Monthly Archives: October 2012

Traditional POS at a Tipping Point?

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A couple of studies undertaken by US publication RIS News recently got me thinking seriously about the future of retail Point of Sale systems installed at the majority of retailers today.  Is retail Point of Sale (POS) technology at a tipping point now? Could retailers potentially be facing a requirement for a major upgrade of their customer facing systems over the next 12 months?  Should they be thinking about it now?

iPad POSI feel that the answer to all of those questions is a definite “Yes”!  If so then what are these new customer facing systems going to look like?  For the answers the stats in the RIS Studies are quite illuminating.

Firstly in an RIS News study by Joe Skopura on “The Y2K Moment for POS” found here there are some great insights into the future of POS systems in the US.  No-one would argue that retailing has changed significantly and structurally over the last couple of years.  The model for physical stores is under siege “Stores are over built, downward margin pressure is a contagion, fixed costs are rising, online and mobile shopping is booming, and showrooming is catching fire”.

To be effective, POS must now be cross-channel ready and enabled where the customer wants you, when they want you, armed with the information they want – out on the shop floor with the customer.  As the hub of the customer experience the retail store can offer a powerful face to face advantage over online as long as the sales associates are empowered with the technology and information to meet the needs of the educated and now mobile equipped shoppers.

In the study 61% of retail respondents said that their POS is more that 5 years old (the number will be similar in Australia) and 48.8% noted that they would need to change in the next 12 months.  With the “Addition of Mobile POS” being the main driver to upgrade (60%) along with “Enabling Multi Channel selling in store” (60%) and “Enabling new Payment options” (52.5%).

Why POS and Why now?  Simple POS is the essential store operations platform and the pivotal enabler for additional services to improve the customer shopping experience.  To combat further erosion of market share and margins to online – retailers need to act now!  The fact that retailers are looking at mobile POS as a key driver and new (read mobile) payment options shows that retailers are looking to replace expensive fixed POS terminals and static counters with cheaper mobile devices that allow sales associates to get out from behind the counter onto the shop floor to serve the customer better at the point of decision rather than letting customers walk out the door to buy online later.

iZettle takes on Payleven in Germany with Deutsche Telekom deal

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iZettle and PayLeven battle it out in the European market – where partnerships with banks and payment networks are key.

Gigaom

Square is starting to take its first steps outside the U.S., but it’s still a way off from entering the European market. So on mainland Europe, certainly, we’re still looking at a war between Square’s clones: Sweden’s iZettle and Germany’s Payleven.

Having recently scored an investment from American Express, iZettle – already present in the Nordic countries and the UK – has just inked major deals for its German push. The company is partnering with both DZ Bank and the giant telco Deutsche Telekom, the latter of which will be pushing iZettle’s mobile payments gadgets in stores across the country.

“Strategically, Germany is one of our core markets, and we are committed to serving everyone from individuals to small businesses here long term,” iZettle CEO Jacob de Geer said in a statement.

“Our ambition is to become the undisputed market leader in Germany and given the partnerships with…

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Isis in action: It’s pretty simple but no replacement wallet

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Gigaom

The mobile carrier payment platform Isis launched Monday in Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah; and it works pretty much as advertised. After a lousy initial experience with the service when my phone wasn’t supported and I couldn’t even find merchants who knew about the program or accepted Isis, I scored a review phone from Isis and Verizon so I could purchase my coffees and gas with nary a wallet.

Right now a scant 11 phones are supporting the Isis program, which requires a special SIM card in the phone and an NFC chip. To activate the service, a user must go into the store to get an Isis SIM card and must also download the Isis app. It’s pretty painless. After selecting a PIN you have an option of choosing to link a credit card or use a pre-paid option that you top up using a credit card…

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The shopper genome project

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Absolutely agree. In a world where smart devices are growing like crazy and (finally!) offer the promise of the right offer to the right customer at the right time, you had better be able to follow consumers as they channel hop and to deliver permission-based, highly relevant and personalized communications.

Steve Dennis

No doubt you’ve heard of The Human Genome Project–the effort to decode our species by identifying and mapping all of our genes. Ultimately it’s an effort to better understand what makes us tick, from both a functional and physical standpoint.

As a business or brand leader you have a similar challenge when it comes to decoding your current and potential consumers’ attitudes, needs and behaviors.

In a world of vast and growing choices, the pressure is only increasing to develop deep, actionable insight into your customer base.

In a world where most segments are growing slowly, your only chance for out-sized growth is to gain market share. And that requires understanding which levers to pull that are compelling enough to win new clients or grow share of wallet with existing ones.

In a world where most competitors are either engaged in a race to the bottom or stuck in tired…

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