eCommerce has now introduced mPOS as a new trend. It has initiated a debate amongst the brick-and-mortar merchants over the benefits of shifting from the traditional in-store point-of-sale solutions to cloud-based mPOS that can be run from an iPad or smartphone. Here are the top 8 justifications for switching to the cloud based mPOS.

It is not a replacement for a traditional POS system, but an initiative to offer meaningful customer service beyond the check-out system. Here are some really convincing reasons why a retailer would opt for a mobile POS system.

• Reduce Customer Time in Line: No doubt, the mobility of this system will surely help customers to experience a better shopping time by having to spend less time in queue for billing. During peak store times, a staff can collect a customer’s information while they queue up for faster check-out. As the mobile device connects to the real time database, the check-out process is already half-done by the customer places the products on the counter.

• Proximity to Customers: A mobile point of sale system will enable your staff stay with the customers from the moment they enter until they make payment for purchased items. This enhances the customer experience and builds a bonding between customers and employees.

• Simplify Fees and Expenses: The traditional POS solution is all about having a dedicated computer running POS software. The computer connects to a cash drawer and a receipt printer. Usual cost for such solutions may be expensive that includes the fees charged by credit card companies. When compared, mobile POS systems that use smartphone and tablet apps simplify the process by offering a single-rate. The benefits of simplicity including the mobility are the reason you usually see mobile POS systems used by restaurants, food truck vendors, car rental services, home contractors, and many solo businesses.

• Sent Electronic Receipts and Collect Email Information: Customers are now asking retailers to provide paper-free receipts. Email receipts are a great way to store customer information while offering a requested service. With an mPOS system synced with your point of sale, you can easily get email addresses of your customers while providing paper-less receipts directly through email. If this solution is fused with your customer loyalty program and combined with your ERP system, you can also retain the customer’s receipt preference in the database for future use. Better to seek customer information away from the check-out point so that till they approach the check-out terminal their receipt preferences are saved and data stored.

• Increased Security: Another benefit the mobile point offers is the added security that is required for implementation of this system. Often the retailer may have to upgrade their system to meet security guidelines. It is a practice that anyone who is processing transactions nowadays through a mobile device must comply with either the EMV, a chip and pin system prevalent in Canada and Europe or PCI guidelines, practiced in USA.  In addition, they must also set up a highly secure wireless environment using data encoding across the wireless network and also while communicating with the server.

To receive and transfer data in real time on a mobile device, your mobile need to interface with a high-end point of sale system. To implement these solutions, the merchant should make sure that the server it is running has the potential to support a mobile ERP solution in real time. Upgrading your systems to support those solutions will not only help you access real time data but it will also have secure environment to support the technology. By going through the security audit necessary for mobility, you’ll be able to better protect your business and your customers from any type of data theft or leakage.

• Flexibility to Employees: There are various ways an mPOS can offer flexibility to its sales-floor staff, restaurant servers, and others. For instance, a retailer could provide an impromptu sidewalk sale, wherein the sales-floor staff – stationed outside – could accept credit cards using the mobile POS system.

• More Floor Space: Deploying a mobile solution can allow the merchant to take back floor space that currently is being used by cash registers and related system. It can also free the space allotted to customer service counter and returns.

• Manages Influx of Customers Easily: In the absence of a mobile point of sale solution your customer service will be limited to number of cash registers you have. For those retailers having multiple stores where one store receives a sudden spike in customers due to an event or special sale, mobile devices can be sent from your other locations to that store to handle incoming traffic.

As the mobile devices interface within the company’s ERP system and all customer data is stored within a centralized database, no software licensing is required on the site. Once the event is over, the manager can return the devices to the store from where it has come. This is how its flexibility makes it more popular amongst retailers who need on-demand system that their store managers can easily integrate and use.

These are some of the most popular benefits that mPOS brings to the merchants. All these benefits are highly popular and have already encouraged several eCommerce stores to deploy mobile point of sale system to give their customers better, secure and faster shopping experience.

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