A Look at the Future of Retail: Trends and Technologies

A Look at the Future of Retail: Trends and Technologies

Retail Tech Insights | Saturday, February 12, 2022

Since its introduction some decades ago, point-of-sale systems have gone a long way.

FREMONT, CA: A POS, or point-of-sale, the system is an indispensable business tool that has supplanted the classic cash register with ever-evolving, technology-driven alternatives. These platforms facilitate more than just sales. Many can track inventories across different sales channels, manage personnel schedules and clocking in and out, and collect data for corporate insight and tailored service. Below, we examine nine POS trends and their effects on small businesses worldwide.

Untethered POS Systems

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In conventional retail settings, all transactions take place at the checkout counter. However, with current point-of-sale (POS) systems, you are no longer chained to the counter or even your store. Sales associates equipped with portable devices can communicate with consumers, check up on products, and conduct transactions on the spot. Mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) systems allow you to collect orders at trade exhibitions, curbside, or off-site locations and synchronize them with your primary store.

However, it does not end there. With the rise of social alienation and isolation, mPOS and online sales enable customers to purchase restaurant meals, luxury items, and even cars for delivery or in-store pickup. As customers become accustomed to convenience, an estimated 52 percent of merchants cited more delivery and pickup options as a high priority for 2021, and this trend is projected to continue in 2022.

In the United States, 85,6 million mPOS users are anticipated by 2025. In addition, the average value of mobile transactions is expected to rise from just over $7,000 in 2020 to $11,755 in 2025, indicating the sustained and growing prevalence of mobile purchasing.

Additionally, self-service kiosks have spread to restaurants and stores of all kinds. As it is anticipated that the labor shortage of 2021 will persist into 2022, eateries are installing self-service kiosks to compensate.

Seamless Omnichannel Experiences

Omnichannel experiences involve the integration of in-person, mobile, e-commerce, and social sales and a holistic view of the customer relationship across all channels at all times. POS systems empower merchants to offer a more seamless customer experience across all touchpoints. This is by no means a new trend.

Specifically, different types of POS systems can help retailers build:

Non-linear paths: Modern consumers do not employ a linear path to purchase.

Ecommerce as an extension of brick-and-mortar stores: In 2021, online holiday sales will reach over $205 billion, up 8.6 percent from 2020, with 58 percent of customers (and 87 percent of GenZ consumers) claiming that social media will affect their purchasing decisions.

Click-and-collect strategies: Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) and curbside pickup are examples of buying online, pick up in-store (Click-and-Collect) techniques. Customers can shop online and complete the transaction in-store. BOPIS sales have increased from a little over $35 billion in the United States in 2019 to an estimated $83 billion in 2021; BOPIS sales are projected to grow to $141 billion in 2024.

In response to COVID-19, 46percent of retail executives want to invest more in omnichannel commerce than before the outbreak.

Fortunately, POS technology enables small firms to adopt these complex purchasing patterns, allowing them to compete with the higher budgets of larger organizations.

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