The retail industry has experienced a massive shift throughout the course of last year, forcing many retailers to re-evaluate traditional business methods. In order to keep up with your competitors, your business needs to adapt to the ever-changing demands, including adopting new technology such as a modern POS system.
The best point of sale solution should offer you various feature-rich capabilities to boost sales at your thrift store. But how do you choose the best solution? Here are four critical features the best POS systems for thrift stores should provide your business.
Production Support
Having an effective production process is crucial for a successful thrift shop. The right POS technology can solve current pain points you may currently experience, like manual quality segmentation or manual discounting. These tasks can take days to complete if done manually; that’s why it’s imperative for you to automate processes where possible.
Investing in high-quality POS solutions for your thrift store will help you throughout the entire production process. With production support from your POS, you can automatically track products tagged and assign value based on quality pricing segmentation. Your POS can also self-regulate a color discounting schedule to free up time and save money.
The best POS system for thrift stores should offer your business ample production support, as it will automate tasks that done manually, take up the majority of your time.
Advanced Reporting
If you think reporting is only for tracking sales, think again. Sure, your point of sale should track the standard store needs like voids and returns; however, superior POS solutions should offer your thrift store much more than sales insights. With in-depth reporting, you can gain unparalleled insights into your customer base. By understanding what their preferences are, you can learn how to appeal to their needs in the future.
Reporting can also support the operational side of your thrift store. For example, your POS can tell you exactly how many items you have in production with the right POS system, whether they’re in the stockroom or out on the floor. It can even tell you how long each item spent in each discounting segment before it’s sold or turned into credentials.
Don’t underestimate the power of reporting for your thrift store; with these insights, you can change what isn’t working for your business and implement changes automatically all within one system. The best POS system for your thrift store should grow as your business grows.
eCommerce Integration
Good news for thrift stores: the pandemic has actually grown your industry. In fact, the online second-hand market is predicted to grow 69% between 2019 and 2021 while the broader retail sector is expected to shrink by 15%. It has never been more critical for your business to capitalize on the surge of eCommerce, especially for second-hand items.
You will always have loyal, in-person shoppers that will stick to their regular habits; however, to appeal to a broader market, the key is to integrate your point-of-sale solution to an eCommerce platform. Unlike with brick-and-mortar stores alone, an eCommerce platform allows you to be open 24/7. By not having to close your online store doors, you can maximize your revenue.
Getting an eCommerce store up and running doesn’t have to be difficult. When you partner with the right POS system provider, they simplify the process for you. Superior software will have an eCommerce functionality that easily connects to the backend of your business. It will also feed all the data from your system and instantly upload it to your online site to make your online store set-up painless.
When you choose a POS with eCommerce integration, you will expand your customer reach outside of the primary market of your store’s location. With a positive online shopping experience, you will attract dedicated, loyal customers in no time.
Progressive Payments
Whoever said cash is king didn’t make it to 2021. Payments have significantly advanced in the last few years, meaning you’ll want to partner with a provider who keeps up with the changing times. Your point-of-sale solution should easily take multiple forms of payments to meet the needs of all of your customers. New payment technology also promotes health and safety by limiting direct contact.
For example, credit cards have been rolling out a card tap feature, allowing customers to “tap” their EMV card on the terminal without signing. This option allows guests to feel safe when paying without another person taking their card in order to swipe manually.
Digital payments from mobile wallets such as Google Wallet, and other versions store card information in an app that allows customers to make payments from their phone. This simplifies the payment process significantly, especially when it comes to off-premises events or sidewalk sales. With more credit card and digital payment options for customers, you can beat line-busting problems quickly while gathering real-time data with ease.
Osprey Retail has decades of experience working with thrift store operators to scale businesses using their POS solution. The best POS system for thrift stores should offer you unmatched insights and streamline your operations so that you can boost business—online and offline. Contact our team to request a demo.
