POS Text Ordering, POP Advertising, Small Retail Promotion, NRF Highlights, Small Business Technology

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newspapersThis weeks roundup again shows the growing trend in mobile technology and web trends. Our first article talks about Subways new way to order and then we move into a few trends in point of purchase advertising. As a small retailer you are always looking for new ideas to promote your establishment to the local community. Our third feature this week introduces Promotion through local shows and events. This leads into the top highlights form the National Retail Federation convention and ending the roundup is the latest technology that small retail businesses need to be learning about.

1. Subway sees promises in text ordering – Subway is now using Zingle, a text-message ordering solution to allow their customers to text a to-go order. They process makes it easy for the employees at Subway to receive orders, it has increased order correctiveness and time in delivering the order to the customer. This eliminated the need to hold on the line for someone to write down your order and possibly make a mistake. A new great way to get a quick lunch.

2. Point-of-Purchase Advertising Trends – There is an increasing need for innovative media, techniques and materials for POP advertising. This article goes into some findings that reveal information about various point of purchase advertising trends.

3. Promoting Your Store Through Local Shows – Since local shows are open to the local community it’s a great place to showcase your business. The Retail Specialty Expert lays out a few tips on how to use local shows for promoting your small retail business.

4. NRF 2010: Highlights from the show floor – The end of the 99th annual NRF convention is here and so is the Retail Customer Experience to show you the top highlights from the Expo. These are simply amazing technologies and ideas that should be learned about to gain that competitive edge.

5. The Right Technology Can Take Your Business to the Next Level – Again you need to stay up on the latest technology that could be benefiting your retail business. This article goes into some specific numbers that will have you thinking differently about how you interact with your customers and run your business as a whole. A very informative and knowledgeable article.

New POS Hardware Available, POS Bridges Small Retailers to Social Networking, Four Critical CRM Components

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iStock_000010714264XSmallIn this weeks roundup you’ll find three new point of sale hardware products that have been unveiled and will stand to improve POS processing power. The first is a touch enabled system released by HP, the second is Dells new OptiPlex XE and last is a mobile POS from InfoGain. We then feature a company that has breached the barrier of small retailers and social networking by integrating a way for the point of sale software to interact with popular sites such as Twitter. The last piece of the roundup this week is an extensive, informative article on the four parts of a CRM program that are crucial for retailer success in 2010.

1. HP Unveils Touch-enabled Point-of-sale System for Retail Stores – The HP ap5000 all in one point of sale solution has a touch enabled display and features a space savings design. It boasts high performance for areas such as hospitality and retail environments. Although it’s not available publicly until March be sure to read up on the latest technology offerings for the POS environment from HP.

2. Dell Unveils OptiPlex XE For Retail, Healthcare – Dell also announced their new POS hardware solution this week. The OptiPlex XE will fit into video rental kiosks or medical carts and withstands high dust and heat for 24 hour operation. The system supports a wide range of software and comes with a variety of peripheral connectors.

3. Mobile Phone POS – An interesting twist on the latest in mobile POS technology. Instead of the square why not just take credit cards with a magnetic strip built directly into the phone. Short but interesting article on the latest and greatest technology.

4. pcAmerica bridges the gap between social networking and customer loyalty – Using pcAmerica’s Restaurant Pro Express a company called Tasti D-Lite has integrated their customer loyalty account with Twitter. When loyalty customers use their card an automatic Tweet and Foursquare will be posted to their account stating how many TastiRewards points they’ve earned!

5. The 4 Cornerstones for CRM Retail Investment in 2010 – The customer is frequently the focus when it comes to building and sustaining a retail establishment. To be successful as a small retailer you must have a strong CRM system put into place and this article does a great job of explaining exactly what should be included to achieve maximum results.

New POS Workstation, Importance of Consumer Data, The Future of Small Retail

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Woman looking with binocularsWhat could be more exciting than starting a new year with new goals and expectations? This drives almost every human to make some type of change for the upcoming year. This weeks round up features some ways you can change your small retail business in order to attain those goals of success. First Panasonic has unveiled a new POS workstation that will enhance the overall point of sale experience for the consumer. The next article is about the importance and new innovative ways to gather and analyze customer data. The last three articles that are featured are about the future of small retail including a cities perspective on what lies ahead, keys to a great customer experience in 2010 and the top small business ideas for the upcoming year. Start planning your goals for 2010 today to help provide an advantage for your retail location.

