This week is all about mobile, whether it’s implementing the newest POS mobile hardware, the latest app or wooing your customers mobile is the new way to go. Old Navy has started using iPod based POS systems just in time for the busy Holiday rush. Discover has also joined the ranks of mobile technology and started offering their first contactless point of sale payment devices.

The third article featured in our roundup this week is the integration of mobile and digital signage for the new age future customer, giving them all the information they need to make an informed decision about a product. We then go into a new directory that allows mobile users to find brick and mortar retailers in their local area including their current inventory. We end the round up this week with 10 retailers that show you how mobile and retail integration should be done.

1. Gap testing Apple’s point-of-sale system at Old Navy stores – Apple has now partnered with Old Navy to run a pilot program testing the use of mobile point of sale equipment before bringing it to the mainstream market. The POS hardware has a special backing on the iPod Touch to allow for the swiping of credit cards and signature can be obtained with a stylus pen or a finger!

2. Discover Begins Rollout of Contactless Devices to Consumers – The major credit card company will begin to roll out it’s Discover ZIP, a contactless credit card and stickers to allow for lighting fast speed at the point of sale checkout. Customers will begin seeing their new payment options arriving in the mail any day now and it’s sure to be a hit during the busy shopping season.

3. A two-way integration of digital signage and mobile – This might sound foreign to you but EnQii and Kombi have joined to bring a great integration between digital signage and mobile technology. The digital signage will include a QR code, which are “quick response” matrix 2-D codes that contain data, like text, images or website URLs.

“Forever, brick-and-mortar loyalty has meant consumer loyal to brick-and-mortar; it has never had to mean brick-and-mortar loyal to consumer,” he said. “If brick-and-mortar is going to have a future, they need to solve that problem, and we’re giving them a mechanism by which they can do that.”

4. Goodzer Includes Small Retailers in Local Real-Time Product Search– Another mobile way to engage with your customers. Goodzer has launched their shopping search engine in a limited market to test the results. Currently it picks up the inventory availability of 15,000 New York City brick-and-mortar retailers, both large and small. It’s available on the web and iPhone with plans to expand to Droid and the iPad. Customers have your entire inventory at their fingertips before they enter your retail store.

5. 10 retailers show what can be done with mobile – Mobile commerce is a rapidly approaching technology that’s here to stay. This great article gives you examples of how 10 retailers are using mobile to reach their customers and expand sales. Companies such as Walgreens, ShopNBC, and the Catholic Company. Read on to see what you should be doing in the mobile market.

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The third feature of the week, is one you won’t want to pass up. It’s a new mobile app that will have small retailers getting their products online in a hurry. This leads into our fourth article that states online sales for the holidays will increase again this year. If you haven’t made an online presence for your retail establishment yet, you will be after you reading these two articles.

We end our round up this week with a great customer service lesson. The author showcases how one major corporation has alienated their customers while forcing change and it’s not a pretty situation.

1. ThePOSWarehouse.com is Named Intuit Solution Provider (ISP) Partner of the Year – Out of 550 qualified ISP’s ThePOSWarehouse.com won the award form Intuit as partner of the year. We say, congratulations! The company offers discounted POS hardware, software and supplies including Intuit’s Quickbooks point of sale.

2. Starbucks Extends Mobile Payments to Nearly 300 More Stores – The company will be equipping hundreds of stores in the New York City and Long Island area with their mobile payments. The company started in small areas testing the concepts and it must being doing well although there has been no official word from Starbucks as to exactly how well it’s working.

3. iPhone App Scans Product Barcodes for Self-Checkout at Stores – Hold onto your hats small retailers, here’s an app that will knock your socks off. It’s called AisleBuyer and if you have an extension of your retail store online you’ll love what this can do for you. The app allows customers to scan your product barcode in store, check out without waiting in line and records their information for future use such as sending a mobile coupon. The article is featured at Mashable.com and is full of great information on the use of the app PLUS there’s an incredible video that shows you how it works.

4. NRF expects strong online holiday sales – It’s no surprise that online retailers are expecting another jump in holiday sales. Reading this article has to convince any small retail business that has not yet expanded to the virtual world.

“In addition to using websites to bring in sales, retailers are leveraging the internet to encourage shoppers to head to nearby stores, featuring store locator information, product availability, and store circulars on their websites.”

