POSWizard

Emerging technology is once again the focus in this weeks roundup. As a small retail business you need to embrace the new technology that is available in order to create a loyal young customer base. These new applications and ways to market your business are the future which will be the norm for future generations. This week we feature another new mobile point of sale application that can be used with an average POS and a customer’s mobile phone. Next, JcPenny is joining the mobile coupon realm from a different approach which may prove very profitable. We then touch on a different form of technology, websites. This is something that every small retail business should have in place to reach customers online in some way. Our fourth article is the reason why you as a small business owner need to be embracing and using these new technologies. Last we end the roundup with some tips for bookstore owners to compete with the new digital books on the iPad.

1. FaceCash: a simple, elegant mobile payment application – FaceCash is a new mobile POS application that can be run on a computer with an internet connection and barcode scanner. Payment processing is done through the FaceCash program for a fee lower than the traditional credit card networks. Users load their FaceCash account (much like PayPal) and they can use a barcode on their mobile phone to pay for their purchases.

2. J.C. Penney to launch mobile coupons – JcPenny is joining stores like Kroger, 7-Eleven and Tom Thumb in offering mobile coupons. They are testing a different 2D type barcode but it’s sure to prove effective considering the average paper coupon redemption rate is 1% and for mobile coupons it’s 15%-25%.

3. 8 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs A Website – This is a must read and study hard type of article posted at Noobpreneur.com. It’s advice meant to reach small business owners that still believe the internet will not improve their business. Grab a pen and paper, take notes and start implementing your start to reaching customers online.

4. Why Generation Y isn’t buying your products – If the article above did not convince you that you have to embrace technology I guarantee that this one will. This article is written from the perspective of a real 23 year old consumer. He reveals some very important insight into the mind of generation Y and how to better understand their buying habits plus how to market to them.

5. What the iPad means for booksellers – The announcement of the new iPad might have some bookstore owners a bit weary but don’t worry you have the overall true experience of read a good old fashion book. The iPad offers digital copies of books through a service called iBook that delivers a close to real experience as you can get with technology. These tips for bookstore owners will help you remind your customers of the true experience of reading a book like taking it to a sandy beach, reading in the tub and passing it along when you’re done.