News Feature | April 20, 2016

POS Not Just For Retail Anymore

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Mobile POS Lies

0 transaction fees, mobile management app, and employee schedule top desired features.

A Capterra report found 44 percent of all stores use mobile POS, and 79 percent of those users are small-midsize businesses. The Point of Sale Software Systems User Research Report also found the most desired POS features include 0 transaction fees, mobile management apps, and employee scheduling. The most used POS features are customized reporting, followed by inventory control, and 24/7 support.

Researchers collected the data in this POS systems report through a 26-question survey to POS buyers and users online, conducted over the course of a week. They received a total of 400 qualified responses in September 2015.

iPad is the preferred device to run a mobile register on, Android is the preferred smartphone, and the most popular software brands are Quickbooks POS (34 percent), Square (12 percent), and IBM SurePOS (12 percent).

While retail is unsurprisingly the top user of POS software, they do not hold a monopoly on it. According to the report, more than 60 percent of all POS systems are used by non-retail businesses. POS software is also used across all revenue bands and 70 percent of respondents had revenue under $5 million, likely due to the fact the number of small businesses far outnumbers enterprise businesses.

The data also suggest the POS industry is experiencing a major shift with many solutions becoming cloud-based and offering the ability to use software on mobile devices. As this trend strengthens, companies will likely find they need to find new solutions that better fit their current needs. The study also found smaller businesses and enterprises are more likely to switch POS software providers, most likely because the larger the operation, the more difficult and costly it is to implement a change.

The data further suggests that, when looking for a new POS provider, the majority of companies do two or fewer demos, lower than in any other software vertical. This suggests POS buyer are more educated on average before buying, or that because POS is a less expensive investment than other software options the risk of making a wrong decision is lower. Eight percent of those surveyed said they opt for no demos at all, while 9 percent reported doing four or more demos before making a purchasing decision.