The evolution of the retail POS system has accelerated in recent years to make physical checkout a frictionless experience. Retailers know that long checkout lines can lead to lost customers, so they are steadily embracing more mobile-oriented point-of-sale technology that cuts down on customer wait time.
How a Mobile POS System Facilitates Remote Sales
A mobile POS system is one that can move around within or outside a physical store. It allows employees to accept purchases from a remote location through a mobile device. Apple has been an early pioneer in using this system at its stores. This technology has a direct impact on improving the customer experience in a personalized manner. Here are ways POS technologies are revolutionizing the retail industry.
- Take Pressure Off Employees - Going mobile with POS reduces the long lines that trigger excessive customer complaints. Employees will be more productive toward company goals as engagement time with customers improves. Long checkout lines can intimidate employees as much as customers, whereas a mobile checkout solution eases the process on both ends.
- Shift Smoothly from Inquiry to Sale - A single employee can seamlessly manage the complete customer journey with help from a mobile device. The employee can answer easy to complex questions, drawing from a primary menu of digital resources. Once the customer has decided to make a purchase, the same employee can process the transaction.
- Add Flexibility to Sales - Instead of one stationary terminal that shoppers must pass through, sales transactions can occur with more flexibility. Now customers have multiple checkout options and less reason to walk out of the store frustrated.
- Make Stores More Digitally Resourceful - By increasing their digital and mobile capabilities, stores can gather more data to generate valuable analytics. POS systems can help collect contact information and other data on shoppers that can be used for market research and reaching out to customers in a more personalized manner. It also transforms business models toward greater sustainability and less need for paper consumption.
Learning from Mobile POS System Innovators
So far, small and mid-sized companies have mostly led the charge toward mobile POS systems, although a handful of giants such as Apple and Warby Parker have been leaders as well. They've helped pave the way for advancing the mobile retail POS system as an eventual retail industry standard. One of the reasons Apple stores are so successful is because their floor teams are equipped with mobile devices to approach customers ready to answer basic questions.
Apple's retail model frees up floor space and eliminates the need to make a stationary POS the store's focal point. Warby Parker uses a similar model of well-trained sales agents approaching in-store customers with tablets to take orders. Brick-and-mortar retailers that follow the models set by these early mobile POS pioneers will gain a competitive edge over stores that resist the new direction.
Would you prefer purchasing endless paper rolls for receipts or cutting that expense and sending email receipts instead? Do you want to end long checkout lines that give buyers time to change their minds on purchasing decisions? Allowing customers to complete the in-store buying journey with mobile pos technology is the clear direction for retailers in the years to come.
Conclusion
The modern mobile retail POS system is steadily advancing with substantial opportunities for future growth. It should not be considered a gimmick or a trend, as this system is poised to take over the retail industry. The reason is simple: it dramatically improves the customer experience compared with long lines that waste time. Nowadays, this checkout process makes life much easier for retailers, employees, and customers who will begin to prefer stores that adopt mobile POS technology.
