POS Hardware

The first two features in this weeks roundup are announcements from two major point of sale hardware brands introducing their POS thermal printers. We are featuring both announcements due to the wide range of differences, one caters to high-volume point of sale applications and one is a new low cost solution. The third article this week is an interesting concept on how to deal with the popularity of mobile coupons without having to spend a fortune to upgrade your current POS system. Small retail branding is an important part of building customer relationships and it’s essential to competing with large retail establishments. Our fourth feature this week is a short article giving retailers a few tips on what not to do while building your brand. We saved the best for last…featuring a truly inspiring story of a brick and mortar small retailer that’s promoting American Made products.

1. Epson Announces Low-Cost Thermal Pos Printer – Epsom a trusted brand in electronics has announced the introduction of their low cost thermal point of sale printer. In today’s economy, low cost with quality is the key to a customers heart even a business customer. Epson boats

“ReadyPrint offers an ideal low-volume, cost-effective solution along with fast and easy integration and software included to speed application programming.”

2. Thermal Receipt Printer suits high-volume POS applications – Created for the hospitality and retail industry the RP-B10 direct thermal printer delivers exceptional performance for high volume POS applications. This effective point of sale hardware solution is manufactured by Seiko Industries, a globally recognized leader in thermal printing technology.

3. Cards Touted for Redeeming Mobile Coupons – If you’re a small retailer that did not see mobile coupons in your near future, read on. One idea being considered is for mobile coupons to be loaded onto one card that the customer uses at the point of sale to redeem their offer. This eliminates the need to upgrade POS systems and barcode scanners in order to accept mobile coupons.

4. What Does Your Brand Stand For? – When competing with big box retailers this is a question you should be asking yourself every day. What your small retail brand stands for influences numerous decisions a customer might make about your business. The authors goes into a few tips and steers you clear what what you shouldn’t be doing when trying to establish your brand.

5. ‘American-made’ is about quality, not cost – This article is about a small business owner that is a true patron of the United States. He has opened a store that sells only American Made products, right down to the items that are displayed throughout the store, everything is made in America. The prices may be a bit higher than the local WalMart but the words “Made in America” say it all.

Don’t let the short title fool you. This weeks roundup will include five featured POS and Retail News Articles of the week but they mesh into the same general categories. Everyone has been talking about the debut of the iPad but do you really know what that means for the future of small retail businesses? From what I read this week it’s forecasted to be a huge boost to small retailers particularly with the announcement of integration with the Square. The first two articles in the roundup with give you valuable background information on how the iPad may influence your small retail establishment. The third article in this weeks round up has some incredibly sound tips for which types of interactive digital media each small retail industry should be using. That leads us into the last two featured news stories this week which involve loyalty programs. One small business owner took the chance on a disloyalty program, you’ll be surprised at the attempt and the results he’s had. Then, a very informative article on what really works with loyalty programs form a consumer perspective.

1. Why I won’t be buying an iPad for now – Curiosity lead me to reading this article which involved the common sense aspect of waiting for a future release of the iPad before purchasing. As I read the article the author led into a bonus…why small retailers should be considering purchasing a later version of this product due to the benefits the new technology will bring to the retail industry. This leads into the next article about integrating the square and iPad for a full point of sale system.

2. Square Turns Your iPad Into A Cash Register – Jack Dorsey, Twitter Creator, has implemented his vision, the Square with Apple’s new iPad at Sightglass Coffee in San Francisco. The square will allow you to use your iPad as a total mobile, portable, POS station.

3. Building in-store interactive content that works – Great tips from the Retail Specialty Expert on which interactive content you need to be displaying in your store. The author, Troy Carroll, details various retail industries (entertainment, grocery, furniture, ect) with a few tips on what digital media works best with the customer base.

4. The Disloyalty Card – Again curiosity struck me and I had to read this article featured at the Insight Driven Retail. A small retail business owner thinking in reverse developed a disloyalty program for his customers that encouraged them to visit his competitors. I’m not telling you more of the story, you’ll have to read the article to learn his ingenious plan and how it worked.

5. Loyalty programs: what works, what doesn’t – That leads us to loyalty programs that do work. It’s defiantly proven that given the right customer loyalty program can retain and excel your customer base. Again some great tips provided by the Retail Specialty Expert that every small business owner needs to read. Grab a pencil and paper to revise or create your small retail loyalty program.

What 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.

Company: Star Micronics
Product: Star TSP700II
Price Range: $280 – $600
Where To Buy: POS World, All Things POS, IEPOS

Star TSP700II Receipt Printer Overview

Star Micronics TSP700II printer boasts the amazing printing speed of 48 receipts per minute. If you are looking for a great addition to your POS Software and would like to get your customers through the line fast than you need to consider this great point of sale receipt printer. The TSP700II has sharp graphics for great company logos or coupons to be printed directly on the receipt. This is a new design by Star Micronics that helps keep dust and other harmful elements out extending the life of the TSP 700II. This printer is ideal for high volume retail businesses and offers the best warranty in the point of sale hardware industry.
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Company Website: Radiant Systems
Product Website: P1550 All in One Workstation
Price Range: Not Available
Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP Pro, Windows XP Embedded

P1550 All in One Workstation Overview

The P1550 is Radiant’s most advanced premier all-in-one workstation. The 15″ LCD, touch screen, high-bright display gives you a 56% increase in surface area compared to the traditional 12″ LCD. The P1550 offers the latest Intel technology and has room for future expansion. This all in one workstation provides innovative cable management making the system more reliable and easy to install.
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Company Website: Radiant Systems
Product Website: P1220 All in One Workstation
Price Range: Not Available
Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP Pro, Windows XP Embedded, WEPOS, and Server 2003

P1220 All in One Workstation Overview

Radiant’s tradition of non-stop sales reliability continues with the affordable P1220 all in one workstation. It includes a 12.1″ high-bright touch screen and multiple storage options. The P1220 offers the latest Intel technology and a small footprint with flexible mounting options. This all in one workstation provides a low cost solution for retailers while still having the flexibility to be configured to meet your business requirements.
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