The Role of Mobile POS Solutions in Modern Retail

In today’s modern retail stores, the point of sale no longer has to be a fixed counter – it could be anywhere in the store. Mobile POS is one of the fastest growing retail trends – with store associates being armed with devices that run the same cloud-based POS software as the fixed checkouts, enabling payment, inventory management and loyalty anywhere in the store.

This increase in uptake is due to the fact that mobile POS retail technology plays not just one, but many roles in a retail business, helping to grow sales and drive operational efficiencies. Let’s explore the seven key roles that mobile POS can play in a store:

1. Customer engagement
Giving associates mobile POS means that a store can bring service to the customer, rather than the customer having to go to a fixed point of service. Associates can resolve customer queries faster, with information literally at their fingertips on the screen. Shoppers are more engaged and have a better customer experience in the store. Which of course increases their loyalty, their propensity to return and their likely spend.

2. Sell anywhere.
With mobile point of sale systems, transactions don’t have to take place within the store. An omnichannel retailing operation with a curbside pickup service can take contactless payments in the car park with mobile POS. Mobile commerce allows retailers wanting to set up a seasonal pop-up can do so quickly and easily, with no need for fixed infrastructure.

3. Save the sale
One of the biggest frustrations for retailers is losing a sale because the item is not in stock in the store. Staff with mobile POS can look up the desired item and if they find it in stock at the warehouse or another store, they can use the mobile POS to arrange delivery to the store or home, and take payment. The sale is saved, and both retailer and the customer are happy.

4. Cross-sell/Upsell
Mobile POS gives retailers the perfect opportunity to increase basket size by upselling and/or cross-selling ***. Staff can suggest complementary items to those chosen in store – a belt to go with a skirt for example, or a shade to go with a lamp. Engagement with the customer might introduce an opportunity to replace the selected item with one at a higher price. Cross-sell can also be a ‘save the sale’ approach – when the customer cannot find the item they want in store, the associate can suggest something similar and take the payment.

5. Queue busting
Customers hate standing in line – yet retail is the top source of queuing in the US, and time spent waiting in stores has increased by 30% since 2022. No wonder then that 82% of consumers say they will actively avoid a business with lines ****. Mobile POS offers the perfect opportunity for retail efficiency and reduced queues. By having staff deployed with mobile POS for checkout, they can easily flex the numbers up at peak times and get customers out of the store without standing in line.

6. Information capture
Customer information is valuable data, allowing retailers to create personalised offers that drive sales. Mobile POS offers the opportunity to offer an email receipt, capturing contact information. Retailers with a loyalty program can use Mobile POS to aid the signup process – once the associate is engaging with the customer, they can ask them to join the loyalty program and sign them up on the spot.

7. Streamline the store
With space at a premium and commercial rents increasing, retailers want to maximise their merchandising space. Mobile POS offers the opportunity to reduce the number of fixed checkout counters, replacing them with mobile POS and freeing up more space to showcase their wares.

Mobile POS can be a game changer for retailers, helping to deliver digital transformation in a store. It ‘punches above its weight’ delivering value in so many different ways – driving customer engagement, increased sales, loyalty take up and store efficiency. Mobile POS is truly a must have for retailers.

There are multiple benefits of POS systems for retailers, and those include helping them to achieve every retailer’s goal – increased profit margins.

FAQs

How important is queue-busting in a store?

Simple answer – very important. Customers hate standing in line, and a retailer who makes them do it will see shopper voting with their feet. Statistics from the US show that for the last two years, retail stores have been the place where Americans find themselves spending most time waiting in line – in fact, they spend more time queuing in retail stores than in restaurants, pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and banks combined. And it’s not getting any better – waiting times have increased by 30% since 2022. So a retailer who can buck this trend, and reduce time spent in line, will be an extremely attractive prospect for shoppers.

What hardware and software do I need for mobile POS?

The hardware can be any mobile device that can run your store’s point of sale software. It could be a tablet, a phone or a specialist retail hand-held computer. It needs to have a touch screen for ease of use, a screen big enough to be able to show the customer images of products and have built-in or add-on payment capability. The key thing is the software, which will be the same as you run on your fixed checkouts. It will be cloud-based, but capable of running stand-alone in the case of any connectivity issues, and to add the most value, it will be part of an integrated retail technology platform that incorporates functions such as inventory management and loyalty.

References:-

1. https://www.retailconsultingpartners.com/post/retailers-are-re-investing-in-store-technology
2. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/mobile-pos-terminals-market#:~:text=How%20big%20is%20the%20mobile,USD%2040%2C809.2%20million%20in%202023
3. https://www.newstore.com/articles/average-basket-size/#:~:text=Retailers%20can%20use%20a%20variety,they%20move%20throughout%20the%20store
4. https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2023/06/22/shoppers-hate-waiting-in-lines-retail