Mobile point of sale solutions are becoming increasingly common in the retail landscape and that trend is expected to continue moving forward. One report from research firm Infogroup suggested that the number of retailers deploying mobile checkout systems will triple over the next five years. According to the study, approximately one-quarter of retailers used a mobile POS already last year, which allowed them to complete transactions from anywhere in the store and utilize mobile devices as payment tools.

“The adoption of mobile POS is a great way to capture valuable customer information, but our survey revealed that retailers struggle with using the data that they already have,” Don Patrick, Infogroup’s targeting solutions president, explained. “Retailers must also invest in analytics to maximize ROI and improve the customer experience.”

Only 23 of the 100 retail executives surveyed said they don’t plan on leveraging mobile POS technology.

A separate study conducted by the IHL Group found that the mobile POS market surpassed $2 billion in hardware and software sales last year. Worldwide, the mobile POS market is a $7.8 billion business and it continues to grow, illustrating the demand for mobile POS solutions.

The benefits of mobile POS

More merchants are integrating mobile POS for a reason: It brings a lot of clear value to the table. For customers, it makes paying that much easier. Businesses that traditionally didn’t accept mobile payments can easily do so through a third-party dongle, or they could incorporate NFC technology to allow payments straight from phones.

From the company’s perspective, mobile POS allows merchants to process payments more efficiently. They don’t need a bulky cash wrap or anything like that, which allows them to more nimble. Moreover, many mobile payments solutions can be integrated with existing cash drawers, receipt printers, pole displays and barcode scanners, allowing merchants to process mobile payments quickly and effectively.

Mobile POS developers should be on the lookout for this trend. More retailers are looking to implement these solutions as a means to keep up with customer demand, and that presents numerous opportunities to sell mobile and cloud POS solutions to merchants. Investments in mobile POS solutions will only rise in the future, especially considering how ubiquitous phones and tablets are for everyday business activities.