EPOS trends and technology
Tuesday, 30 March 2010 01:00
The well established benefits of EPOS systems - faster service, increased order value, better business and stock control - seem to be gaining in importance with the economic downturn. The good news is that the cost of accessing these benefits seems to be coming down too with EPOS systems using touch screens and sophisticated upselling features getting more reasonably priced.
Hard times need best practice, and one such approach is to offer several complementary items of merchandise for less than the total if bought separately. These incentives not only drive up sales, but also leave the customer with the feeling that they got a bargain. It’s hard to manage these promotions without EPOS, which can both remind staff when appropriate and apply the discounts automatically.
Fiona Taylor, purchasing manager at Falkirk Football Club comments, “We have an EPOS system from Actinic and where it has been fantastic is enabling us to track sales and profit margins. We can manage stock, but also introduce special promotions to shift slower moving lines.”
The online channel
It’s never been easier or more cost effective to sell online, and the trend is for systems to put together online, in-store and telephone sales in one integrated application. It makes sense that some people want to see merchandise for themselves, think about it at home, then order online. Conversely, some people want to look at what’s available in the web store, then visit the ground to pick up the goods in person. As demand has risen, suppliers have been able to provide these integrated systems without breaking the bank. My company is among them.
Leading technology
Two big technology developments in the EPOS field will be in contactless payment and RFID tags in my view. It's difficult to anticipate the time when RFID tags become ubiquitous, as it's dependent on the cost reducing to a trivial level. I imagine that RFID tagged Mars Bars are still some years away but probably also inevitable. Thinking along the same lines, it’s likely to be much sooner that it makes economic sense to tag individual clothing and sports items.
The Oyster card, from Transport for London, has shown how popular RFID-based contactless payment can become. Currently, we're suffering from chicken and egg syndrome. There aren't enough people trying to use contactless payment, and not enough retailers accept them. But the number of contactless enabled cards in circulation is rising sharply, and a point will soon be reached where it becomes a significant advantage for to accept them. At that stage, I expect usage to rise rapidly. Newsagents are likely to be in the vanguard of this move but I’m sure that other sectors will follow.
Another interesting area is the use of mobiles as payment devices. It's certainly a possibility that this is the way that contactless will go.
It wasn’t long ago that Chip and PIN card payments were considered exotic. Now they’re mainstream. In the same way, it seems likely that contactless payments for under £10 will be the next step in this evolution. While the bizarre “water chute” TV adverts from Barclays may have made us aware of the possibility, the Oyster and OnePulse cards are busy proving the concept on the ground. There are already 1.5 million Barclaycards in circulation that can make small payments simply by passing them over a reader.
Difficult times
When times are economically hard, there’s a tendency to cut back on all fronts. However, hard times also present opportunities, as it’s much easier to focus on business basics. Ensuring that full control is exerted over sales, stock and margins is part of those basics. Ensuring that sales are maximised across all channels is also critical. So EPOS systems still have an important song to sing, even in these constrained times.
Chris Barling, CEO of ecommerce and EPOS systems supplier, Actinic. Originally published on Football and Sports Arena magazine.