Nowadays, retail store owners need the flexibility to work anywhere, anytime. In fact, you should be able to easily turn any web-enabled device into a POS station. With the introduction of multi-platform point-of-sale software, retailers now have the ability to do just that.
Keep reading to learn what a multi-platform retail point-of-sale system is and how you can sell anywhere, on any device.
What is a Multi-Platform POS Software?
Multi-platform point-of-sale is a type of software that works on any web-enabled device, regardless of the operating system. This means a software that works on your desktop, tablet or mobile phone, even if they are a mix of Windows, iOS, Mac OS or Android devices.
Benefits of Multi-Platform POS Software
Cost savings, re-use existing hardware: If you are looking for a retail point-of-sale system with a low upfront cost, investing in a multi-platform point-of-sale system is the way to go. Because it can work on any web-enabled device, you don’t have to spend time or money replacing your existing hardware.
Sell more with mobile POS: With the ability to sell on mobile, tablet or desktop devices, virtually any place inside of your store can be turned into a checkout point. And because multi-platform POS systems can be used on existing devices, it’s faster and cheaper to set-up temporary checkout points during high traffic and rush hours to prevent long line-ups.
Continue selling even when your internet goes down: Nowadays, credit and debit payments are the most popular payment methods. While some POS systems offer offline capability, because modern PINpads cannot work without an internet connection, even if you can use your POS, you will still lose sales as few shoppers carry cash today. The future of retail POS is multi-platform as merchants now need to have the ability to switch devices seamlessly. With the TAKU platform, it’s as easy as signing in to your POS on a mobile device with data to continue ringing in sales.
Improve customer experience: Employees can serve customers and process transactions from anywhere in the store resulting in shorter lines and better customer service.
Scale cost-effectively, faster: Multi-platform POS systems allow you to scale easily. As any web-enabled device can be turned into a station, growing your retail business is easy and inexpensive.
Sell wherever your customer is: Multi-platform POS is ideal for merchants who operate on different sales channels. Easily sell in-store, on-the-go or online. Don’t miss any sales opportunities.
It’s the busiest time of the year for retailers! So, to help you save time, our team has created a collection of beautiful, high quality holiday stock photos.
All images are free for commercial use, no attribution required.
Seeing as the Christmas season is the largest shopping event of the year, the stakes are high for retailers. And while there may not be a one-size fits all approach to achieving holiday retail success, there are tried and tested strategies that will help steer you in the right direction.
We’ve put together a list of time-honored tips to guide you through the Christmas retail rush so you can boost your store sales and have a successful holiday season.
Check them out below!
How to Increase your Store Sales this Holiday Season
Not only does a unique and compelling holiday window display help you stand out from competitors, it also drives foot traffic. In fact, window displays act as a silent salesperson or a billboard for your retail business – they entice passersby and nearby shoppers to enter your store. The right window display will turn the heads of shoppers so your sales associates can close the sale.
Good lighting, bold shapes and colours, and creativity are all essential elements of a compelling window display. Incorporate your merchandise into the display by focusing on how it makes the perfect gift for a loved one, how your products are ideal decorations for a Christmas party, or how your clothing would be great to wear at the office holiday party etc.
Harry Rosen is a great example of a retailer that created a compelling holiday window display.
Offer Free Gift Wrapping
Offering gift wrapping services is a great way to earn customer loyalty. Convenience is a big selling point during the holidays and shoppers always appreciate businesses that can help them save time and effort.
Free gift wrapping can even act as a competitive advantage for your retail store. Shoppers will be compelled to buy from you instead of your competitors. And in may cases, they will see your store as the perfect place to go for last minute gift shopping.
It’s a good to idea to pre-wrap certain quantities of popular merchandise. Also, consider displaying smaller gift baskets at checkout so shoppers can easily add to their orders.
You may worry that offering promotions throughout the holiday season will eat at your margins, but an increase in traffic and sales will most likely make up for it. Offering numerous promotions throughout the month of December is a good way to build hype and keep customers coming back.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
Offer big discounts (30%-50%) throughout the month: if you sell big brand or well known merchandise, this strategy will work especially well for you.
Offer BOGO deals: studies have shown that offering something for free is oftentimes more effective than a discount.
Have exclusive offers for VIP customers: This gives you more control over your margins and at the same time, allows you to build a loyal customer base.
Remember to make use of social media and email marketing to advertise your promotions! It’s always a good idea to put up sales signage (banners, decals, window signs) so that nearby shoppers can become aware of your discounts.
Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPUS)
Mckinsey & Company states that “click-and-collect was a competitive advantage for brick-and-mortar retailers” during the 2018 holiday season. Rather than relying on Amazon, last minute Christmas shoppers depended upon brick and mortar retailers as well as the popular option of buying items online and picking them up in-store.
While a BOPUS strategy provides shoppers with a ton of convenience and flexibility, it comes with it’s fair share of benefits for retailers too, including:
Increased rates of impulse purchases
Lower return rates
More foot traffic
Decreased shipping costs
Satisfied and loyal shoppers
For retailers who do not have an e-commerce site, Google Local Inventory ads are a great way to drive shoppers to your store with BOPUS offers. Click here to find out how your retail business can easily implement Google LIAs.
Google Local Inventory Ads (LIA)
During the days that lead up to Christmas, Google searches with local intent increase. This is likely due to the fact that shoppers are reluctant to depend on online retailers/shipping and would rather go in-store to purchase gifts.
Inventory SKUs (pronounced “skew”) stand for Stock Keeping Units and are used by retailers to both identify inventory and keep track of inventory movement or changes in product stock levels over time.
It is basically a unique combination of numbers and letters assigned to each product in a retail store. As a retail owner, inventory SKUs give all of your products a single type of code to help you keep track of certain details for a specific product including price, product information (colour, size, features, etc.), quantity, and manufacturer. SKUs are often associated with vendors or supplier barcodes but can they can also be converted into scannable barcodes and printed on to product labels.
A retail POS system is the software that holds all of this inventory information so that you can track what you’re buying, how much stock you’re carrying and whether stock movement matches what you’ve sold. Whenever you’re looking for a new retail POS system make sure to check if the software will allow you to use your existing SKUs and also generate consecutive SKUs for new products. This is particularly important if you integrate to other non-POS systems (e.g. accounting systems) based on your SKU names.
SKUs vs GTINs
SKUs should not be mistaken for Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) or Universal Product Codes (or UPCs). SKUs are internal codes used for products that are unique to a retail business. On the other hand, GTINs or UPCs are the same for a product – no matter who/what store sells it.
How Are SKUs Made?
Each retail store has a unique and specific process in place for choosing SKUs. This method is usually easy to understand and follow for retail staff.
POS systems can help you create SKU codes based on a format that works for your business. For example, your SKU code can have a specific prefix or suffix together with a number that increases consecutively. For example, a SKU for your business might be FD-2340-GR. Others use shortcodes within their SKUs as an easy hint to staff so they don’t need to memorize numbers.
How Are SKUs Used?
Inventory management: Inventory/stock-takes should be done at regular intervals in retail; both for tax purposes and to ensure accurate inventory levels.
When each product is assigned a unique SKU, inventory availability is easier to determine throughout the year. And when it comes time for a stock-take, SKUs make it easier to reconcile stock levels – so that actual inventory levels match inventory counts in your retail POS or inventory management system.
Re-Stocking Products
Making use of SKUs can help store owners identify reorder points and a minimum threshold – so when inventory hits a certain level, they are made aware that a new purchase order needs to be placed.
These internal codes also help you identify the products that move faster. Meaning you only have to re-order when you really need to – resulting in reduced inventory holding costs.
Better Customer Experience
Have you ever walked into a store and seen a pair of shoes or a t-shirt that you liked – but it turned out that you needed a different size? In this case, retail employees usually scan the item’s barcode or label to see if they have your size in stock, either in the back stockroom or at a different location.
This instance explains how SKUs are used within a retail system to improve customer experience. When products share a traceable type of code, you and your staff can more easily identify stock levels quickly so that more time is available to actually assist customers.
Easier To Identify Profitable Products
SKUs are generally the easiest way for retailers to filter for specific and detailed product reporting – e.g. identifying bestsellers and underperforming products by their SKU. When you combine this with merchandising and product categories or tags, business owners can more easily see the effectiveness of their store’s product mix or product lines.
Identify Inventory Shrinkage
Inventory shrinkage in retail can be defined as the difference that exists between the inventory quantity in a retailer’s POS system and the actual inventory in that store. In other words, it consists of the stock/product/inventory that goes missing due to human error, theft, damage, miscounting, etc.
Inventory management is key to minimizing shrinkage in retail. As stated in an inventory shrinkage article published by Forbes, “Without an active inventory process, you do not realize your losses until it is too late.”
And properly designed and implemented inventory SKUs are central to any good retail management system. They are key to modern retail operations since they are necessary to share and track inventory information between different locations, systems, and sales channels.
Did you find this article helpful? We will be posting more inventory management tips in the upcoming weeks.
