For many people, summer is a time for vacations and downtime, but not for point of sale (POS) ISVs and VARs. It’s prime time for closing deals on new retail payment solutions that will position businesses competitively for the holiday shopping season. Urgency seems to build earlier each year, with about half of all holiday shoppers starting to purchase gifts before Halloween. With so much riding on how well retailers perform in Q4, including whether they finish the year profitably and with a growing number of satisfied customers, ISVs and VARs need to make sure the right tools are in place in enough time for retailers to capitalize on them during the critical holiday shopping season.
Few retailers are willing to replace all the POS and payment solution investments they’ve made in the past. A majority of retailers, 65 percent, know their technology doesn’t allow them to provide the customer experiences that consumers want, and one-third say it’s holding them back from offering differentiated CX. However, 54 percent say changing technology too often is actually detrimental to improving their stores. ISVs and VARs who can help plan and advance a tech roadmap that makes sense will find retailers interested in their solutions.
6 Ways to Optimize POS Solutions for the Holiday Shopping Season Without Replacing Everything
Show your prospects how these options can expand their capabilities during the holiday shopping season and future-proof their POS environments for the long term.
- Mobile Terminals
Start by offering retailers solutions that add mobile capabilities rather than replacing their current POS and payment solutions. With mobile terminals, sales associates can assist customers in the aisles, effectively busting lines that snake through the store during the holidays. Mobile terminals can also let retailers add a new lane for returns, making that process faster and more customer-friendly. Mobile terminals can help retailers offer personalized service with minimal waiting, resulting in happier customers and better flow throughout the store.
- Kiosks and Unattended Payments
Many holiday shoppers will be looking for self-service and self-checkout options. Consumers who use this option say it’s faster (77 percent), and they prefer to handle their own items (43 percent). To enhance customer experiences with self-service options, ISVs and VARs can provide easily manageable solutions and ensure data can freely flow throughout a retailer’s system to personalize interactions and allow for real-time reporting. Remind your prospects, however, that consumers occasionally need assistance from store employees, likely more often during the holiday shopping season, and sales associates near self-checkout areas are also a theft deterrent. Retailers should always give employees a role in their self-service deployments.
- More Payment Methods
The payment methods that retailers accept are linked to store performance. PYMNTS found that 70 percent of shoppers say the payment choice a store offers influences where they shop online. Furthermore, 51 percent of consumers have stopped shopping at a store that doesn’t accept digital wallets. Make sure the solutions you offer include integration with an omnichannel payment solution that lets retailers accept EMV contact and contactless, mobile wallet, ACH/bank transfer, and alternative payments like QR code payments. Work with your prospects to find the right mix for their markets that will help them capture the most revenues.
- Brandable Payment Links
Time-pressured consumers most often make purchases online, with only 9 percent making all their holiday purchases in-store. Brandable payment links make it easy for retailers to accept payments online. Merchants can email or text these links to customers so they can complete purchases on a payment page or make a payment directly from the link, and branded links reassure customers that the payment is secure. It’s a quick and easy way to accept payments and take the friction out of checkout experiences.
- Gift Card Solutions
Gift cards continue to be a popular choice for holiday gift-giving. In 2024, 55 percent of U.S. adults received a gift card as a holiday gift, and 25% received multiple gift cards. Retailers who meet the demand for gift cards can build their businesses by letting shoppers help introduce new customers to their stores. Gift cards can also help retailers improve their January sales with people returning to spend their cards and, typically, more than face value. An omnichannel gift card solution allows retailers to sell and accept gift cards in-store and online, enhancing experiences for shoppers and people receiving the cards.
- Subscription Solutions
Subscriptions allow consumers to automatically receive the items they need each month, from health and beauty products to coffee, and 40% of millennials rely on them to help manage their hectic schedules. It’s predictable income for retailers, and, even better news, 69% of shoppers are willing to spend more for the convenience. Help your prospects make the most of this trend by adding recurring payments to their current payments solution.
Get Ready to End the Year Strong
ISVs and VARs who help retailers update their payment technology and payment solutions this summer will help them position themselves for a successful holiday shopping season. It will help businesses capture more revenue and enhance customer experiences. However, it can also help ISVs and VARs expand accounts and build stronger relationships with retailers. To learn how a Datacap Systems partnership will help you offer new capabilities to retailers, contact us.
