PowerPoint Presentation

Guide to ePoS 2016Modern Retail

CHOOSINGYOURFIRSTEPOSSYSTEMChoosing your first EPOS system can be daunting for any small retailers. Reconciling what you want ideally and what you can afford is harder and you may have had no experience of buying anything like this before.

WHAT IS THE CONTRACT MINIMUM TERM AND HOW DOES THE RENEWAL WORK?

If you are going down the software as a service route then you will have one contract with a minimum term.Renewals are where things can get a bit trickier.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE INTERNET GOES DOWN?

It is essential that your first EPOS system has a fallback for when the connection dies.

If it doesnt have an offline mode then you can be left without a working till during a busy trading period.

WHAT SUPPORT DO I GET?

Make sure what you get is clearly laid out. Some may offer only online support, others full phone based support or a choice of both. Make sure response times are clearly laid out so you know what to expect and if you arent sure ask for a reference.

We hope these points have been useful in helping you choose your first EPOS system.

TILLTECH:HOWINNOVATIVEEPOSSYSTEMSARETRANSFORMINGRETAILPayment providers offering services like pocket card reader attachments and bookkeeping tools i.e. giving staff touchscreen tablets that allow them to take payments anywhere on the shop floor, at the same time as accessing inventory and making orders for out-of-stock items.Mobile EPOS is also being used by larger retailers to make checkout and customer interaction more fluid.

PAY WITH YOUR FACE?

There are numerous variations on using smartphone technology to pay for goods and services at the till. The idea behind selfie pay is to combat identity fraud (face theft is, as yet, unknown) and make it quick and simple to make payments.

BUILDING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS AT THE PAYMENT MOMENT

One advantage that online retail has previously had over bricks-and-mortar store interactions is that ecommerce sites can gather information on a customer that is hard to get in a high street store.But the latest EPOS technology is bringing this kind of data to the high street, with systems that include Customer Relationship Management (CRM) functionality to record customer preferences and behaviour and capture contact details for targeted marketing.

The idea behind selfie pay is to combat identity fraud (face theft is, as yet, unknown) and make it quick and simple to make payments.

Continued

BUILDING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS AT THE PAYMENT MOMENT

One advantage that online retail has previously had over bricks-and-mortar store interactions is that ecommerce sites can gather information on a customer that is hard to get in a high street store.

ENDLESS AISLE

The concept of customers being able to shop online while theyre in a high street store is rapidly gaining traction:Customers increasingly expect to be able to shop how they like, without differentiating between sales channels.They might browse a physical store and then order from a smartphone app, or from a laptop or tablet when they get home. Rather than losing sales to rival online retailers, some businesses are encouraging this omnichannel approach, empowering customers to combine high street and online shopping.

So where next for EPOS technology?

REDUCE YOUR CHIP & PIN LOSSES

Modern retail is all about customer experience: Getting the combination between card terminal(s) and card processing along with EPOS right is imperative to achieving that all important customer experience. EPOS CHIP & PIN INTEGRATION KEY BENEFITS:Human Error eradicated [keying errors eliminated]Faster and more reliable [better customer experience]Seamless Payments Audit Trail [EPOS reporting now contains card payment details]Aesthetically better [Terminal connects to EPOS and condensed to single unit]More Professional [tapping numbers into terminal never comforting to customer]Simpler Connection [No need for dedicated Chip & Pin line for card payments]

DOES IT SAVE ME MONEY?In a nutshell yes. And its Quantifiable.Cost of keying errors estimated to be between 1-2% of card turnover [a non-integrated retailer turning over 750k pa could easily be throwing away in excess of 10k per year]. WHY DONT ALL RETAILERS HAVE INTEGRATION?Many retailers are confused by the whole card acquiring world andeven more so by the significant benefits of having an EPOS to Chip & Pin solution.

HOW CAN TABLET POS ENCHANCE YOUR BUSINESS?Whether you are a high street retailer, a pop up store or a restaurant, tablet POS has significant advantages for your business:Can provide high functionality for its costEase of use and processing power allow your business to be extremely responsive to your sales datamPOP UNIQUE COMBINED BLUETOOTH PRINTER AND CASH DRAWER SOLUTIONIn terms of hardware, a combined Bluetooth printer and cash drawer solution such as mPOP from Star provides a lightweight and portable solution that is just 10cm high and 30cm wide with a sleek design that will complement any counter top. DIGITAL RECEIPTING ELIMINATES ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH EMAIL RECEIPTINGIn order to provide customers with a digital receipt and full colour promotional image if desired mPOP offers a free of charge, fast route to providing a digital copy of a paper receipt as well as access to analytics, an in-store customer survey and device management tools.

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY FULFIL WEB ORDERS TIME AFTER TIMEIf the stock you sell on your website is the same physical stock that you sell in your store then youll be aware of terms like Overselling, Double Selling and Stock-outs. Youve probably experienced these terms first hand, and suffered the knock-on effects surrounding them.The cause of fulfilment failures:Poor connectivity, delays and blockagesSoftware unable to gracefully recover from connectivity issuesOver complicated fulfilment proceduresPoor stock managementPoor integrationProblematic softwareA PROCESS TO SUCCESSFULLY FULFIL WEB ORDERS TIME AFTER TIME

ContinuedThe key is simplicity. A time consuming, complex fulfilment procedure will leave items available for oversell. We use a streamlined order fulfilment process:Order processed on websiteOrder appears instantly in the stock systemA fulfilment location is allocated (manually or automatically)Location notifiedItem picked and de-stockedMost of this is automated. Staff are alerted when they need to pick and doing so is a really simple process. Items are picked within minutes of the order being processed online its this communication and simplicity that helps you successfully fulfil web orders time after time.Successfully fulfil web orders and prepare for growth.Adapted from the TouchRetail article in the Modern Retail Guide to EPOS eBook (http://www.touchretail.co.uk/)

SELF-CHECKOUT SOLUTIONS & THE SMALLER RETAILER It would hardly be a surprise if many small and medium-size retailers were to feel daunted by the challenge of offering their customers the same type of Self Service experience they have become used to when shopping in larger retail outletsThe demand from customers for a more rapid service experience is however growing inexorably, and retailers, of all sizes, ignore this self-service revolution at their peril. Benefits: Self-Checkouts can reduce checkout wait times by up to 40%In one recent survey 35% of consumers stated that they wanted to be able to have access to SCOs in Convenience stores. The range of Self-Checkout systems available are constantly evolving. E.g. for the smaller store, options such as placing the basket above the bagging area minimizes the floor space required Independent supermarkets, Convenience stores, and a range of other retail outlets can now begin to consider whether Self-Checkout is something that would enhance their customers shopping experience and the rewards can be considerable with shorter queues, faster transactions, better stocked shelves and happier customers.

Read our free complete guide to EPOS herehttp://modernretail.co.uk/free-e-books/

IMAGE CREDITS

Front Cover: www.Canva.comYour First EPOS: Supplied by https://www.retailit.com/Innovative Retail Systems: http://www.lois-systems.co.uk/Chip & Pin: www.pcapredict.comChip & Pin: EPOS: http://star-emea.com//Fufil Web Orders: www.TouchRetail.co.uk