A Complete Guide to EPOS Systems for Retailers: Choosing the Right Retail Till Solution
Retailing in today’s world is about more than just offering great products; retailers need the tools to increase operational efficiency, create great customer experiences, and provide meaningful insights on business performance in real time. A modern day retail EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) system does precisely that for retailers – whether you operate a boutique, convenience store, or have multiple retail locations. A retail till system is your solution to handle your retail operations and improve efficiencies every day.
What is a Retail EPOS System?
A retail system refers to the hardware and software combination you have in place at the point-of-sale to take transactions, control stock levels, understand customer data. Your retail till system will typically have a few components:
- Touchscreen till/terminal
- Barcode scanner
- Receipt printer
- Cash drawer
- EPOS software
The software is the core tool that will run everything you need to run your retail operations, with a lot of tools including stock tracking, reports and customer relationship management.
Key Features of a Modern Retail EPOS System
A modern day EPOS system will have at least the following features to increase efficiency and growth with your business:
- Inventory Management
Control stock levels in real time, or even set low stock alerts or preferred replenishment orders for new stock to order. A sometimes-overlooked feature of a retail till with inventory control can sometimes be incorporated into a non-inventory retail till point of sale terminal and prevents overstocking or running out of stock altogether.
- Sales Reports and Analytics
Detailed sales reports you can access by product, by category, by staff members or by location. Real time analytics allow store owners to make better decisions based on data.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Record customer information, purchase history and preferences. This data driven aspect of store management means that your marketing, loyalty programs etc, can be accurately targeted.
- Multi-Channel Selling
Selling in store, online or both? A retail EPOS system will also assist with e-commerce, allow all sales to sync stock and have one report.
- Staff Management
Store owners can manage employee hours and record performance and sales. Staff performance information is useful when rewarding high-performing employees and managing labour costs.
- Integrated Payments
The main EPOS systems now integrate with payment gateways and all types of payment, card processing, mobile wallets and contactless payments, to eliminate errors and increase the speed at which payments are processed.
Benefits of a Retail Till System:
→ Efficiency: Improved speed at checkout. Allowing you to get customers in payments faster. Reducing human error!
→ Accuracy: Automated calculations made possible the improved reporting, purchasing and stock taking increased data reliability.
→ Improved Customer Experience: Speed of service and accuracy of order and evidence of personalization in marketing of goods all lend themselves to enhancing a customers experience.
→ Prepare for growth: You will still discover an EPOS system is ready for more than one location or selling channel. EPOS systems will support multiple stores or selling locations.
How Retail Tills Help Compete in a Digital Economy
Consumers today expect seamless shopping experiences. An omnichannel retail till system allows you to:
- Take online orders and process them in-store
- Provide click-and-collect services
- Understand how your customers interact with you across different platforms.
Your visibility across all sales channels and a unified customer experience sits with a centralised system.
Selecting the Compatible System
- Does it suit your industry? Does the system support your unique retail vertical?
- How easy is it to use? Will your staff get up to speed quickly using the system?
- Support and training. Is it easy to onboard new staff? Ongoing support?
- Customization. Can reports, receipts, and workflows be tailored?
- Integration capabilities. Will it integrate with your accounting, CRMs or e-commerce platforms?
Retail Tills for small vs. Large businesses
Small retailers may be looking for ease of use, an affordable retail till is essential. Larger businesses may want multi-location capabilities, centralized reporting, and deeper integrations. It is best to look for EPOS solutions that are scalable as you grow.
Conclusion
Choosing the right retail till system is important for retailers that want to run operations more efficiently, provide enhanced customer service, and manage profitable and sustainable growth. Regardless if you are setting up a new store or replacing an outdated system, today’s EPOS solutions deliver more flexibility, data insights, and control than