1. Panasonic Introduces Lite-ray POS Workstation – This is the newest addition to the Panasonic point of sale workstation line. The Lite-Ray POS offers an open platform that provides excellent flexibility to run a variety of point of sale software. The all in one unit also features a customer facing LCD in addition to the employee LCD to help increase sales through POP (point of purchase). If you’re considering a new POS for your retail business this deserves a good look.

2. A Data Explosion Remakes Retailing – A very informative article that expresses the changes in the amount and the types of consumer data that retailers now have access too. It goes on to talk about better tools and programs that have been put into place with the advancing technology that makes it easier to determine your target customer base.

3. What lies ahead – A straightforward opinion of what lies ahead for the city of Charleston as well as the entire country. The author touches on banking, real estate, medical, retailing and more. There are many valid and interesting thoughts that are expressed including three excellent questions we all have on our minds as we enter 2010.

4. 7 keys to customer experience in 2010 – Great advice as always form the Retail Customer Experience on 7 key ways you can focus on improving your customer experience in the upcoming year. This is one of the most important areas that any business whether large or small can always improve on.

5. 2010 Top 10 Small Business Ideas – Many of these ideas deal with the online aspect of running or starting a business but a few are ideas that could transform your existing retail establishment in the year 2010.

Learn What Not to Do as a Small Retailer

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onlinelearningAn article posted in the small business section of the New York Times is a must read for all small retail business owners. The comprehensive piece entitled 7 Businesses That Did Not Survive features an in depth look at the reasons these small retailers failed.

You will be able to read about the business (when it opened, closed and where it’s located), what the business was doing at it’s peak, what went wrong and what the retailer has to say looking back on the situation. These are real words from other small retail businesses that tried to survive the economy but failed to do so.

If you think these are new start-ups that have failed…you’re wrong. The first business featured was opened in 1920 and they were forced to close their doors in June.

Read the original article: 7 Businesses That Did Not Survive

The weekly round up will resume on Friday, so don’t forget to check back for the latest small retail news stories.

POS Sales Increase, Point of Sale Signage Requirement, Small Retail Brokers, Google Helps Local Retail, Top Retail News Stories of 2009

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yogaThe holiday shopping season is nearing its end and that means its time to focus on resolutions for the new upcoming year. This week we feature three ideas that you might consider implementing into the business plan for your retail establishment. Starting the New Year with at least one of these solutions could mean an increase in profits, upgrading your small retail POS to accept EBT cards, hiring a small business sales broker or being chosen as a favorite place by Google. We also feature a new requirement for retailers in New York in regards point of sale signage for returns. Ending this weeks round up is the best retail stories of the year as picked by the Retail Customer Experience.

1. Retailers See Market Opportunities Below the Poverty Line – Considering the numbers it’s not surprising that many small retail stores are upgrading their point of sale equipment to be able to accept EBT cards. EBT cards are used by food stamp recipients and according to the numbers that’s one out of every eight people at the present time. The number of retailers that accept food stamps has increased by 17% since 2007 and can account up to 12% of the revenue in some cases.

2. Law aims to make returns easier – If you’re a small retail business operating in NY as of Dec. 1st you’re required to post the conditions for merchandise returns at the point of sale. This includes any details such as restocking fees, amount of time you have to return and item and receipt requirements. Small retailers quoted in the article agree that the new requirement is good for customers and they try to always make the customer happy.

3. Brokers a necessity for small retailers – An interesting way to get your product out in the public eye to increase sales. A broker for a small business essentially finds places for your product to be shelved that you might not the extra time to do.

4. Google Comes to Brick and Mortar Store Windows – Google creates more help for the local business by deploying a great new feature. They have chosen over 10,000 local businesses in the US to receive a window decal that features a bar code. When a consumer scans the bar code on the decal with their mobile phone, they receive details, reviews and coupons for the store. This article is extremely interesting, it also contains a video to see it in action with a real retailer.

5. The 5 biggest retail customer experience stories of 2009 – If you read the weekly retail news roundup often you’ll already know that we love the articles featured at the Retail Customer Experience. This week they have a great one on what their top 5 retail stories of the year are. From Walmart, Apple to generic brands they cover the best customer service experiences to learn from.

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