As a business owner, the goal of any business is to increase its net income. There are two ways to address this: 1) Reduce operating costs, and/or 2) Increase sales. Traditionally, point of sale systems have concentrated on the first method by reducing operating costs.

By automating mundane tasks, pos systems have helped retailers reduce their overhead. Today, the next generation of point of sale software can further help retailers increase their net income by helping them increase sales too.

Next generation point of sale software offers additional features to aid retailers in increasing their sales volume and geographical reach. While retailers can still enjoy lower overhead costs, they can now take advantage of these new features to increase their sales through better customer service and new channels offered by the Internet. Increasing sales offers a dramatically higher return on investment to the retailer as the potential is virtually limitless.

Next generation pos systems offer some or all of the following features to help retailers increase their sales:

1. 1.    Integrated eCommerce – a new storefront not limited by geography or time
2. 2.    Auctions – new sales channel and marketing channel
3. 3.    Sales Order & Telephone Order modules
4. 4.    CRM (Customer Relationship Management) – improved customer service
5. 5.     Integrated mass email – low cost promotions
6. 6.    Club pricing – improves customer loyalty
7. 7.    Revolving A/R (Accounts Receivable) – improves customer loyalty through credit
8. 8.    Customer loyalty points reward programs
9. 9.    Gift card sales and redemptions built into the software
10. 10.  Suggestive selling prompts for cashiers
11. 11.  Receipt printers produce marketing messages
12. 12.  New Signature Capture devices display marketing messages at the checkout line

At the end of the day, next generation point of sale systems allow retailers to increase their geographical reach and become more efficient marketers. A well implemented POS system results in reduced marketing expenditures and increased sales volume.

About the Author

Chester Ritchie is the former Vice President of Sales & Marketing for CAM Commerce Solutions. CAM Commerce is a leading provider of point of sale, ecommerce, and payment processing solutions located in California. Please visit http://www.camcommerce.com/ for more information.

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