5. BOA’s Whiplash Strategy – I was shocked when I read the details of what the Back of America has put in place for their new customer service policy and I believe you will too. After you read this article you will know everything that you should not do to your customers including CHARGING them for personal human contact.

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The first article we feature announces a stand for a very popular mobile point of sale device, the iPad. Although not featured in the articles this week I did run across a few websites showcasing surveys that computer manufacturers are taking tablets very seriously towards the business market. The potential for a brick and mortar, mom and pop company to accept credit cards anywhere is quite appealing.

The second article in the roundup was a very interesting announcement that I’m curious to see if it actually catches on with consumers. PayNearMe is launching a system that will allow shoppers to pay cash at a 7-Eleven POS for an online purchase.

The third and fourth articles this week blend well together. Grab a notepad with some quite time before you dig into these two informative articles on mobile commerce and presence for retailers. The first article explains what mobile commerce is and why small retailers should be learning it. The second article is a few tips that will help you establish a mobile retail presence.

Our last article this week is a great gesture from Mannequin Madness, some budget friendly ideas for retail shop window displays. They offer three great ideas that are cash friendly as well as resources for supplies and none of the displays include Mannequins.

1. IStand is a POS Pole for the iPad – If sturdy enough, this could be a blessing for some retail establishments that are starting to use the iPad as a mobile point of sale device. The stand has a place for a dock table and bolts shut around the iPad that covers the Home Button for security purposes. The stand swivels and tilts providing a custom interactive POS system for any business.

2. PayNearMe Announces Real-Time Cash Payment System That Enables Wide Range of Businesses to Serve Consumers Who Prefer Cash – Companies such as Amazon and Facebook have already jumped on the bandwagon with this new payment option. It will offer customers that don’t have a credit card, debit card or just prefer to pay cash the ability to pay at 7-Eleven stores for their e-commerce purchase.

3. What is Mobile Commerce, and Why Should You Care? – This extensive article will give you the insight to what mobile commerce is all about. Many small retailers do not know exactly what to consider, what’s involved and how it affects their business. This article will give you a much better understanding of the overall mobile side of retail.

4. Six steps for building a mobile retail presence – Once you’ve recognized yourself with mobile commerce, it’s time to dig in and get some tips for building a mobile business for your retail establishment. The future seems to be leaning in the direction mobile and online presence will be essential to bringing in new customers for traditional brick and mortar retailers.

5. Budget Friendly Resources for Fantastic Retail Window Displays – If you’re looking for a couple creative window displays and you’re on a budget this is a great place to start. This company provides some incredible ideas for catchy displays that won’t drain your pockets and will have customers stopping to look.

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We start this week with a major announcement from the Dutch that shows mobile point of sale solutions are becoming the future for many retailers. Our second feature is also an announcement stating the collaboration of a well known point of sale vendor and a data security company to bring PCI Compliance to their customers.

The last two articles we showcase in the roundup this week focus solely on the retail industry. Read about the launch of a new technology that combines smart phones with consumer behavior for a pioneering in store shopping experience. The last article we feature will help small retailers understand exactly IF they will qualify for Obama’s proposed Business Tax Break.

1. Netherlands to have mobile payment system by 2012 – Dutch Banks have joined forces with mobile operators to allow consumers in the Netherlands to use their smart phones as a mobile payment solution by the year 2012. Six companies have started the process of interacting exactly what is needed to make this a secure and successful solution for Dutch shoppers.

2. Retail Anywhere Collaborates with Cybera to Deliver PCI Compliance Solution – This announcement will hopefully be good news for Retail Anywhere customers. The company is promising this joint venture will provide a clear, easy answer to retail business to assure they are PCI compliant.

3. Jones New York Launches Innovative in-Store Experience at Macy’s Herald Square – The new technology might be the secret to the future of retailing. Using Microsoft tags, shoppers can download content on their smart phones as they shop on 25 products throughout the store. This would allow the potential buyer to view a unique “sales pitch” of the product while standing there deciding on whether to make the purchase…

4. Obama tax breaks: Limited help for small biz – Many businesses were eager to hear to the announcement of President Obama’s Business Tax Cuts but they reality is a little disconcerting for many small retailers. It seems the proposed “help” would only benefit businesses that spent over $250,000 in one year making improvement such as purchasing new inventory or equipment. The fact that small retailers are having a tough time just making payroll, it seems that type of spending is very unrealistic.

