About Point of Sale System (POS) Which is a Retail Software (Term Paper Sample)

How POS Improves Customer Service
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The current economy retailers face stiff competition in the market. According to Lai, (2012), the secret of success is to do more, spend less and provide high standard services. The situation for Alliance Supermarkets requires argent attention. Technology in the retail sector plays a major role in improving sales and customer relationship. Gomzin,(2014) asserts that the Point of Sale system is a retail software that can be useful to retailers in terms of customer management, loyalty, in-store promotion, price optimization among others.
How POS Improves Customer Service
POS has the ability to provide services that improve customer experiences. Lai, (2012) observes that POS provides self-services abilities for instance; customers can easily find product information. Through such information, customers can make purchase decisions through automatic payment systems. Alliance Supermarket can reduce labor costs as it creates customer experience. The POS software is used by Alliance Supermarket to enhance knowledge through tools that improve customer service. For instance, the software enables customers to identify the products they require form the supermarket’s various stores (Gomzin, 2014).
Madaan, (2009) admits that POS ensures that inventory records are up to date. Through this capability, it is possible for retailers to know what the store has and what it does not. Relying on general inventory, Alliance supermarkets only captures retailer’s preferences and not consumer preferences. Alliance Supermarket needs to update it POS software to incorporate the cloud-based system. The cloud-based system has the ability to run numerous reports useful in improving customer services. Reports generated include the most selling items which translate to customer preferences. Alliance Supermarkets can use information from such reports to make good business decisions (Madaan, 2009).
According to Gomzin, (2014), the POS software has the ability to reduce the time spent by customers looking for items and more so reduces human error. Alliance supermarket can use the POS effectively to organize items by category. POS can be utilized effectively to browse through large inventories with minimal errors. This means that transaction speed would improve hence making consumers satisfied with services offered. Good POS software shall enable Alliance supermarket to appreciate loyal customers through a programmed discounts. Linsenmann, (2015) says customers also have the option of either to receive or, email the receipt. This attribute in the POS enhances recall of customer’s name when checking out. Alliance supermarket can also build email campaigns centered on informing consumers of upcoming sales promotions and new products available based on customer’s previous purchases. POS software can help Alliance Supermarket to concentrate on customer’s services (Gomzin, 2014).
How POS Reduces Cost
The aim of any business is to improve its net income. To achieve success, retailers can increase the amount of sales and reduce operating costs. POS has the ability of reducing operating cost through reduction of overhead. The newer versions of POS software have the ability of increasing sales as well while standards of services are maintained (Madaan, 2009).
Use of Individual Purchase Information
Alliance supermarket can make us of the POS software to collect useful date regarding their consumers. For instance, retailers can get information about buying habits and shopping preferences (Gomzin, 2014). Alliance Supermarket can use the information available in the POS system to structure detailed customer profiles. An index contains purchasing data that Alliance will need to make personalised customer experiences. Information stored in the index is combined with information from credit cards and social media (Madaan, 2009).
The LevelUp tool is used to suggest to customers to try new products and services. LevelUp is available on a mobile network where customers interact with their brands. When a customer uses a smart phone to buy for a product or services, level up captures the customer name, date and the amount spent. Information from levelUp can be used by Alliance Supermarket to identify how many times a customer logs in and how much money spent. Swarm is also a feature used to identify transaction data and traffic trends. Swarm is considered an intelligence tool that retailers need to link with the POS (Lai, 2012).
Groupon is a tool in the POS that aids in creating customer profiles. Alliance Supermarket shall need this tool in order to automatically build a more useful customer profile. Profile information in this case includes purchase histories, specific customer preferences, and, buying behaviors. The cashiers have the ability to make notes regarding customer preference. The RetailNext is an analytical tool within the POS system. The platform is used to connect with digital and physical information. Digital information are inform of video, mobile devices, promotional calendars and camera feeds among others (Lai, 2012).
Ethics and Privacy when Using POS Systems
POS just like any other technology is prone to security threats. Technology is convenient since it allows connectivity. This attributes makes it even more convenient for cybercriminals. Connected POS system is an easy target for cybercriminals. Measures are required to protect the POS software from hackers (Lai, 2012). Cases of hacking have been reported in the past hence making POS vulnerable. Gift cards, Credit card and debit card...