25 Jul
Retailers have been continuously looking for ways to streamline their operations and improve customer service. One of the most effective ways to do this is to install point-of-sale (POS) systems. These systems allow store staff to take customer orders, process payments, and manage inventory more efficiently. In this article, we’ll discuss some tips and examples of POS systems for retail businesses.
Using point-of-sale systems to increase sales: How do you do it?
Because the major purpose of your POS is to process sales, you should become familiar with the system’s sell screen. Although each POS system is unique, you should be able to ring up sales by following these steps:
Include products in the sale – The initial stage in the checkout procedure. Adding items can be done in a variety of ways, depending on how your system is configured:
- Barcode scanning
- Look for the search bar or product lookup option on the sell screen (most POS systems have this feature).
- Use a shortcut to the sale screen.
You can then alter the quantity based on how many items the customer is purchasing.
Apply discounts — If you’re having a sale or want to apply discounts to a certain line item or the full cart, you should be able to do so with your POS. Whether your system lacks this capability, see if you can manually alter the item price.
Take payments – This is where you will be paid. Accepting cash or credit cards is rather simple with almost all POS systems.
Other systems, on the other hand, allow you to provide more payment options, such as:
Gift cards- If you offer gift cards, make sure they’re linked with your POS system so you can take them as payment. Check with your point of sale supplier to see if they have any connections with gift card firms.
Mobile payments – Depending on your point of sale and payment processor, you may be able to accept mobile payments like Google Pay. To learn more, contact your solution suppliers.
Buy now, pay later — As the name implies, this is a service that allows customers to take products home right now and then pay for them in monthly installments.
How a good POS system may assist you with customer management?
Here are some characteristics to check for:
Client database – Your system should ideally allow you to generate customer profiles with contact information and purchase histories.
Customer groups – The ability to build customer groups or segments is particularly important, as it allows you to simply develop targeted marketing and promotions. For instance, you may create a VIP shopper group for sending out special offers.
Loyalty program– Offering incentives and prizes is a proven strategy to generate repeat business, so create a loyalty program if you can. POS systems often offer loyalty options. Make sure yours does. If not, third-party integrations are always an option (more on this later).
Retail analytics and point-of-sale reporting
Stock on hand — You should constantly know how much inventory you have in your stores, therefore this is an analytics report you should run on a frequent basis.
Stock Shortage — This report informs you which items are getting lower in stock, allowing you to avoid out-of-stock situations. It’s essential to run this analysis on a frequent basis so you can notice patterns like which products are always low on stock.
Product Sales Report – How quickly are products selling? Which products are the most profitable? Your product performance report can answer these kinds of inquiries. This report should ideally show you how much stuff you’ve sold over a set period of time, as well as a review of things sold every month or week. Determine which things are worth spending on and which should not be re-ordered using the product performance report.
Sales Summary – This report provides a snapshot of your sales over a specified time period. Your sales report should also include your cost of goods sold, gross profit, concessions, and tax, so you can see how much money is returning to your company.
Sales Report by Product and Product Type – This report allows you to quickly discover your top (and worst) selling goods so you can take the appropriate action. If an item is selling effectively, for example, you might want to consider ordering extra. On the other hand, if a product isn’t selling, you’ll want to know as soon as possible so that you may run promos before the season expires.
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