Going Mobile in the Retail Environment

Considerations for selecting a mobile POS solution

Retailers considering the investment in mobile point of service (POS) solutions should evaluate a number of considerations as part of their up-front planning and assessment process in order to ensure the best fit solution and optimal success of their projects. As with any IT-oriented project, both total cost of ownership and expected return on investment should guide the decision-making process. Beyond these, primary considerations include seamless integration with existing retail
systems, utilization of standard business processes, adherence to payment industry security standards, and implementation and maintenance of the solution inclusive of mobile POS hardware devices. A solution that incorporates each of these items will deliver the best return for retailers’ mobile point of service investments.

Faster resolution to customer queries

In days past, retailers were generally unaware of their customers until they arrived at the check-out counter. That meant generally 20-30 minutes of missed opportunity to understand and interact with the customer.Today, retailers focus on increasing their sales conversion rates and average tickets by getting their sales associates out from behind registers and having
them interact closely with customers during their shopping experience.

Mobile Point of Service

Infogain’s Mobile Point-of-Service (POS) solution offers a compelling mobile platform with
integrated peripherals. Mobile POS enables your store clerks to handle customer purchases
from any location in or near the store. The result: delighted customers and increased sales.
Mobile Point of Service is available to both existing and new Oracle Retail customers.

Functionality

Out of the box, the solution supports the Point of Service functionality appropriate for the
sales floor, including product look-up, basic CRM and line busting. The solution functionality
includes:

• Log-in and log-out
• Scanned or manual entry of items
• View item details
• Delete, cancel or suspend a transaction
• Credit card payment using swipe or manual entry
• Accept electronic signature on screen via finger/stylus
• Customer data acquisition
• Issue paperless receipt using Infogain’s eReceipt solution

Enable your customers to make purchases in real-time from their mobile phones

Infogain’s Mobile Point-of-Service (POS) solution offers a compelling mobile platform with integrated peripherals. Mobile POS enables your store clerks to handle customer purchases from any location in or near the store. The result: delighted customers and increased sales. Mobile Point of Service is available to both existing and new Oracle Retail customers.

Architecture
The Mobile POS solution is composed of a client application running on an iPod touch-based hardware platform connected to a Virtual Point of Service J2EE application that interfaces to a server based version of the Oracle Retail POS client. The solution also facilitates remote printing and use with Apple-based terminals

Summer 2010 Blockbuster: Mobile Point-Of-Sale | In This Issue | Mobile Enterprise Magazine

There are people who believe that cash and coins are obsolete -- someday, futurists claim, all money will be virtual. Some companies are already preparing for a transition by replacing retail cash registers with mobile devices.

Handhelds with credit card readers, running Microsoft Windows CE and often based on rugged devices from Intermec and Motorola, are described as mobile point-of-sale products and have been available for years. There are even Research In Motion BlackBerry options. But then the Apple iPhone came out, and that's changing the game.

Checkout devices built on iPhone or iPod Touch units are smaller, cheaper, and more adaptable than their Windows ancestors. Several small companies are joining this trend and they'll soon be followed by an 800-pound gorilla -- hello, Oracle.

Big or small, these companies deliver three major benefits to retailers. The technology differentiates the shopping experience, eliminates lines at checkout counters, and minimizes the chances of customers changing their minds.Read More