Why people can’t get enough of touchscreens and touch screen point of sale systems (POS)
Touchscreen hardware is part of our lives more at a growing rate. The growth of iphone usage and other touch screen phones has displayed to so many of us how lovely they are to have. Microsoft is also committed to increasing the usage of touchscreens with the changes to Windows and a long term commitment which will see every home having a touch screen.
At the level of the consumer touch screens have also dropped in price. These lower costs touch screens are great for the office desk although they are not robust enough for the commercial environment. Your children will love them especially if you have various education software, as it is so much more interactive and exciting to touch the screen compared to clicking it with a boring mouse!
So what about POS?
There is still a lot of variance in the point of sale market place. If you go in to some of themajor grocery stores you will see touch screen point of sale systems. Then at other retailers such as computer stores and electrical stores you will not see as many touch screens.
Well the touchscreen brings a lot of pluses to volume sales points and where there is fresh produce and integration with scanner and scales. You will also find them in a lot of other food environments such as cafes, restaurants. They are quick and the screen deals much better with “sticky fingers” compared to your traditional mouse and keyboard. A good retail ready unit is normally resistant to moisture and fan-less.
So where is a touchscreen suitable and not suitable. grocery store you scan or weigh the item and move on to the next product and then process the sale. If the store sales process is more complex such as the need to change price, the requirement to access more detailed information on price, margins,, customer accounts etc. then a touch screen point of sale system may not be as suitable. For example in your retail electronics and computer stores there is a lot more to the sales process. People bargain for the best price requiring adjustments to price and rules on margin levels, customer may have accounts. At the end of the day a lot more happens at the point of salePOS which requires data and more complex interaction with the POS system.
So what is my advice when a touch screen point of sale system should be used?
{For a store with grocery items|For a supermarket operation then I recommend the touchscreen as it ensures the sales process is very easy for employees to use.
- If you operate a restaurant, cafe, pizza store or fast food outlet. I also advise a touch point of sale system.
- For a furniture store then I would also say save money and use a normal POS system without a touchscreen.
- If you operate a retailclothing store then it is a difficult choice. If you like the simplicity of the touch screen then go for it, it you feel you have a more complex checkout then stay with normal hardware.
Finally in regards to hardware make sure you go for commercial grade touch screen hardware which includes being fan-less, having the terminal and touch screen as one unit and ensuring the touch screen is resistant to moisture.. You will find a lot of variance in the price dependant on the brand and the warranty.
When it comes to hardware what do I need to think about. Well the choice comes down to budget, brand names and warranty. You pay more for brands like IBM and NCR which have been around for a long time and include a 12 months onsite warranty. Can you do without your touch screen if something goes wrong?
Now in finishing I encourage you to ask the right questions and to consider if your business should consider implement a new touch system. Stay tuned for more updated information including questions on stock control software
Tags: point of sale, pos, stock control software, touch screen, touch screen point of sale, touch screen pos, touchscreen, touchscreen point of sale, touchscreen pos
