5 Retail Point of Sale Strategies

With the arrival of a new POS software in your company, you will certainly be able to use its features to benefit from a variety of in-store strategies. These features can in fact allow you to develop different strategic combinations to achieve your business goals.

What strategies can you take advantage of using a point-of-sale in a business? Implementing a point-of-sale system in your business makes it possible to develop a variety of complementary strategies. Here are the 5 possible strategies that can be used with a retail point-of-sale system:

1. Sales Strategy
2. Inventory Management Strategy
3. Marketing Strategy
4. Employee Retention Strategy
5. Customer Relationship Management Strategy

 Depending on your choice of point-of-sale, different features will be offered to you, so it is important to consider them when developing strategies for your store. To learn more, read on!

1. Sales Strategies

A sales strategy is characterized by the means, whether marketing or sales, implemented by a company to achieve its time-based objectives.

Thanks to advanced reports produced by your point-of-sale system, you can analyze, elaborate, and evaluate your company data to fine-tune your goals and determine realistic indicators for your sales strategy.

When determining a sales strategy, it is often beneficial to first take a look at the outcomes achieved in previous years. Therefore, the reports offered by point-of-sale software become essential tools for your company. With these reports, you can easily compare the data collected during the previous year with the current year’s data.

Centralizing your data with the help of an omnichannel solution will generally save you time and money. On average, a network of stores manages to save 30 hours per month on product management with Alice POS for example (source).

Also, an efficient sales strategy will normally be reinforced by techniques such as cross-selling, promotions, or even customer loyalty cards. Cross-selling is characterized by the emphasis on products that are complementary to a purchase, such as a video game or a controller to accompany the purchase of a new game console. With this feature, your POS system can automatically offer different cross-sell products for each item, so your employee only has to offer the add-ons to increase the customer’s bill.

Promotions could be managed on a network-wide basis. Using your point-of-sale, you can determine the percentage or the value of money you want to reduce for each item. You can also apply this same principle for each customer, for example, Jack is entitled to a 10% discount on his purchases made in-store. You can then program this promotion directly in his customer file; you will save time since the next time the discount will be applied.

Finally, membership cards not only increase customer loyalty but also increase sales since loyalty discounts such as in-store credits or special promotions are likely to encourage them to spend more when they visit your store or online store.

2. Inventory Management Strategies

A good inventory management strategy is the key to increasing your sales. Fortunately, point-of-sale software such as Alice POS gives you access to several features that are critical to the success of your inventory management strategy.

An inventory management strategy is characterized, among other things, by the optimization of your company’s inventory. Again, using your point-of-sale, it will be easier for you to manage your merchandise optimally, thanks to real-time inventory monitoring. Real-time inventory tracking to detect some inventory management tricks such as :

•  Plan the maximum and minimum quantity according to demand for each item;
• Ensure proactive inventory tracking;
•  Optimize orders in terms of time and costs.

In fact, consolidating controls under a single system will allow you to have an overall view of your inventory and its position in your system. Stock counting is a method of inventory control that allows you to know the amount of merchandise at any given time. This type of control can also be done completely by hand, but Alice POS allows you to optimize your time thanks to its automated system.

The software also gives you the ability to take a full or partial stock count. With the help of a full stock count, you can process all your merchandise in a single session, while with a partial one, the system offers you the possibility of counting your inventory in groups of items over several small sessions.

3. Marketing Strategies

A marketing strategy will allow your company to aim at increasing your turnover by optimizing your offer according to market demand.    

With the help of a POS, you will be able to use various marketing strategies such as cross-selling. Thanks to this “impulse-buy” sales feature, it will be possible for your employees to offer additional items for sale encouraging the consumer to buy without overthinking. For example, in a hunting and fishing store, the customer who buys a fishing rod could be offered to buy a spool of fishing line or bait to complement their purchase; this principle allows you to implement your marketing strategy by increasing your spontaneous sales.

The same principle is applicable for the contact management feature which will allow you to personalize the profiles of your consumers and to better target their needs afterward. Thus, your customers will mainly be inclined to spend more and thus propel you towards achieving your marketing objective.

Point-of-sale software that allows you to use a loyalty program offers a marketing tool that is highly prized on the market. In fact, customer loyalty will probably allow you to acquire new sales and increase your retention rate more easily. For example, “a 5% customer loyalty can generate 25% additional profits”(source).

In fact, using the Como Sense platform integrated with the Alice POS, allows merchants to deliver an outstanding customer experience. Como provides businesses with in-depth access to their customer data, so stores can make the most of personalized customer management with Como Sense.

4. Employee Retention Strategies

Employee retention is a strategy that should not be overlooked. In fact, your employees have a key role in the success of your company. Their high turnover rate represents a difficult situation for companies, in Quebec for example “the turnover rate affects an average of 24.4% all sectors combined” (source). But point-of-sale software can help. 

Using your point-of-sale software, you will be able to monitor their performance in real-time via advanced reports that will give you access to the number of items sold per employee. This type of data is not only useful when you want to highlight those who stood out for their efficiency and speed but also to target those who need additional advice or training.

To have an efficient employee retention strategy, you as an employer must be able to provide additional and ongoing training for all. With this follow-up, it is, therefore, easier for you to stay up to date regarding their needs and their personal and professional development.

On the other hand, the facilitated communication between your employees and managers that your POS allows will help ensure harmony and consistency. The Notes feature allows employees to raise a question, a problem, or a solution more easily.

Also, the computerization of memos between employees and managers can allow your company to ensure the transparency of important information. Many companies still use post-it notes or loose sheets as their main means of communication. These methods will often generate risks of misinformation either by the clutter caused by a mountain of paper or by the loss of these notes through other documents.

5. Customer Relationship Management Strategies

A customer relationship management strategy consists in knowing, collecting, and analyzing your target market. Such a strategy allows you to establish a dialogue with your customers and to start building customer loyalty.

In particular, it is interesting to know that “64% of customers want to make purchases with companies that can meet their needs in real-time”(source). The importance of a customer relationship is therefore not to be overlooked.

One of the assets offered by POS software is the accessibility to advanced reports about your sales. Knowing which items sell the most and which ones sell the least is key information since when you know your customers’ consumption habits, it is easier to adapt and target them.

In fact, targeting and personalized sales are usually used in a customer relationship management strategy. Knowing your customers and targeting their needs will allow you to stand out for them. Customer satisfaction normally ensures a relationship that will last.

The right POS system provides an omnichannel solution that can harmonize and centralize your sales on all your channels. Consistency is an important aspect in building and maintaining an effective customer relationship.

Related Questions

Are all the features discussed in this article available with Alice POS?

All the features we have just discussed are available in my point of sale system and can help stores in achieving the five above-mentioned retail strategies. The majority of these features are included in the basic plan at $69/month for single stores and in the premium plan at $225/month for multi-stores. To learn more about pricing, contact one of our team members.

How long does it take to receive the data from the advanced reports?

The advanced reports are automatically updated in real-time in our system. Simply select the different reports you would like to see and view them. A report normally takes a few seconds to be generated and once it is ready it appears on your screen. To learn more about advanced reports, read Optimizing Operations with POS Data Analysis, or talk to our team here.