New Web Based Point of Sale, New POS Supplies, Small Retailer Loans Available, Tips for Getting Your Name Out, A Good Place to Hire Employees

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POS and retail newsWelcome back to the weekly roundup of Retail News and Point of Sale reviews. We missed the roundup last week due to a very busy holiday weekend but we’re back and here to bring you some weekly highlights in the world of small retail and point of sale.

Our first feature this week is the announcement of a new web based point of sale software offered by a company called Slingshot. We then go into another announcement of a new product line from Ink Jet Superstore that will give you more options when purchasing POS supplies. The third article we highlight this week is a way for small retailers to obtain a small business loan from a big ally. Next is the fourth article of the week that explains how a very reputable company can help gain your small business the exposure it needs. Wrapping up the weekly round up this week is an article that offers some statistics on where you should hire employees and why.

1. Slingshot Software Releases Web-based Point of Sale (POS) System – Slingshot, a company that provides web-based enterprise business software solutions for retailers has announced this week the deployment of their web-based point of sale software. The company states that the pos software will be

“…unique in the fact that it will allow retailers to centrally deploy and administer software, upgrades, promotions, user interface and configuration changes instantly across the enterprise.”

The only information you can gain about this new web-based POS is to request a demo from the company website.

2. Inkjetsuperstore’s New Product Line Launch– POS Supplies – Providing printer ink solutions at the lowest prices for over 10 years, InkJetSuperStore is now offering a new product line, POS supplies. The new product line includes the following items: ATM Paper Rolls, 1 Ply, 2 Ply, 3 Ply Paper Rolls, Thermal Paper Rolls, Colored Thermal Paper Rolls, Gas & Convenience Store Paper Rolls. Head on over to their website and check to see if you’ll be using their point of sale printer supplies.

3. Sam’s Club now offering small business loans – There was a lot of chatter on the web this week about Sam’s Club offering small businesses the opportunity to obtain a loan through them. The company will be testing an online program that could give qualified merchants between $5000 to $25,000 loans.

“The Sam’s Club small business loan pilot will focus on serving Main Street minority, women and Veteran owned small business owners as well as micro-entrepreneurs under the SBA’s Premier Outreach Express products such as Community Express, Patriot Express and Export Express loans.”

4. How Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s Business Exchange can Help Your Small Business Gaining More Exposure – Grow your small retail business reach by teaming up with Bloomberg Business Exchnage, a creation of BusinessWeek. This article will outline the features and benefits you could gain by joining now.

5. Why You Should Hire Employees Using Social Networks – This is a very interesting take on why you should hire employees through social media. It’s working for many small retailers out there. Head on over and read another way social media could be helping your business.

iPod Restaurant POS Solution, New POS Reporting Tool, Swipe Fees Hurting Small Retailers, Dumb Discounting, Retail Data 101

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Point of SaleWelcome to this weeks roundup featuring articles on point of sale and retail news. The first article we showcase this week shows how one restaurant saved money by using the iPod as a POS solution for its staff. Then we have an announcement of a new real time reporting tool for Counterpoint point of sale software. Then we move on to the third article which is all to familiar to many small retail businesses, the dreaded swipe fees. These fees are under stack by many small and large retail establishments plus the Senate is already taking steps for regulation of these fees. The fourth article in this weeks roundup is an opinion article from The Retail Specialty Expert and it talks about avoiding dumb discounting, We then end the roundup with a small tutorial on how to gain retail marketing insight from the data that you collect daily in your POS database.

1. Helping speed up flow of restaurant orders – Mobile point of sale device have been a largely talked about subject as of late, including here on the Wizard of POS. This article shows how one small restaurant chose an iPod over another POS installation for their staff to use while taking orders on the floor. The author talks about Michael Benaroch a man who developed this point of sale software to run on both a touch screen POS and the iPod.

“It takes about 20 minutes to be trained on the touchscreen, and then if you know the screen, it’s almost no adjustment to use the iPod,”

2. Radiant Systems Announces Launch of Real-time Alerting Tool for the Retail Industry – This week Radiant Systems announced the launching of a new real time reporting tool that will work alongside their Counterpoint POS software. The new tool will help small retailers monitor activities within each location and send SMS text or email alerts to prevent fraud and provide better customer service. The president of Red Bandannas states that the new software has enhanced employee morale and improved customer satisfaction since its implementation.

3. Swipe fees are hurting small businesses in North Carolina – The only thing I disagreed with in this article was the title because it’s not just small businesses in North Carolina, every small retailer across the country is dealing with these fees. This article is a good hard look of the truth of what retail businesses are dealing with currently with the large increase of credit card swipe fees. The ceiling is limitless and companies like Visa or Mastercard have no limits on how high these fees could rise. Congress has already starting discussing some regulations that might be put into place to help struggling small businesses but it’s yet to be seen if anything will really be done about it.

4. Opinion: Do not give in to ‘dumb discounting’ – For an opinion article this one hit it right on the nose. If you’re a small retailer that thinks you have to use deep discounts to draw in customers and make sales think again. This is a great source of information to see examples of large retailers using deep discounting that ultimately confuses the customer.