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Our first article this week will help give small retailers a basic overview of the various mobile payment options that are available and has a great link to an actual field test cnet did using Bing Nation. The second article showcases how furniture retailers are using new mobile technology to help sell off site inventory. The third feature this week is a short real life example of a perfect process for collecting email addresses while your employees are processing the point of sale payment.

A new mobile app for consumers to earn reward point is being implemented by a few large retailers. This announcement is number four this week in our featured point of sale and retail news. Then we end this week with some great tips and advice to help small retailers avoid fraud in their retail businesses.

1. Making sense of mobile payment – This great article posted on cnet will help you understand the four and “a half” categories that mobile customer payments fall into. There is a lot of buzz going on in the retail world about mobile payments it would be a good idea to brush up on the differences between them. In the start of the article there is a link to a field test done with Bing Nation, one of the vendors offering retailers the opportunity to take payments via mobile point of sale.

2. More furniture, mattress sellers using smart technology – It was a surprise to read about a small furniture store that is using mobile technology to display inventory available for their customers to buy. This is simply a great way to offer exactly what the customer wants without the huge overhead. The small business owner states:

“We’re a small store and a custom order store to a large extent, so our folks are used to really trying to demonstrate the possibilities off of one piece. We want to be able to sell many different versions. All this does is give us a very portable, quick, easy access to a lot of these options,” Harlow said.”

3. Point of Sale Email Capture: A True Story – This article is short and sweet BUT it’s a true account so pay attention. The article displays a positive experience at a point of sale checkout with a clerk collecting the authors email address for store promotions. The author even includes pictures of the form that was filled out and the welcome email that was received.

4. Retailers, Mall Group Sign on to “Walk In, Win Points” Mobile App – Four large retail brand stores announced their customers will be benefiting form a new mobile app called, Shopkick. Once shoppers start using the app they earn rewards when walking through the door of a participating merchant. This is all done by a signal sent via the shoppers mobile phone. The shopper can save up points to cash them in for various items on the retailer’s web site. Another article featured at Mashable outlines the way Best Buy is participating in the Sidekick mobile app.

5. How to Steer Clear of Fraud? The Experts Weigh In – It was shocking top learn by reading this article that 31% of all businesses that are subject to fraud have fewer than 100 employees. This is important information for many small retail businesses that tend to employ few people. These great tips will help you put in place some precautionary measures that will help you prevent your business from being a victim.

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The third article in this weeks round up is an interesting opinion on how the iPad will change the retail industry and I have to agree. The possibilities of endless improvement in customer service are very exciting for both retailers and consumers. The fourth article this week will help small business owners with the basics of technology for thos3eof you who feel out of the loop. Then our last feature this week will give you 8 ways to get overall improvement from your employees.

1. SMB Innovator: Brown Coffee Company Lets You Pay Via Text Message – An innovative way that one small retailer is standing above the crowd and joining the growing fad of convenience. Aaron Blanco, the owner of The Brown Coffee Company allows customers to pay for their coffee using a simple text message and a service called Venmo. Over 200 small retailers across the country have started using this service as an alternative form of payment and convenience amongst its customers.

2. Point-of-sale Software Top Ten Mistakes to Avoid – This article contains some great advice when you are looking to purchase POS software for your small retail business. Things you may not think about are mentioned such as obtaining references or one system fits all. This is an essential read if you’re looking into purchasing a new piece of point of sale software.

3. How iPads are Going to Change the Face of Retail – Although it might still be a while before the iPad and similar tablets are perfected for use of mobile point of sale hardware, the anticipation is exciting. The author of this article points out a few ways that an iPad in the hands of a customer service representative will change the face of the retail industry.

4. Technology Basics for Business – This is a very basic overview for the less technology savvy business person. A wonderfully informative article posted at the Wall Street Journal will help any novice retailer learn the basics of technology.

5. 8 Ways to Develop Your Worker’s Core Competencies – All retailers know that their employees are a reflection of their brand and their establishment. To have the best success at having an employee as a “good” influence for your retail business you should know these 8 easy ways you can help them grow with your business.

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Our retail industry news this week is full of tips for small businesses. We start off with our third article with seven must do things that will keep customer loyalty. Then we found an article with seven tips for small retailers to be successful when lobbying a government office. The last article we feature has a few common sense low marketing ideas that will work in any business, small or large.

