by info@pbsapos.com.au
23. March 2010 16:54
Touch screen technology is becoming part of our lives more and more each day. The growth of iphone usage and other touch screen phones has shown so many of use how nice they are to use. Microsoft is also committed to expanding the usage of touch screens with the changes to Windows 7 and a long term commitment which will see every home having a touch screen.
At the consumer level touch screens have also come down a lot in price. These lower cost touch screens are great for the office desk although they are not robust enough for the retail environment.
So what about point of sale and touch screens?
There is still a lot of variance in the point of sale market place. If you go in to the major supermarket stores you will defintately see touch screen point of sale systems. Thne at other retailers such as clothing stores and electrical stores you will not see as many touch screens. Why is this.
Well the touch screen brings a lot of advantages to high volume sales points and where there is fresh food and integration with scanner and scales. The commercial touch screen hardware is normally fanless and resistant ot moisture.
So where is a touch screen suitable and not suitable. A touch screen is perfect when there is a simple check out process. For example in the supermarket you scan or weigh the item and move on the the necxt item and then process the sale. However if the store sales process is more complex such as the need to adjust price, the need to access more detailed information on margins, stock availability and more then a touch screen point of sale system may not be as suitable.
So what is my advice when a touch screen point of sale system should be used?
- For a store with grocery items then I recommend the touch screen as it makes the sales process very simple for staff to implement.
- If you run a restaurant, cafe, pizza store or fast food outlet I also recommend a point of sale system. Just make sure if you do phone orders and deliveries that the point of sale software has a phone orders module.
- If you run a clothing store then it is a 50/50 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 fanless, having the terminal and touch screen as one unit and ensuring the touch screen is resistant to moisture.
Stay tuned for more information in features to look out for in a good touch screen point of sale system
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