Retail, Grocery, And Hospitality IT News For VARs — October 27, 2014
By Phillip Britt, contributing writer
In the news, predictions include hospitality tech trends for 2015 and a 5 percent increase in spending on gifts this holiday season. Also, an article looks at a the list of mergers and acquisitions in the point of sale industry this year.
Hospitality And Travel IT Trends Predicted For 2015
Alan Young, CEO of Puzzle Partners, tells his hospitality and travel technology trend predictions for 2015 at Hospitality Net. Trends include universal digital replacing “three screens,” mobile hotel check-in, and searches will provide more information that travelers are looking for when making decisions about accommodations, thanks to Big Data.
NRF Survey Predicts Shoppers Will Spend 5 Percent More On Holiday Gifts This Year
According to the National Retail Federation’s Holiday Consumer Spending Survey, those celebrating winter holidays will be spending 5 percent more on gifts this year. This year’s predicted average is $804.42, up from last year’s $767.27. Additionally, on average 44 percent of these holiday purchases will be made online.
Lightspeed Acquires Mobile Hospitality POS Company POSIOS
Montreal-based Lightspeed acquired Belgium-based POS company POSIOS. The announcement includes news of the release of Lightspeed Restaurant. Dax Dasilva, Founder and CEO of Lightspeed says in The Point of Sale News, “The addition of the POSIOS team brings a deep understanding of the complex hospitality industry to Lightspeed Restaurant.”
2014 Was A Busy Year For M&A
The Point of Sale News recaps the mergers and acquisitions in the point of sale industry this year. This list of links to M&A announcements include news of POSBANK USA’s acquisition of Digicom International, Oracle’s acquisition of MICROS Systems, and First Data’s news it would acquire Gyft.
Retail, Grocery, And Hospitality IT Talking Points
Apple Pay’s launch wasn’t without at least one major hiccup, as Food World News reported. The highly touted new mobile wallet double-charge about 1,000 Bank of America customers for their transactions during the first few days after the service launched. The bank reimbursed customers for the charges. Apple said it was working on a fix for the problem.
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