A retail point of sale (POS) system is not monolithic and unchanging. More times than not; it is a dynamic piece of equipment that needs to be as scalable as any other part of your business to account for growth and development. Just as different sized businesses are going to need different types of employees, every different retail store will need to have different POS equipment to maximize efficiency and profits.
The Habits of a Retail Environment
Usually with a retail environment, transactions are completed all at once without customers repeatedly coming back for more and more items, unlike in food service. Also, in any retail environment, whether a grocery store or electronics store; there are usually only stationary pieces of equipment that need to be used. These types of attributes make the retail environment unique, and need to be expanded upon when considering the many aspects of different retail environments.
Effects of a POS System
By implementing a good POS system specifically those being offered by reputed companies such as Shopify, you are creating a good starting point for the growth of your business. POS systems are scalable in ways that traditional cash registers simply aren’t. They also have added benefits versus running your store manually. They can reduce paperwork by printing out inventory and sales reports that have been stored, make transactions more efficient by relying on UPCs rather than manually applied tags. These same UPCs ensure accuracy and allow your store’s revenue to be less in the hands of human error, and POS systems track inventory and loss prevention so that you can assess situations as they arise.
The Effects of Speed and Size on Retail POS Hardware
Speed
The speed of your business will require many things of POS equipment. Scanners and central POS units (like computer/keyboard combos, LCD touch screens, and tablet systems) will have different advantages and disadvantages based on the speed of your business.
Scanners may seem like a cut and dry topic, but many variations can cost significantly more or less and change how your business operates. For instance, a standard scanner may run a lot less in terms of up-front cost but is significantly slower than the much better laser scanners and have significantly fewer features, such as omnidirectional capabilities (allowing you to scan from any direction) and automatic item detection.
The heart of many businesses is the equipment that replaces the cash register. This can take many forms, whether a computer and keyboard combination, an LCD touch screen, or a tablet system. Each of them has a different effect on the functionality and ease-of-use of your system. While keyboard systems are more immediately flexible and have more functionality, touch screens and tablets are easier to use. These attributes of the systems are transferred directly to the customer when you ring them up.
Size
Everyone knows that as your business grows there is a distinct possibility that you may need to sell products in different venues or expand to multiple stores. When this happens, you will need to adjust accordingly.
While having only one store will obviously only require you to have one, fairly basic POS system, even the slightest growth to festivals, flea markets, fairs, or other types of temporary pop-up venues will require a much different system. Namely, it will require a mobile system. While this used to be a huge expense, or a huge pain for the customer (depending on how it was implemented), nowadays the job can be done for the price of a few tablets and an attachable card scanner. This will allow you to monitor prices, inventory, and sales even if you were at home.
As your store gets even bigger and becomes an in-state chain, you may find yourself needing something that allows your system to be much more accessible. Many larger POS hardware bundles can be accessed on the go with a mobile device to give you up to the minute reports on each store in each region as well as giving you the ability to change the prices of all of your products with just the click of a button.
When your business grows even further and has a nationwide presence or becomes an international behemoth; you may find that your company is selling completely different items in different markets with very little commonality between them. The ability to check on all these markets without having to make calls to each individual store or regional manager is of the utmost importance. Similarly, if your Midwest region is having a sale that is not happening at stores in the Southeast region, making sure that your POS equipment allows you to connect to specific areas at specific times from wherever you are can be extremely beneficial.
As with any aspect of business, knowing what you need and when you need it is extremely important. But also understanding where your business will be in just a matter of years can help you anticipate its needs and make informed decisions.
