4 Critical Considerations when Purchasing a POS System

Point of Sale Systems

So, you are considering a POS system purchase? The company that you choose to purchase a system from will become your new business partner.

Consider the fact that all of your revenue will flow through this system and your success or failure will depend on this system serving you and your customers. That’s a very important position within your organization!

Selecting the proper system and the proper systems provider is extremely important for your business success. Consider the following points before you select your new POS partner.
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3 ways POS mobile technology can increase customer experience and fatten your wallet

By now you have probably heard about the rising trend in mobile technology in the retail environment.

A survey done by IHL Group found that 61% of retailers rate mobile technology as their top priority. This increased interest in mobile technology has spurred retailers to begin moving beyond basic transaction processing and begin integrating POS systems with marketing, merchandising, inventory, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) data. This allows retailers to provide a personalized and interactive experience for consumers. Nearly two-thirds of retailers have identified the mobile POS device as central to this shift, extending the customer’s experience outside of the traditional shopping lane and onto the floor, decreasing wait time while increasing employee/consumer interactivity through integration and engagement.
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Bruce’s Foodland Stores Making Its Way in the World Today, with LOC Software’s Store Management Suite

Bruce's Foodland and LOC SMS

For those of us old enough to remember the opening theme song from 1982’s classic American sitcom, maybe the place that knows your name isn’t a New England bar after all.

Perhaps the famous lyric more aptly applies to a grocery chain in northeastern Alabama. For over three decades, Bruce’s Foodland has been the hometown, family-owned store built upon one simple philosophy: deliver outstanding customer service, and good things happen. And happen they have. Now with five stores, the chain provides quality groceries, full service floral, deli, and bakery, plus the finest meat departments in the region. With utmost dedication to customers in mind, Bruce’s required a solution that provided needed operational information, yet kept managers out on the floor serving customers.
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Easter sales will jump past $16 Billion, According to NRF

Kathy Grannis
www.nrf.com/consumertrends

Washington, March 20, 2012

It seems even high prices at the pump can’t keep the Easter Bunny away this year.

According to NRF’s Easter spending survey, conducted by BIGinsight, Americans will shell out an average of $145.28 on everything from apparel and candy to food and decorations this year, up 11 percent from $131.04 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $16.8 billion.*

“Though the price of gas is on everyone’s mind, Easter is one of the few holidays some consumers are willing to stretch their budgets, especially because many children look forward to treats and new outfits on Easter morning,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Retailers will make sure to offer plenty of promotions on candy, apparel, food and decorations in the coming weeks for eager holiday shoppers.”

Retailers and Restaurants will benefit

According to the survey, those celebrating Easter have a hefty appetite for candy and new spring clothes. Nearly half (48.5%) will head to the stores to take advantage of retailers’ spring sales on colorful fashions and accessories, with total spending on those items expected to reach $3.0 billion. Most though, will head straight to the candy aisle (89.3%), shelling out more than $2 billion on traditional favorites such as chocolate eggs and jelly beans. The average person will spend more on these items as well: $26.11 on apparel, up from $21.51 last year, and $20.35 on candy, up from $18.55 last year.
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Tennessee EBT Outage – Begins Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 – 11:30 PM CST

Tennessee EBT Outage

Tennessee will experience an EBT Outage on Sunday, February 19, 2012, when the Department of Human Services converts all SNAP and Families First recipient accounts to a new EBT Contractor.

