From Mobile to the Cloud – Two PoS Trends that are Here to Stay

The point of sales is where customers make the payment in their shopping process. Point of sale is an important area of focus for marketers as it greatly influences the customer’s purchasing decisions. The smoother and more efficient the payment experience is for customers, the more likely they are to complete their purchase instead of abandoning their cart.

The way consumers pay for goods and services has been advancing quite rapidly, so much so that swiping a credit card feels like a somewhat outdated way to pay. To stay relevant and competitive, more and more businesses are now putting their focus on being as customer-centric as possible, which includes providing the most convenient options for purchasing and payment.

In addition to upholding incredible product quality, ensuring that customer interactions (including payment) options are as smooth, pleasant, and secure as possible, is a guaranteed way to create brand loyalty and retain customers in this era of fierce competition.

So how can impeccable service quality and payment ease become a reality? Technology is the answer. Thanks to the latest Point-of-Sale technology trends, there’s much for retailers to look forward to. In this article, we will discuss two point of sale technology trends that you should consider adopting in order to keep up with your competitors.

Short for ‘Mobile Point-of-Sale’, mPoS has become more frequent and used by businesses around the globe. Smart devices such as tablets have replaced cash registers, enabling customers to place their orders by themselves (self-service) and pay with the click of a button.

In the case of the restaurant industry, notepads have also been replaced by tablet devices. Servers take orders digitally, which pass over to the kitchen and then to the cashier for payment after the bill is closed. Customers no longer have to stand in lines and wait for their turn to place an order. You can simply occupy a table in the restaurant and use the mPoS via mobile or tablet to see the menu, place an order, and make the payment. 

Speaking of payments, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology has been extensively applied to the mPoS environment. With the simple wave of a card or smartphone over a scanning device, payments are now made easier and faster than ever before.

While mPoS has been around for a while, it’s a trend that has been steadily evolving throughout the years – and it’s safe to presume that it will only continue to gain momentum as time passes on. Apart from speed and portability, what else proves mPoS to be advantageous? Here is some subtle (and not so subtle) proof.

• Customer loyalty - With quick and easy checkout, customers are happier. They’re likely to purchase from you again, and also likely to recommend your brand to others. Providing a convenient buying experience can go a long way.
• Less bulk, more space – With the absence of a cash register, you’ll be freeing up precious space within the otherwise limited confines of your establishment. With everything stored digitally, you can easily go back to the orders and check if need be and you do not have to spend a lot of energy in sorting as is the case with the cash register.
• Little to no training required – Thanks to its ease of use, mPoS is convenient to initialize and adapt to – unlike the cash registers and accounting ledgers of yesteryear. Moreover, it can also save your precious time, as well as that of your customers.

The Cloud – is a trend that has been on everyone’s lips for pretty much every industry endeavoring to be technologically sophisticated. After all, the versatility of storing everything on an external server and only using the features you need owing to a third-party vendor is a prospect that is just too tempting to ignore.

Likewise, PoS (specifically mPoS) has also jumped into the Cloud-as-a-Service bandwagon, taking advantage of its conveniences for facilitating timely payments. What’s more, cloud-based PoS systems also offer analytics tools for gaining insights into customer data that has been obtained through purchase history and behavior.

• There’s no need for on-premise servers - Forgo the bulk and physical space required, by moving everything onto the cloud. That job is better left to the third-party vendor.
• Pay and upgrade only as needed - Cloud-based services offer the flexibility to customize what you use, as opposed to fully-fledged, off-the-shelf software. You can choose to pay for only the services that you are using.
• Work offline - Although cloud-based systems require access to an internet connection, they can function even in the absence of one and continue performing essential tasks.
• Analytics, intelligence, and intuition - The data gathered on the cloud after PoS transactions can be crunched to reveal insights, which can be useful for decision-making.

To stay ahead of your competitors, catching up with the new technological trends is extremely important. However, as much as these trends can be beneficial, they can also be tricky to incorporate into your existing system. A crucial element that can make the transition to a new trend easier is choosing the right PoS software.

Once you know what exactly you want for your business, you can start by looking into the most popular point of sale systems. By comparing the features of the top point of sale systems you will be able to identify the best pos system for you.

Are you looking to transform the way your customers pay for your products or services and having trouble finding the right pos software companies? Or have you been considering upgrading your PoS system to one that is more up-to-date? At Wheelhouse, we can help connect you to multiple software vendors, so that you can scrutinize your options and pick a solution that’s perfect for your business. Please visit our Point-of-Sale Solutions page for an entire list of software vendors.