“Discounting is a great tool when carefully designed to increase frequency with your core and must-have customers. When applied with a shotgun, it is usually dumb discounting.”

5. Finding retail marketing insight from within your database – This informative article might give you an insight on how you could be using your point of sale data information to fine tune your marketing efforts. This in depth article goes into data discovery, analysis and data strategy.

Small Retail iPad and iPhone Mobile Point of Sale Information, Local Retail Search Result Tips, One Way to Grow Your Business

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Retail News and Point of Sale InformationYou might notice that there are only three titles in this weeks roundup post. That would be due to find three very interesting articles on small retail businesses using Apples technology as mobile point of sale devices. The mobile POS world is advancing very rapidly among small retailers and customers alike. The three articles we feature first will help give you a better visual and understanding of what an iPad or iPhone could do for your retail business. The fourth article we feature this week has 6 practices a local retailer should use to gain exposure in local search results for nearby customers. Then we end this weeks roundup with a one chapter excerpt from a book that will give you informative information for one way you can help grow your retail business.

1. Square: A Great Payment System for Churches – When I first read this article I knew for sure it was making the roundup. The author, Shaun Takenouchi, explains the background on this device, how it works and even includes pictures of the actual iPhone running the point of sale. Then he goes on to display a video demo from YouTube and as an added bonus he explains why small retail merchants of all kinds could benefit form using an iPad or iPhone equipped with a square to accept mobile point of sale payments.

2. Point of Sale usability study targets iPad & iPhone systems – Since we featured such a positive review on using these devices as mobile POS solutions we decided to give a true customer experience using it. The author of this article goes into detail on a couple negative effects that these type of mobile payments could have if you don’t know how to avoid them. After reading the observation of the customer during a transaction you will be prepared not to make the same mistakes this small retailer did.

3. Apple Readies New App for Retail Staff POS Units: Report – After featuring both articles above on using Apple Technology for a retail mobile point of sale answer we thought you might like to read what the company is planning to launch for the retail industry that is using their platform as a mobile POS. You’ll find what they have in store for retailers will get you excited about the future.

4. Six best practices for managing local retail search results – An online business listing for your small retail establishment has become a significant part of driving new customers along with higher profits. This will give you six of the best ways to handle your online retail business listing and keeping your information as current as possible.

5. Excerpt: The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business – the author of this book is a blogger at The Retail Customer Experience, a site we feature many articles from. In this article a chapter from his book explains how understanding the four employee personality types can help avoid the pitfalls of a bad worker. Knowing who your “drivers” are and how to help them succeed will grow your small retail business in all areas.

Mobile POS Software for $.99, PCI Simplification, Small Retailers Embrace Digital Signage, Customer Survey Results

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iStock_000002468759XSmallThis week in our roundup comes with a huge announcement for small retailers looking to purchase mobile point of sale software. One company has just announced a large discount for retailers purchasing their POS Software in the next few days. Our second article comes from Bloomberg Businessweek with some tips for small retailers to simplify PCI compliance. The last three articles we feature were all published by the Retail Customer Experience, which if you are a regular reader, you will know we feature many articles from this informative site. This week one article talks about the emergence of digital signage in some small businesses you would not expect. The last two articles give study results on consumers and how they are buying.

1. Pingysoft announces the sale that goes stale for RingItUp Pro – If you’re a small retail business and you own an iPhone, Ipod Touch or an Ipad you are in for one big treat. Pingysoft announced today that they are offering their mobile point of sale software called RingItUp for a mere $.99. Yes, there is one catch, the price will double each day until it reaches the full retail price of $39.99. So head on over to the website and check it out to get in on one of the biggest discounts you’ll find.

2. Simplify PCI Compliance for Data Security – When it comes to being PCI compliant many small business owners feel overwhelmed by what needs to be done to assure data security. This article will outline a few tips that retailers can do to simplify the process and maintain adequate security in their retail establishments.

3. Digital signage comes to the country store – Rural America nd small retailers are embracing the advertising power of digital signage. StandVision LLC has reported that they are deploying several systems in rural stores in Illinois. Agricultural equipment, electricians and plumbing stores are jumping at the chance for this new technology that utilizes a 40-inch LCD screen.

“So when people come in to get parts for their equipment, they’re usually not that happy,” he said. “And what the digital signage actually does is give them something else to focus on … It kind of helps calm the whole situation down.”

4. Study: Grocery shoppers highly susceptible to in-store marketing – This is good news for any small market or retail store, the survey shows that up to 90% of shoppers, consisting mainly of women buy on the fly and are highly likely to purchase a product that has effective in-store marketing.

5. The four types of convenience store shoppers – this article comes with another study conducted by Cole & Weber United. It focuses on the four types of customers that enter your convenient store. One of the obvious shoppers would be your regulars and then people that live in the neighborhood. The article goes into a great description of each type and why you should know which kind of customer you’re selling to.

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