Have you noticed how big online shopping has gotten lately?
Many consumers question why drive to the store to buy something when they can boot up a computer and do it from home?
However, consumers do still shop local and you can use your retail POS software to give better experience to keep them coming back.
Why Should Keep Your POS System up to Date?
With technology changing faster than ever, you need either to stay up to date or be left behind. Just in 2017, over 86,000 retail locations went out of business.
Things don’t look like they will be getting any easier in the future either.
Giving your customer an in-store experience that they can’t get online is now the goal for local shops. If you can’t provide your customer that, they will turn to the easier option.
Having a new POS system to streamline your customer experience will give you an edge to keep your customers returning.
While there are many POS services on the market, each one is a little different. Despite that, all of them have core feature sets that will allow you to maintain online shops.
Keep reading to learn how a retail POS will stack up to online shopping services.
Keep Your Inventory Up To Date
Inventory management is essential to keep customers happy. Nothing is worse for them than when they take their time to come to your store and then leave empty-handed.
Your POS software can help you manage your inventory like an online store by storing it digitally.
When a customer buys a product, your stock will decrease and inform you if it is too low or runs out. Some systems will even automatically re-order once you fall below a certain threshold.
You will also be able to use your sales history to create performance reports. With this, you can find best and weak sellers within your product line. This data can be used to remove under performing products to replace them with better selling merchandise.
Collect Customer Contact Information
With a traditional POS machine, your customer makes a purchase and then leaves without collecting any data. However, modern systems collect phone numbers, email addresses, and other customer information.
Email marketing provides an average of $38 ROI on every $1 spent. When you can capture their emails, you can level the playing field and provide a reason for your customers to come back to your store after they leave.
You will be able to take this data and create special offers for frequent buyers or specific demographics.
By targeting audiences more accurately, you can give them unique offers and increase the chance they purchase your products.
Reduce the Wait in Line
Recent research by Forrester Research and Digimarc shows that wait time is one of the most frustrating parts of buying in a store.
A mobile POS system will allow you to move the checkout process to wherever the customer is by letting your customers avoid the line completely.
Instead of splitting the sales process, your sales force can move from inquiry, recommendations, and sales by giving the customer a more streamlined experience.
Make Your Payment Process Easier
Cash and credit aren’t the only ways to pay for products any more. Anyone with a newer smartphone now has access to Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
If you don’t provide your customers with accessible payment options, there is a chance they will look for another alternative close to you, such as buying online or finding a competitor’s store that does.
As time goes on more payment options will continue to appear and you need your POS system to adapt to these changes to keep pace with online stores.
Give Your Customer Some Face Time
There is one personalized element you get shopping at a local retail store that you can’t find online: the human touch.
Despite the convenience online stores have, there are still a lot of people who prefer to shop locally when they can. In fact, a recent local consumer survey found that over half of people still prefer to buy locally.
Keep this in mind:
Baby boomers are still the most significant portion of local shoppers
- 80% of consumers research online but then buy in stores
- For immediate needs, people still prefer to go local
Forming a relationship with your customers with delivering a good experience is one of the keys to increasing their purchase loyalty and bringing them back into the store.
Final Thoughts
You need to do everything you can to reduce friction in your store and provide a better experience for your customers during the point of sale.
Picking the best retail POS software is essential in delivering that experience. Make sure you choose the right option for not only your customer, but for your own unique business needs.
