Point of sale innovation will continue to improve the customer experience.
By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor
Russell Gibson knows technology.
As manager of marketing technical services for Sinclair Oil Corp. of Salt Lake City, Gibson is aware of the latest tech trends in most retail channels.
But he was wowed recently at a restaurant in San Diego, when the server brought the bill to his table, along with a handheld credit card machine, and his companion paid on the spot with his Apple watch.
“I don’t know if the restaurant was using Bluetooth or near-field communication [two forms of wireless communications over short distances],” Gibson said. “But I can see in the future where somebody—rather than use their phone—will use their watch to start a fuel pump and pay for the gas.”
PROGRESSIVE POS
Although point of sale (POS) was once a system for ringing up sales, tracking the movement of merchandise and managing inventory, the tech industry continues to create new POS tools to improve store management and customer service. The same POS platform that processes sales can easily operate a loyalty program and present consumers with attractive promotions.
Mobile payments were slow to take off, but according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., nearly 66% of participants think that smartphones will replace traditional payment choices by 2020. Comparably, the Nielsen Co. reports that 84% of shoppers are more likely to patronize stores that reward them for being a loyal patron.
“C-store retailers have a large opportunity to partner with manufacturers to leverage marketing, couponing and in-store promotions,” said Perry Kramer, vice president and practice lead at BRP, a Boston-based retail consulting firm. “C-stores can integrate their loyalty systems to consumers’ payments with a mobile wallet or a mobile application. This can be as simple as introducing a QR-type code or barcode on the phone that can be used instead of a physical loyalty card.
“The challenge most c-stores have in this area is centered around a loyalty system that adds enough value to keep customers engaged,” Kramer continued. “The initial way, and probably the most memorable way c-stores have done this, is through rewards and discounts on fuel and beverages.”
Some retailers work directly with vendors to provide customers with special offers and move more products. Speedway stores of Enon, Ohio, partners with numerous suppliers, such as Coca-Cola and Lance Crackers, to give loyalty club members extra points when they buy the vendors’ featured products.
“Leveraging marketing relationships with the manufacturer to add value beyond fuel rewards is key to keeping customers engaged,” said Kramer. “The largest c-stores are already leveraging a strong marketing relationship with the many direct-store-delivery partners. In some cases, the value-add to the manufacturers, in addition to top line sales, is the c-stores sharing promotional results, including customer demographic data.”
MOBILE SOLUTIONS
Today, approximately 68% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, and for many, that phone is a mandatory shopping accessory. Consumers use their phones to locate nearby stores and merchandise, study product information and compare prices from different retailers.
While mobile payments were slow to take off, more than 114 million U.S. consumers now say they’ve made at least one mobile payment. There are many other ways that retail POS systems can connect with consumers’ phones to help boost sales.
“Complicated software can also be linked to beacon technology that alerts consumers’ phones of targeted coupons and flash deals while they are at the pump or as they enter the store,” said Kramer. “The c-store is a very difficult environment to drive incremental sales at the POS, as one of the cornerstones of a successful c-store POS is speed. An under-leveraged opportunity to increase sales and speed is to allow customers to order beverages and meals at the pump.”
Mobile tablets with a POS connection are convenient for taking payments from customers in a restaurant or department store, but tablets remain rare in traditional convenience outlets.
“You aren’t going to have someone walking outside or coming from around the counter to take a payment [on a tablet],” said Gibson. “Maybe it makes sense for Wawa or Buc-ees that have much bigger stores. We do have some Sinclair dealers using them, especially at truck stops. They may deliver a pizza directly to a truck parked on the lot and have the customer pay on the tablet.”
While early POS was aimed at handling store logistics in real time, future POS enhancements will emphasize the shopper.
“The next generation POS and in-store technology will be focused on improving the customer experience by identifying the customer and delivering frictionless payments and a personalized experience with coupons, offers, rewards and discounts,” said Kramer. “Much of this new innovation will be tied directly to the consumers’ mobile device.”
Tech experts believe retailers should think ahead to future opportunities that combine mobile payment with loyalty programs and strategic marketing efforts in order to give customers the best possible in-store experience.
EXERCISING EMV
Currently, most convenience retailers are concerned less with sci-fi payment technology and more fixed on meeting EMV requirements in-store and at the pump.
“The focus is still on EMV because some of the manufacturers don’t have hardware and software available for the stores now,” said Gibson. “Then it will be EMV for fuel dispensers. There is going to be staggering of implementation as various POS manufacturers get it done.”
Pushing back the EMV fuel pump deadline to 2020 has been a relief for many operators, “but by that time, it’s entirely possible that mobile will have taken root,” he said. “I think customers will find that mobile is going to be faster and more secure.”
After EMV implication, what is next for POS technology?
Kramer expects to see a range of new tools to help retailers set planograms, manage schedules, start and pause training courses, produce signage and execute tasks on the sales floor instead of in the back office.
“These will improve efficiency and help managers more effectively manage the sales floor,” he said.
“It’s going to be all over the board, and some retailers will be quicker to market with these technologies,” said Gibson. “Of course, it’s a lot easier for a new, ground-up facility to offer something new. They don’t have an investment in an existing system they need to replace.”