The Benefits Of Cloud-Based POS Systems For Retail

The question of legacy vs. cloud-based POS
 is no longer a matter of debate. No. See legacy POS works because it has been honed over the years to work for retail businesses, especially small to medium retail businesses. However, how the retail market moves today demands a more agile and effective POS solution. The truth is that if you want a fighting chance now and in the future, adopting a cloud-based POS solution is a no-brainer. Besides, many retailers plan to adopt cloud-based POS technology (the global POS market is expected to be worth $10 billion by 2028
). If you're still toing and froing about the benefits of a cloud-based POS system, let's settle the doubts for you.



  1. Get The Relief Of Accuracy And Consistency Across The Board

We said that legacy POS systems work all right, but often, they demanded that the employees indulge in manual data entry and update processes throughout the retail store. And one thing humans are prone to is error.

Therefore, when retail stores are dealing with high and often unexpected demands, it is common to find that sales records don't accurately capture the events of the day, week, or month. Imagine how catastrophic it is to run a business with inaccurate inventory data, promotions records, or sales revenue.

Additionally, most legacy systems operate as stand-alone systems that function only to serve one retail store. This means that a franchise retail store or a multi-store business does not have complete and direct visibility into its operations.

This reduces the efficiency and productivity of the entire retail business, especially where matters of collaboration are concerned. These are the challenges that cloud-based POS systems seek to denounce.

For starters, a cloud-based POS system uses a remote but third-party server to store all its data. Therefore, accessing all your process data is easy, quick, and available from anywhere if you have access to the server.

This means that the errors that often occur because of a lack of information are reduced significantly since your employees can access sales, inventory, and promotions data from anywhere and in real time.

Second, cloud-based POS systems have automated features that reduce most of the manual work for your employees, thus, further reducing human error. A cloud-based POS system updates all its information in real-time and simultaneously across all your locations.

That is, if you have two stores, updating your inventory levels in one store location will also reflect in your second store's systems. This allows you to consistently operate multiple stores, thus ensuring your customers have an excellent shopping experience.

For instance, suppose your stores have limited stock for a specific item. While your physical stores can quickly identify whether the supply runs out, your eCommerce site might not update this information on the go, especially when using a conventional POS system
.

But with a cloud-based POS system, all your inventory records are connected and updated simultaneously. Therefore, even if you have two products left and three customers want them, one will get a notification that the item is out of order regardless of whether they were shopping online or at the physical location.




  1. Get Insights That Inspire Growth

POS systems collect data and analyze it depending on your retail store's needs. Then based on the results of these analytics, you gain insights that help you make informed decisions for your retail business. The benefit of a cloud-based POS system is that the data it collects is not only based on your sales history.

POS data can identify the current customer preferences and trends in the market and then provide you with these insights. You can use these insights to grow your business in several ways:

Keep in mind, however, that you need the ability to use these insights to develop the best strategies for growth.



  1. Get Control Over Your Retail Business

Remember the consistency you get from using a cloud-based POS? The same connectivity features allow you to control your retail business from anywhere remotely. Cloud-based POS systems provide operational visibility from A to Z, meaning you can monitor your operations keenly and accurately when using this solution.

And because the system gives you remote access to your retail store, you can check in and see what is happening across the board of your multi-store operations. POS system also gives you visibility into your entire supply chain operations, making inventory replenishment and purchase order processes fast and accurate.

Think about it, if you can tell the exact amount of inventory you need at every moment vis a vis the remaining stock in your warehouse and store shelves, it becomes much easier to manage your purchase orders and replenishment processes. This way, you never have overstock or understock, and your customers' demands are always met.

This also means you save costs on purchasing inventory since you do not do it blindly. And because you only stock products in demand, you never have to deal with warehouse expenses or space expenses resulting from bulk safety stock practices
.




  1. Deliver Close To Perfection

Cloud-based POS systems are often automated, meaning they increase the speed at which you operate. Additionally, you get one package with many different features that meet several needs for your retail business.

For instance, our Erply POS system comes with features for self-checkout, order management, warehouse management, inventory management, and forecasting processes, among many others.

As such, you only must use one central system to manage your retail business processes, thus making it easier to operate your business efficiently. In addition to these features, you have a customer profile feature that gathers data on each of your customers.

This helps you build customer profiles you can use to strategize your offerings to meet customer needs ideally. A good example is adding a click-and-collect option with live stock availability for customers that want to avoid spending time in your physical retail store.

Or offering decentralized fulfillment options for your stores so that customers can get their product deliveries faster and at a reduced cost. And with easy return or stock transfer features, your customer delivery process becomes almost bulletproof.

The bottom line is that a cloud-based POS system will harmonize its numerous features and customer profiles and provide you with the right platform to offer delivery services close to perfection. This includes tailoring your marketing strategies to meet individual customer requirements, like suggesting add-ons based on the products a client is purchasing.


Now that you know why you should choose a cloud-based POS system
 over a conventional one, get a free demonstration
 or consultation with us. Our Erply cloud-based POS solution has everything needed to scale and grow successfully.