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/ 6.24.2020 / News,Operation Educate,Retail Tips and Tricks

If your staff is the heart of your retail business and your strategic plan is the brain, then your point-of-sale (POS) is the central nervous system that connects and coordinates it all. When you find the right POS system, your sales team creates personalized customer experiences with just a few clicks. And you’re able to bring together separate data points so you can see the bigger picture and make data-driven decisions. 

So, how do you know if your POS system is doing all it can to optimize your retail business? To answer that question, you need to answer three other questions first.

1. What point-of-sale features are must-haves for your business?

The first objective in evaluating POS systems is to look for retail-focused functionality. From there, get specific based on your specialized business needs.

Of course, you’ll want a system that enables you to process a full range of payment types, as well as sales returns, layaways, or deposits. Think about the types of in-store and online promotional pricing capabilities you may need as your business grows, including manual and automatic discount options, preferred pricing, date-to-date pricing, and promo codes. You’ll also want a POS that enables a robust loyalty program from detailed customer profiles through reward points tracking. 

When it comes to specialized needs, look for a POS system that has experience in your niche. For example, POSIM offers tailored capabilities for retailers, such as:

  • Kits and packaged sales: For certain types of retailers, like needlearts or craft stores, prepackaged project kits can be a hit with customers, as well as a great way to sell multiple items as one. POSIM’s kit builder streamlines the process, including simplifying the inventory management and enabling you to track the time it takes for staff to build a kit so that you can build those costs into the kit pricing. 
  • Classes and events: Drive traffic to your store by creating classes or events that appeal to your target customers – from quilting or craft classes to wine tastings or fashion shows. POSIM offers built-in functionality that makes it easy to create classes, add and track attendance and fees, and sell course materials and kits. 
  • Service and repair: If you sell serialized inventory, you may also offer service and repair on specific brands or product lines. POSIM facilitates service operations by enabling customized work orders, tracking the process end-to-end, logging parts needed, accepting deposits, and collecting final payments. 

2. What are your inventory management needs?

Inventory management doesn’t have to be a complex and time-consuming process. When choosing a POS system, make sure its inventory capabilities go beyond the basics. A good POS will do much more than track what’s in stock; it will integrate your e-commerce and break down inventory by locations. In addition, look for enhanced capabilities like bulk product import, automated re-ordering, and custom barcode label printing.

Many retailers, including fashion and toy stores, have inventory that changes seasonally, requiring them to manage hundreds or thousands of item SKUs. POSIM provides a style matrix feature that allows retailers to efficiently manage multiple styles or subtypes of one product. For wine and liquor stores, POSIM offers functionality to manage SKUs with multiple UPCs, case lots, as well as track alternate units, like wine by the case, half case, or single bottle.

Related: The Secret to Retail Success? 3 Must-Have Inventory Management Capabilities

3. What would help you take your customer experience to the next level?

Customer experience is a retailer’s biggest differentiator. Your POS system should play a central role in creating and enhancing an integrated, omnichannel experience for your customers. From personalizing the purchase process based on customer information to creating targeted promotional offers for specific customer segments, it’s all about being able to compile, access, and leverage data. 

POSIM puts customer details at your sales teams’ fingertips so they can reference past purchases, recognize customer anniversaries, or offer birthday discounts in the moment. In addition, the iPOSIM mobile app enhances the experience by enabling the sales team to look up inventory or complete a purchase transaction without leaving the customer’s side.

With consolidated in-store and e-commerce data and reporting, POSIM makes it possible to analyze data and create highly targeted email, direct mail, or social media marketing campaigns that drive increased traffic and purchases. 

Related: Customer Expectations: Why Retailers Need to Deliver an Omnichannel Experience

Make sure your POS system is doing all it can for your business. Explore what’s possible with POSIM – a point-of-sale and inventory management system designed to help retailers succeed and grow. Contact us today for a demo.

Caleb Shook

Inbound Marketing Manager

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