The software was a merchant's mind in the first cash registers, and the hardware was an automated box for cash POS systems. Since then, things have changed drastically. Now, they can offer you unexpected ways to benefit and, in this article, we’ll tell you all about them.
Today, the automated POS systems enable automated sales, inventory tracking, cashless payments, and integration with other software to track cash flow. This improves business analysis services significantly. And they continue to develop. Here are the five main directions of POS growth.
1. Integrated commerce
Before, you had to import data about your online and offline sales from different sources to merge them into one report. Now, this process is automated thanks to shared commerce POS systems.
For example, Shopify has developed a POS system that synchronizes with the Shopify app on iOS and Android to track online and offline sales. You get a centralized report in an easy-to-handle dashboard, which offers real-time insights into how your business is going.
2. Mobile POS systems
Since customers like autonomy in paying, POS systems can also accept mobile payments from anywhere. You only need an internet connection.
As POS become mobile-friendly, they can work with mobile credit card readers that use a credit card attached to a phone, or mobile wallets, like Google Wallet, Visa Checkout, and Apple Pay which allow users to pay directly through the apps.
3. CRM integration
POS+CRM integration increases visibility into the whole business process. The data you can drive from such symbiosis vary. For example, you can see which of your customers are boosting your sales. A CRM can build analytics and develop an e-mail campaign to boost customer loyalty by analyzing customer POS activity.
With a significant number of ready-made POS and CRM solutions, it is also possible to develop customized solutions to fit the needs of your business. You can hire the software development company MLSDev a dedicated software development team to help you.
4. Big Data for everyone
Previously, Big Data was the privilege of big business. Now, all the companies in the SMB range have access to powerful data analytics, thanks to POS.
Data-powered POS tools offer wide data-gathering and analytic features on inventory, staffing, best-sellers, revenue highs and lows, and much more.
5. Internet of Things
Naturally, POS terminals are a part of the Internet of things. Therefore they are connected to different systems, like CRM and inventory tools.
Thus, POS terminals become very vulnerable to security attacks. It is a point of concern, considering the overall world's number of security attacks is growing. According to statistics, the number of security attacks has been growing exponentially since 2015, reaching a peak of 10.5 billion in 2018.
Also, criminals are using technologies such as AI to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks on digital channels for moving money, according to Forbes. Therefore, using multi-fold security solutions to withstand the risks becomes crucial.
To conclude
Although the developments in POS solutions open new ways for a business to benefit, the security risks grow parallelly. Businesses should substantially invest in the security domain to the ultimate advantage of integrating POS systems.