From The Editor: Can Mobile POS Hurt Your Business?

By Mike Monocello, Editor-In-Chief, Business Solutions magazine.

I recently got back into the office after three straight weeks of attending industry events. At each event (a visit to Motorola corporate headquarters, the Ingram Micro DC/POS Partner conference, and the ETA [Electronic Transaction Association] payment processing-related show) the concept of mobility in the retail space was a hot topic of conversation. In fact, the Retail Solutions Providers Association's own Joe Finizio presented on the topic at the Ingram event. It's not surprising, considering the amount of news and hype surrounding tablets along with the use of smartphones by consumers for mobile commerce (m-commerce) and as in-store research tools. While the buzz surrounding mobility is certainly exciting from a consumer level, I'm still not sure how dealers should feel about it. Specifically, can you make any money off this trend? Or, even worse, can it damage your customer relationships?