Cloud? Retail POS Software Solutions: Your Questions Answered

Retailers know the importance of keeping up with market trends and customer preferences. They understand that their business is increasingly conducted in the digital realm. They also know that retail customers expect the stores they frequent to deliver a 21st-century shopping experience. Cloud retail POS software is the affordable, secure, and straightforward way to keep pace with all these trends.

As the benefits of modern ePOS systems become clear, retailers have questions about the best way to implement cloud-based POS software for their business. Many of the unknowns relate to the costs and benefits of running a business in the cloud in terms of security, flexibility, cost, and keeping your customers happy. In each category, cloud POS software offers retailers tremendous advantages.

I’m a Small Retailer. How Will Cloud POS Software Benefit My Business?

One of the main reasons for small retail businesses to adopt cloud-based POS software is its ability to even the playing field with their larger counterparts, including the national chains. Modernizing your small store with cloud retail POS software provides six key benefits:

Low upfront costs and simple maintenance: In place of closed-box POS terminals, cloud POS software runs on low-cost tablets and smartphones. The devices connect easily to inexpensive card readers, receipt printers, and other peripherals. Monthly software fees cost as little as $30 for a complete package that includes appointment booking and inventory alerts; packages that include online ordering and other advanced features are priced as low as $99 a month.Give your customers more options: Your customers now expect to be offered a range of payment options and shopping alternatives, including contactless payments, receipts via email or text, and the ability to access information about their past purchases. All of these options are available in modern cloud POS solutions.More efficient operation through integration: Cloud POS software ties together all the various processes necessary to run a retail store. Inventory tracking automatically links to accounting systems, and sales analysis is connected to customer relationship management, for example. All at the right size for your business today and tomorrow.Provide your customers with an omnichannel experience: Online shopping has boomed as a result of precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While in-store shopping will ultimately return with a vengeance, your clients will continue to expect a virtual shopping experience that’s as comfortable and rewarding as good old in-person retail.Bring your store to the customer: Mobility is another trend that has taken off as stores adjust to the reality of doing business in the COVID era. Mobile POS software allows store employees and customers to access up-to-date information about available inventory and customers’ purchase history from remote locations.Keep close tabs on changing trends and customer preferences: The faster a store can identify which products are hot sellers and which are lagging, the quicker it can adjust inventory levels and marketing efforts to ensure in-demand products are available and slow-moving items get the promotional boost they need.

How Will Cloud POS Software Boost My Store’s Online Sales?

Many retailers find themselves playing catch-up as they race to strengthen their online presence. In particular, getting a first-rate online ordering system up and running becomes a serious challenge. All the pieces of a premium online ordering process are available in cloud POS software for retailers.

Expand your brand presence by crafting a website and mobile app that mirror your store’s real-world look and feel and that extend your unique shopping experience to the digital realm.Empower staff by putting up-to-date information about your products and your customers at their fingertips via your mobile app. This allows employees to confirm that products are in stock and to offer customers promotions based on their purchase history.Combine in-person shopping with online orders seamlessly in a way that allows both to be tracked and analyzed at any time and from any location.Confirm that orders are filled and product shipments are received in a timely manner regardless of whether they were processed in person or online.Reach new customers and grow your relationship with existing ones by expanding your store’s footprint beyond the neighborhood of its physical location.

Adaptability and flexibility are critical for retailers to survive the peaks and valleys of economic and market trends and adjust to ever-changing customer preferences. Cloud POS software supports on-the-fly changes to product lineups and marketing strategies to help retailers stay ahead of the competition.

Will Cloud POS Software Help to Future-Proof My Retail Business?

It’s natural for a retailer to focus on the initial price of a POS system when making a purchase decision. However, many of the greatest benefits of cloud retail POS software are realized over months and years rather than days and weeks. For example, retail processes that previously were performed in silos, such as dealing with suppliers, monitoring sales, and collecting customer information, run much more efficiently when they’re all managed from a single platform that shows the big picture as well as the nitty-gritty details.

These six features of cloud POS software will have a big impact on the return your store realizes from its investment in a modern cloud-based POS solution:

Digital inventory management organizes every product, payment, and purchase order while providing a real-time snapshot of your stock on hand, on the way, and out the door.Mobile payment options give customers their choice of transaction types, including contactless payments and digital wallets.24/7 access from anywhere allows store managers to monitor the business at their convenience, freeing up time to spend on dealing directly with customers and employees.Get to know your customers as they get to know your store by gaining deeper insight into their favorite products and their preferred shopping styles.Maximize your store’s reach by promoting your online presence to reach potential markets beyond the immediate vicinity of your brick-and-mortar operation.Dive deeper into your sales figures by applying many of the same advanced analytics techniques that large retailers and big-box chains rely on.

The old saying that knowledge is power has a modern analog for retailers: Knowledge is sales. The more you know about your products, your markets, your customers, and your employees, the more likely your business decisions will translate into higher profits through increased sales and more efficient operation. Find a POS partner who will craft the ideal solution for your store—one that has the perfect blend of features at a price you can afford.