These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find a simple cash register being used to ring up sales at any retail establishment. Technology is advancing at an impressive rate, and the impact is not lost in the retail arena.  In a connected world, where omnichannel is key, digitally connected systems are in fact  indispensable.  These software systems can provide retailers with a host of different features and benefits to assist and empower them do everything from process sales (POS, MPOS) to enhancing customer relationships (ERP software).

However, it’s important to understand why mobile point of sale systems are so important for the retail sector, as well as some of the advantages they can provide. That’s why the team from Eurostop has gathered an in-depth guide for you here about the uses and benefits of MPOS software.

What Exactly is a Mobile Point of Sale System?

Before diving into the benefits and other details of mobile point of sale systems, it’s important to have a clear understanding of precisely what they are and how they work. Unlike traditional POS systems that store customer data and take transactions at a fixed till point, MPOS systems are completely mobile. This enables retailers the freedom to get out from behind the cash desk and help customers from anywhere on the shop floor, or even outside a brick and mortar store, while still having all the features of a traditional POS system at their fingertips.

Mobile POS systems often consist of mobile devices such as tablets, handheld units  or smartphones that take the place of traditional cash registers or point of sale systems. They can also come equipped with add-ons, such as card readers, chip scanners, receipt printers, and other components. In terms of software, the MPOS system links all of these components together, using innovative cloud technology that helps you to track sales better, help customers, and provide any other necessary information to complete sales from any location, as long as there’s a wireless connection.

Top 5 Factors to Review When Choosing a Mobile POS System

If you’re considering investing in a mobile POS system, there are some important things to make note of, such as:

• Support for Mobile Payments: These days, many transactions are processed utlising customer smartphones with mobile wallets – the uptake of which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw shoppers and retailers curtailing the use of cash.   So it’s important to make certain that any mobile POS solutions you implement are compatible and designed for a range of payment methods including mobile payments. This way, your customers can select to use options such as Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and other options, whatever is most convenient for them, which will enhance your brand experience.   Most important, you don’t risk losing a potential sale.
• Support for EMV Chip Credit Cards: Credit cards are created with EMV chips, making swiping unnecessary. Contactless payments are also possible if the sales value is under the contactless limit, or the credit card is simply inserted into a card reader located under the MPOS device’s pin pad, making the process extremely simple. We recommend selecting a vendor that supports an all in one device which will processes integrated payments. This means that your store associates won’t have to carry a separate PDQ (credit and debit card) machine and neither will they rely on a reliable wireless connection, all of which makes the solution truly mobile.
• Support for Multiple Registers: For large retailers, you’ll need to ensure your mobile POS system can handle multiple registers and transactions simultaneously. Not only will this make the transaction process more efficient, but also offer your shoppers a choice of options and enable you to grow your business without the need to invest in new point of sale software/hardware as you scale up.
• Reliable Barcode Scanning: Every interaction at payment has the potential to impact the experience that your customer has with the brand.  So a seamless checkout experience with accurate and robust barcode scanning is essential.  Make sure that your solution uses technology that can scan barcodes reliably every time.  Some solutions use phone cameras, or a separate scanning device, but these can be unreliable and increase the footprint of your mobile solution.  Even better is an integrated scanner, which will enable you to add items to the sale quickly from the same device, with accurate pricing and promotion information.

Top Benefits of Implementing a Mobile POS System

There are many benefits to implementing a mobile POS system in your retail establishment. Some of them include:

• Increased Security: Mobile retail systems help provide your customers with increased security. This is because they all need to comply with PCI guidelines or EMV technology, which offers safer transactions than other alternatives.
• Reduced Wait Times: With MPOS solutions, you’ll no longer have to risk losing business and a potential sale due to the sight of long queues and increased wait times. As well as assistants behind the cash desk, you will have the flexibility to deploy additional mobile staff on demand to process transactions and assist with customer queries directly on the shop floor. This is especially useful for busy promotional periods or during peak hours.
• Added Floor Space: One of the biggest advantages of MPOS systems is that they don’t take up any floor space like traditional POS systems. This means more room on the floor to highlight your products. In addition, where social distancing has become mandatory during the COVID pandemic, mobile POS units can give you the added flexibility to make smart use of your space.
• Customer Data Collection: MPOS systems help you collect important data about your customers from purchase history and preferences to personal information like emails and phone numbers. This makes it easier to implement loyalty programmes and assists you in providing a personalised service when they walk through the door.
• Easy Reporting: Being able to analyse performance and react to changing footfall, environmental factors and promotional campaigns is paramount to a growing retail business. MPOS systems offer a host of reporting and data collection tools to help you track customer purchases and other important metrics on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis. This type of data can help you maintain an overview of your entire store portfolio and plan for the future, making the most informed decisions for your brand.

Why Choose Eurostop for Your Mobile Point of Sale Solutions?

For more than 30 years, Eurostop has been providing innovative mobile point of sale solutions and other services to retailers all around the world. When you choose our MPOS systems over competitors, you receive some of today’s latest software coupled with hardware that’s built to last. Our MPOS works on an integrated device that doesn’t need to connect to a separate barcode scanner or payment terminal, making it truly mobile.

Eurostop also boasts a retail app suite, for those who operate both brick-and-mortar stores, in addition to warehouses. The mobile retail apps allow you to manage stock and inventory control, enabling you to make the most of your most valuable asset – stock, and keep track of every aspect of your business and increase efficiency while decreasing costs.

By using the retail suite of mobile apps from Eurostop, you’ll also be able to reduce the number of human errors that occur and ensure that whenever you want to look up information, it’s right at your fingertips.

To learn more about the innovative retail solutions from Eurostop, contact us online today or call +44 (0) 208 991 2700 for a FREE demo.