| Point of Sale software can save a retail business from | | | | what suppliers themselves tell you. |
| collapse. Seriously. | | | | Identify your best customers. With this knowledge |
| There are many success stories where Point of Sale | | | | appropriately reward them to further drive their |
| software has turned retail businesses around, saved | | | | business. Using loyalty facilities you can reward |
| others tens of thousands of dollars or others where | | | | customers and drive their spending frequency with |
| year on year growth has outstripped all previous | | | | you. |
| years. | | | | Measure return on floor space. Use this to adjust floor |
| The software itself does not do this of course. The | | | | space allocation to reflect the financial needs of the |
| key are the facilities in the software and how they are | | | | business. Floor space is expensive. It is essential for a |
| used. | | | | healthy of occupancy cost that you find the stock |
| Good POS software, used properly, can help the | | | | which works best for you in each location. POS |
| retailer: | | | | software must enable you to report on return on floor |
| Understand business performance. From this you can | | | | space. |
| make better business decisions and make them faster | | | | Drive repeat business. Getting existing customers back |
| and with greater certainty. By understanding business | | | | is essential to the health of any retail business. Make |
| performance I mean comparing trading periods, | | | | sure that your POS software has tools for luring |
| analysing not only sales but also unit sales, items per | | | | existing customer back. Whether it be coupons on |
| shopping basket, total sales value. | | | | receipts, email marketing, text message marketing, |
| See what stock is not performing. Using this data you | | | | direct mail or other mechanisms, good Pos software |
| can quit poorly performing stock before the costs are | | | | will provide tools you can use to make existing |
| too high. Rank sales by revenue and unit sales. Good | | | | customers more efficient. |
| POS software will let you cut this data a number of | | | | Cutting theft. Employee and customer theft can kill any |
| ways to provide flexible views. | | | | retail business. Use the theft control and tracking tools |
| Measure employee performance. Using this you can | | | | in your software to manage the theft risk. Too often |
| work with employees to improve performance or help | | | | theft management tools are ignored by retailers until it |
| them exit from the business. While employees may | | | | is too late. |
| not like this, it is vital to the health of the business. | | | | Manage cash. Cash is king in retail and good Point of |
| Compare supplier performance. You can use this data | | | | sale software provides excellent tools for easily |
| to exit suppliers who are not helping the business. It is | | | | managing cash. Embrace these tools and take cash |
| better to use your supplier performance data than | | | | seriously. |