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Mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) adoption is growing at unprecedented rates. According to a report by Transparency Market Research, the mPOS market is expected to reach over $38 billion by 2024*.

mPOS solutions consist of handheld devices, like smartphones, tablets or other wireless devices, with a payment card reader that performs similar functions of a point of sale terminal.

The technology has the capabilities to open new opportunities for many retailers. The biggest demand for mPOS is coming from small and medium-sized merchants that have found the technology to be an important tool in helping them run their stores more effectively. While mPOS isn’t going to replace the traditional POS counter for most retailers, it can help increase sales and heighten customer service for almost every type of business.

Retailers who adopt mPOS are taking a step in the right direction toward creating a better customer experience. And this is just the start of the mPOS journey for retailers. The potential to forever change the way a business interacts with its customer and customers interact with a business is immense.

If you’re considering implementing mPOS or want to get the most out of your current investment, here are three innovative ways to utilize the technology.

1. Line Busting

One of the key functions of mobile POS is to shorten the lines at the checkout counter. With mPOS, you can easily manage long lines during the busiest part of your sales day or during the holiday shopping season with line busting. This is where sales associates use a mobile device to take orders and/or collect payment for goods anywhere on the store floor. Line busting helps capture what could have been a lost sale during a big rush by shortening wait times and improving customer satisfaction.

2. Empowering Sales Associates

mPOS is not only for ringing up sales. Cutting-edge retailers are unchaining their sales associates from the checkout counter and allowing them to interact with customers on a whole new level. These associates are in the aisles, near the dressing rooms and at the entrance of the store armed with a mobile device to meaningfully assist customers, and using it to build out the in-store experience. This approach allows retailers to interact with the customer at the point of decision where they can offer complementary products, look at their preferences and history on past interactions with the brand.

Empowering sales associates with up-to-date information on specs, reviews or inventory allows them to offer real value to the customer on the floor. Now the associate is seen as being helpful, and not just someone trying to sell something. It also gives the sales associate access to customer information including online and in-store activity so they can provide a more personalized experience for the shopper.

3. Endless Isle

The key to a successful retail business is the relationship between inventory and customer demand. With real-time, enterprise wide inventory data being provided to your mPOS, store employees can immediately find an item that is out of stock in the store and order it for the customer without ever leaving their side. They can arrange for the item to be delivered to their desired location or picked up at a store. The endless isle experience ensures that the customer has a great shopping experience and the sale is made.

Customers in the digital age want to shop across multiple channels and have a seamless experience whether they are on your website or in the store. They also want the convenience of buying online and picking up in store, or returning in store. mPOS can give associates real-time visibility into all the inventory held across the company, allowing customers to purchase products regardless of location in a single transaction. Associates can use mPOS to leverage store inventory for buy online, pickup in store orders. Retailers taking advantage of this feature can increase profitability and customer satisfaction.

Companies that want to get the best results from a new mPOS system need to develop a plan to improve customer engagement without making shoppers feel uncomfortable. They also need to use mPOS for more than just payments and purchases. But more than anything, mPOS should be about unifying the digital and physical shopping experience to transform the customer experience and enhance the retailer’s brand.

Learn more about SuiteCommerce InStore and how it can transform the in-store experience.

*Mobile Point-of-Sale (mPOS) Market to Reach US $38.38 billion by 2024; NFC Technology to Report Highest Revenue Growth: Transparency Market Research