1. HP Tablet Goes Enterprise, WebOS Tablet Due Too? – The Enterprise tablet will be released by HP in the near future and will be available to enterprise customers only. The tablet will run the Windows 7 operating system and will be able to perform mobile point of sale operations. There is not an official release date but this will offer small retailers another option for a mobile POS.

2. ScanSource POS & Barcoding Enhances Hospitality & Retail Services Offering Through Distribution Agreement With ParTech – This partnership is sure to take off in the businesses in the retail industry using or interested in using PAR’s technology solutions. Here it is straight from the president of ScanSource POS & Barcoding, Jeff Yelton.

“PAR has a laser focus on the hospitality industry, delivering rugged, robust and reliable hardware and peripherals for resellers selling into the industry. We are pleased to be the only distributor offering these high-performing solutions to hospitality resellers.”

3. Seven requirements for becoming customer-centric – As a small retailer you can never read enough tips on customer service. That’s why we feature so many articles from the Retail Customer Experience. Yet again, here’s an information packed article that will help you become more customer-centric.

4. Seven Lobbying Mistakes Small Businesses Make and What to Do Instead – This article is so unique that it makes itself valuable. There might only be a small select few small business owners that benefit from the advice given but it’s advice that hard to find. Learning how to influence your state and local government could be an essential survival skills…read more to find out.

5. 8 Low-Cost Marketing Tips for Small Retailers – This is a clear and concise article that outlines eight great tips on using low cost marketing methods. The number one tips is to develop a budget including the time you spend, after all time is money.

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Our retail news of the week was slim, which we assume is good considering the majority of news takes on a bad tone. The fourth article we feature this week is more of a fun read but it could actually help some small businesses owners connect with their customers, it’s an article listing the top ten people in America who influence shoppers. You should stick around for this one because you might sell a product that would relate to one of these ten people to a potential customer. The last article we focus on is sort of a different subject relating to small retailers and social media. It’s a short tip on informing and teaching your employees about your business relationship with the various social media outlets.

1. Xsilva Systems releases LightSpeed 3.1 – This Mac POS software has been reviewed on our site and is one of the premiere point of sale software suites for the Apple Macintosh also known as the “Mac”. The LightSpeed POS popularity is largely due to the ease of use, simplicity and functionality of the versatile software. The company has enhanced the PCI security compliance, many setup features, customer merging features, matrix improvements and even the implementation of emailing customer receipts which is becoming a more frequent request with the use of the iPhone as a POS terminal. Visit the Lightspeed 3.1 full features page to see the amazing functionality of this point of sale software.

2. GBmobile Mobile Point of Sale: iPod Touch – I’m a sucker for a video demonstrating new technology that is functional and easy to use. That’s what happened when I happened upon this video looking through the weekly small retail news. The video showcases the use of an app called GBmobile on an iPhone with an adapter that reads credit cards. Watch as the person easily scans a barcode (also allows for manual price entry), swipes the credit card, processes the transaction and prints a POS receipt via a wireless printer…you’ll be amazed and it might even get the wheels turning for you to start looking into a mobile point of sale system for your small retail business.

3. Sluggish corporate ill-prepared for death of Win XP SP2 support – This announcement is a heads up to all small retailers that have point of sale terminals running Windows XP SP2. In today’s sluggish economy there may be many small businesses that can’t afford to upgrade the core software of their POS. Microsoft will discontinue support for the Security Upgrades that are required for this software by the end of the year. Read more about how this will affect your business if you’re running Windows XP.

4. Top ten people who influence American shoppers – The Retail Customer Experience is an excellent place to find the latest retail industry news and this week is no exception. This article lists the top ten people in the public eye including politics, entertainment and business, that influence what shoppers purchase in the United States.

“For the last two decades, Americans believed bigger was better—from the size of our houses to our cars to the amount of food on our dinner plates. But the economic recession, coupled with other factors like the green movement, is fundamentally changing American attitudes,” said Benett.

5. Share the Social Media Knowledge – We are not going to spoil this short but informative article by giving you a brief summary instead I will post one quote form the article that I know will get your attention:

“Its frustrating when you try to use a promotion from Twitter and the store associate asks, “what’s Twitter?””

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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.

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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.

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