Business activity in the United Kingdom enjoys a significant boost in Q4 of every year. Holiday shopping features prominently on the list of to-do items, and this is good news for UK small and medium enterprises. The increasing adoption of technology to manage financial transactions is evident in the uptick in hardware and software POS systems from leading providers. UK stores in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England are adopting new-age technology at an alarming rate.
For starters, the UK is a hub of FinTech enterprise. Peer to peer money transfers, e-wallets, online payment systems and the like are standard. As retailers enjoy tremendous business activity over December and early January, it becomes all the more important to manage operations effectively.
Land-based stores across Britain typically see high levels of foot traffic over December and January, especially when Christmas sale items go on display. It is imperative that retailers offer excellent customer service and efficient checkouts to ensure customer satisfaction. If the customer experience is the sum of all shopping activity, it makes sense that point-of-sale systems can dramatically enhance the overall experience.
If customer frustrations boil over during any stage of the process, this can lead to a dramatic loss of revenue. Many UK retailers have dual operations running – online operations and land-based business activity. Over the years, the UK is seeing an increasing the bigger adoption of mobile POS systems. These are helping to drive sales by offering convenient e-commerce solutions to customers.
Effective Management of Data
These mobile solutions allow customers to browse in-store products on their mobile phones while they are physically at the premises. Point-of-sale systems are highly effective at managing inventory through powerful hardware and software. One of the most popular POS systems are the Revel Systems. These systems have many functional features including real-time inventory tracking of SKUs, POM (purchase order management), full integration with QuickBooks and cash registers, and they serve as effective customer management mechanisms.
In other words, bricks and mortar businesses can track all customer purchases including specific details of the customer too. These include information related to marketing campaigns, purchase history, preferences etc. Efficient POS systems have yet another purpose – management of employees. Since every employee must use a PIN number to access the POS system, it is easy to see employee performance statistics, sales volumes and productivity.
Other aspects to consider with POS systems in the food and retail industry include things like a kiosk point-of-sale system, flexible ordering for tables in the restaurant, digital menus, kitchen display systems, and intelligent reporting options. Customers can also be rewarded through loyalty programs, and a system such as Revel is capable of being used across multiple stores, or a single store. As always, safety and security are paramount, and the Revel system is geared towards PCI compliance and SAS 70 certification.
Full Integration of Systems for Maximum Efficiency of Operations
The latest hardware and software for these POS systems is fully integrated with third-party applications such as various add-ons, e-commerce mobile ordering and online ordering options etc. The quality of customer support services is paramount, and the best systems currently being deployed across the UK have remote support, online support, telephone support and email support. Many of the POS systems now being deployed across the UK in the restaurant and hotel industry have cloud-based functionality. Scalability is another issue that needs careful consideration with growing businesses and varying employee numbers.
There’s no doubt that POS systems are coming to UK enterprises across the spectrum. Mobile point-of-sale is equally popular. These hardware and software systems are designed for internal management, customer management, and inventory management. They are geared towards getting the job done, and collecting relevant data that can be analysed and utilized efficiently.
