Businesses often look at their products and services as their profit centers, and the point-of-sale system as a tool to help them process payments effectively. A retailer researches new products to sell to customers, a restaurant cooks up new dishes and a hair salon may offer new beauty services – when enterprises identifying new options to drive more revenue, these are the approaches they tend to consider.
However, an improved POS solution can actually be a pivotal piece of the puzzle that can drive more sales and directly contribute to the bottom line. This is why companies should always be looking at their POS solution critically – is it doing its job well enough, or is there another system that could help businesses improve the bottom line?
Why a POS upgrade may be the best option to drive more revenue
POS technology is always changing and always improving – modern solutions can be customized to improve flexibility and add new features. Additionally, POS technology has become more compact and efficient – many POS operations are going mobile by utilizing tablets as POS extensions. This greater efficiency and effectiveness means businesses can process transactions more quickly, allowing them to sell to more customers per day.
“A new POS resulted in an additional $2,000 per night, four nights a week.”
For example, take a busy restaurant that frequently encounters capacity issues. If a more efficient POS solution could help service staff cash out customers even five minutes more quickly, that could result in more tables served during peak periods. The Point-of-Sale News recently reported a similar story about a restaurant that, after making a change at the POS, was able to turn 176 more tables. This resulted in an additional $2,000 per night, four nights a week.
“People from the business community can come in and leave within fifteen, twenty minutes,” Jim Nicholas Sr., the owner of the restaurant, told the news source. “They’re able to come in to a great place, great location, great atmosphere, within the same amount of time as a fast-food restaurant, and have great food.”
Similar stories can be observed across other industries as well. For example, maybe a new POS can help with line busting at busy retail or grocery stores, enabling merchants to save customers who may have otherwise left after seeing long lines. Or perhaps a more efficient POS solution could help at businesses with peak periods – a souvenir stand that sells memorabilia during the half time of a game, for example. There are many businesses that could financially benefit from a POS upgrade.
The other benefits of a better POS
Most businesses tend to be conscious of costs and margins, so in many cases, simply being able to drive additional revenue by processing transactions more quickly is sufficient to consider a POS upgrade. However, there are numerous other advantages to considering a new POS as well, which only serves to further sweeten the pot for enterprises.
For example, mobile POS extensions allow store associates to roam the store and assist shoppers in aisles, enabling employees to cash shoppers out then and there rather than being locked up in the front-end. So, instead of being stuck at the register, cashiers can participate in stocking duties and helping customers.
A new POS could also improve facets such as security. With the EMV liability shift fast approaching, merchants should be evaluating POS systems with a clear path to EMV, encryption and tokenization to ensure they’re protecting card holder data. When firms are not using secure POS solutions, they leave themselves susceptible to in-store card fraud and breaches, which can result in huge costs.
There are many reasons to invest in a new POS. Whether businesses want to turn more customers or improve security, a POS upgrade may be the best option.
