Retail businesses are doing all they can to boost efficiency and margins, and using point of sale labelling technology solutions can help them to achieve this.
For businesses in the retail sector, these are tough times. Following the pandemic, the ongoing cost of living crisis is impacting the spending power of many people, and, along with rising costs such as rent and electricity, is making it imperative that businesses run as efficiently as possible..
This is why retails are looking to eliminate mistakes such as price labelling errors, which can chip away at margins and customer trust – and why they are increasingly turning point of sale (PoS) labelling technology.
As Simon Brennan, senior end user client manager at Brother UK, notes, recent research by the company found that human error, miscommunication and technology faults are resulting in incorrect price tags and shelf-edge tickets – 38% of retailers admit to mislabelling prices on products at least once a day, and 28% are doing so multiple times a week.
“Encouragingly, businesses are turning to specialist labelling technology to cut out these mistakes while taking advantage of a host of other benefits, from reporting tools to enhanced security controls,” he says. “Our study found that 74% of retailers are planning to invest in label printers over the next 12 months. That presents a great opportunity for resellers to consult on entire print infrastructure, from mobile label printers to multi-technology back-office label printers.
“This shows that there are significant opportunities for resellers to help retailers shore-up their shop floor operations with print technology.”
What customers want
There are plenty of opportunities for resellers in this sector, agrees Jay Kim, managing director at BIXOLON Europe GmbH, who adds that there are several criteria that customers have when looking for a PoS system. “Customers are typically looking at connectivity, performance, look, integration and price,” he says.
“With the need to keep up to date with the latest technology, retailers are turning away from only using Serial or Parallel connectivity for printers and moving to ethernet, USB, Bluetooth and WLAN for integration with tablets and other peripherals. As technology has always been central to buying decisions, many customers now build their hardware solutions around their software, whether this be a simple payment solution for an independent company or part of a more complex omnichannel ecosystem.”
When it comes to hardware customers are looking for speed and reliability in the printing hardware but also the performance of the cutter and print head, which leads to less maintenance and possible downtime, Jay adds.
“Sleek, compact designs are now becoming more popular,” he says. “As retailers look to streamline their cash desks, cube printers have increased in popularity with their compact features and front exit feed for either on-the-desk or under-desk integration.
“Ease of integration is also essential. With many customers looking to upgrade their systems, many look for hardware which they can essentially plug in and play. As time means money, retailers look for installs which take hours rather than days, to avoid costly downtime and loss of productivity.”
Of course, pricing is also a factor in buying decisions. But Jay cautions against looking to lower-priced models. “A lower price doesn’t always provide quality and typically when you buy cheap, you buy more,” he says. “With industry-leading manufacturers offering two-year warranties as standard, reputable printing products often provide higher reliability which can be complemented with manufacturer warranty extensions.”
Ones to watch
Jay adds that while there are many types of solutions on the market, he feels that mPOS, Mobility and Kiosk are the ones to watch.
“The days of traditional bulky PoS setups are dead, mPOS solutions are now taking centre stage as more compact, cost-effective solutions,” he says. “These interchangeable setups typically consist of a tablet, printer, card reader, scanner, customer display and cash drawer, which are commonly bundled together by resellers with additional EPOS software. These interchangeable solutions provide a cost-effective solution that can be upgraded as your POS estate evolves. But these types of solutions now require more intelligent printers, which can seamlessly connect to the host tablet device while supporting a charging port and up to four USB peripherals. This solution is a great way to use existing peripherals that are operated through the printer as it communicates to the tablet device via Bluetooth.”
Meanwhile for busy seasonal retail periods and pop-up stores, the need for accessible printing is becoming more popular and mobile printers are an ideal solution as they easily connect to a smart device and can print receipts or labels. “As batteries continue to improve, many printers can now be used for a complete shift and recharged outside of opening hours,” says Jay.
Fuelled by the pandemic, kiosk systems are also becoming increasingly popular, Jay adds. “These self-service solutions typically come with two types of printers, either a packaged printer or a kiosk mechanism, which are chosen based on the kiosk design and user requirements. Typically, stand-alone unmanned solutions are fitted with kiosk printing mechanisms that use a presenter, allowing for larger paper rolls to be used, which require fewer changes and thus less maintenance.”
Data and security
But these machines are not just about physically printing labels, customers are also looking to the data they can produce, which can provide valuable insights such as buying patterns or peak time periods, enabling retailers to forecast activity and plan.
“Retailers need to know what inventory is being sold and when to restock,” says Jay. “Smaller companies can keep a written tally; however, larger companies link their electronic point of sale systems (EPOS) with their enterprise resource planning to allow a seamless reordering of supplies, which can be crucial when used in conjunction with a more sophisticated just-in-time stock control method.”
Of course, security is also an important consideration, and this is also covered in PoS printers. “With reporting done through the cash register, fiscalisation is always done through software,” says Jay. “However, measures can be put in place which cover both software and the PoS hardware.”
Pointing the way
With demand for PoS printers growing among retail businesses, this is an area that can provide solid sales opportunities for resellers. For those looking to break into the market, Jay says the key is to research and create bundles of high-quality products to fit the chosen target market.
“With many EPOS software options available on the market today, these can easily be bundled with hardware to make a complete PoS solution,” he says. “As the global PoS distribution channel has evolved, larger distributors with e-commerce sites give the option to ship hardware directly to end users reducing the need for warehousing to hold inventory. This process also speeds up delivery times from weeks to days.”
Liam La Cumbre, general manager for UK & Ireland at Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, adds that knowledge is key for resellers. “Each business is unique, and so is its approach to market,” he says. “To get into this market and succeed, resellers need strong technical knowledge, excellent customer service skills, strong partnerships, marketing and sales expertise, and a commitment to continuous learning. By focusing on these key areas, resellers can provide value to their customers, build long-term relationships and establish a profitable and successful business in the PoS market.
“PoS systems are used in a wide range of industries including retail, hospitality, healthcare, education and entertainment, presenting plenty of opportunity to provide solutions in new markets.”
He adds that the user experience is key, whether it involves retailer personnel at the sales counter or a consumer using a self-scanning station, the check-out journey must be a pleasant one. “An excellent POS solution is simple to use, intuitive, accurate and reliable.”
Sustained growth
Retail – along with other markets – are set for sustained growth, Liam adds. “We don’t see any signs of PoS print requirements declining,” he says. “Many of the legacy infrastructures we see require printed receipts or coupons, and with a shifting landscape in brand loyalty, retailers are creating transactional messaging to increase acquisition, purchase frequency, average order value and retention.”
Brother’s Simon Brennan adds that opportunities are also being created through increasing digitalisation in retail businesses and demand for specialist solutions. “Innovation in retail printing is also driving demand for specialist in-store print tech,” he says. “Brother recently launched a partnership with technology reseller and software developer BarcodeGenie, which makes its LabelGenie cloud-based in-store labelling solution compatible with our range of devices for retail.
“This enables price labels to be digitally issued for use in multiple stores and offers reporting tools that allow managers to build accountability. This can minimise labelling errors from the get-go, but also avoid miscommunication and increase visibility of price changes and discounts between stores. Managers can also restrict access to specific users to enhance security.
“Digitisation and greater demand for visibility and reporting over retail operations will continue to create opportunities for print resellers. It’s important that they work alongside a vendor with longstanding experience in the sector to help truly meet retail customers’ evolving requirements.”