
