* The outage is scheduled to begin at 11:30 PM CT on Saturday, February 18, 2012, and end at 12:00 PM CT (Noon) on Sunday, February 19, 2012.
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3 Reasons you should be scanning barcodes

3 Reasons you should be scanning

The use of bar code technology in an industrial setting can be traced back as far as the 1960s, with some early implementations to identify railroad cars. Common bar codes began appearing on grocery store shelves in the early 1970s as the UPC code to automate the process of identifying grocery items. Today, bar codes are just about everywhere and are used for identification in almost all areas of business. So why should you be using them?
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Top 5 reasons a point of sale system is better than a cash register system

One thing all business owners have in common is the need for some type of cash management system to process sales. The typical cash management system has a life span of between 10-15 years with upgrades every 5-7 years. Due to the many years of service a business owner can expect from their system, it is important to choose the best option now and for the future. But what should you choose a cash register system or a point of sale (POS) system?
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Shoppers to Pull Out All the Stops This Valentine’s Day

Kathy Grannis

www.nrf.com/consumertrends

Americans to Pull Out All the Stops This Valentine’s Day
-NRF Survey Finds Total Spending to Reach $17.6 Billion-

Washington, February 1, 2012 – Love may not cost a thing, but consumers this year are set to spoil their friends, family and loved ones this Valentine’s Day in a very big way. According to NRF’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGinsight, the average person celebrating the holiday will shell out $126.03, up 8.5 percent over last year’s $116.21 and the highest in the survey’s 10-year history. Total spending is expected to reach $17.6 billion.*

“As one of the biggest gift-giving holidays of the year, it’s encouraging that consumers are still exhibiting the desire to spend on discretionary gift items, a strong indication our economy continues to move in the right direction,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Anticipating high foot traffic in the coming weeks, retailers have replenished their inventories and will entice eager shoppers with great deals on everything from special menu items at restaurants to clothing to flowers and, of course, chocolates.”

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NRF Forecasts Retail Industry Sales Growth of 3.4 Percent in 2012

Kathy Grannis

New York, January 16, 2012 –Though stubbornly high unemployment and continued uncertainty over the prospects for job growth will continue to dampen the outlook for industry retail sales growth in 2012, the retail industry will still grow at a rate faster than many other industries. This year, retail industry sales will rise 3.4 percent to $2.53 trillion*, according to the National Retail Federation – slightly lower than the pace of 2011, in which sales grew 4.7 percent. Many economists estimate that real U.S. GDP will rise approximately 2.1 to 2.4 percent.
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Top 4 Sources of Retail Inventory Shrinkage

Dec. 14 2011 – DCR

The loss of merchandise in a retail store through theft or damage is referred to as shrinkage or sometimes just shrink. The average shrink percentage in the retail industry in 2010 was about 1.5% of sales costing U.S. retailers over $35.28 billion in losses according to the National Retail Security Survey on retail theft.

Below we will show you the top 4 sources of inventory shrink and how you can protect yourself from the #1 source.

1. Employee Theft

In 2010 employee theft topped the list at a whopping %45 of total inventory shrinkage. In fact, employee theft was the top source of inventory shrinkage in all previous annual NRSS studies dating back to 1991. This translates into a hefty price tag of $15.9 billion paid by US retailers.

Unfortunately, 10 out of 21 types of retailers reported employee theft rates well above %45. The good news is, this type of theft can be lessened through surveillance and awareness.

Find out how to protect yourself from employee theft.

2. Shoplifting

The second largest source of inventory shrinkage is shoplifting at %31 costing US retailers $10.94 billion last year. This type of substantial profit loss to retailers ends up in raising product prices to off set these losses. In todays highly competitive retail pricing arena, an increase in prices can potentially damage your spot in the market.

Shoplifting can be prevented by surveillance systems, awareness programs and increased customer service.

3. Administrative Error

The third largest source of inventory shrinkage is administrative and paperwork errors at %14. Mistakes such as, but not limited to, markup and markdown errors cost US retailers about $4.94 billion.

Administrative errors can be greatly reduced by proper training and quality POS and back office software.

4. Vendor Fraud

The fourth largest source of inventory shrinkage in 2010 was vendor fraud at 4% costing retailers $1.41 billion. Vendor fraud is when vendors steal store or competitor’s merchancise while they stock their companies products. The good news is, this form of loss was among the smallest categories of inventory shrink.