The number of retailers interested in moving their business to the cloud is constantly growing. Following the trend, point of sale (POS) systems are becoming cloud-based too. Compared with traditional hardwired POS systems, cloud-based ones come with various benefits, including the following:
- 24/7 access to managing business on the go;
- easy inventory management that includes keeping track of the inventory and arranging goods by type, class, description, and other attributes;
- no upfront charges or yearly upkeep fees since the SaaS model does not require physical data storage;
- advanced integrations with accounting software, payments, gift cards, rewards, loyalty programs, and other add-ons.
The Combination of In-Store and Online Retailing
In the world we are living today, running a brick-n-mortar store only is no longer enough. That is why more and more business owners extend their real-life businesses to online, in the forms of web stores and marketplace listings. Running such a multichannel business effectively can be a real pain in terms of managing sales and inventory, so cloud-based POS systems that streamline channels into one application are becoming a solution that sellers love.
- Smart Inventory Management
Centralized inventory management helps businesses save money and focus on getting products to customers in the most efficient way possible. No stock information mishaps, data updated real-time.
- Web-Based Back Office
The web-based back office provides access to the complete management system from anywhere on any device. Thus, the retailers gain the total control of their business.
- Efficient Customer Management
Another benefit of cloud-based POS systems is easy collecting of consumer data like email addresses and phone numbers. This information is crucial for launching effective targeted email campaigns and winning customer loyalty.
- Competent Warehouse Management
Speaking about warehouse management, many retailers face either of the two challenges: there is too much stock taking up warehouse space, or there are out-of-stock issues. Hence, one more advantage of POS systems is that it is possible to have inventory moving at a moderate tempo without overburdening the warehouse.
POS Integration Issues
To make progress in today’s highly competitive world, it is crucial for businesses to devise an effective omnichannel strategy. The retailers who use all available tools and make them work together as one will gain brand awareness. However, it is not an easy task, and the most considerable challenge that retailers face is handling the integrations of multiple points of sale.
Shopify Point of Sale Integration
Shopify is a leader among the e-commerce platforms trusted by more than 275,000 e-businesses worldwide, which makes it attractive to integrate with for different software vendors, including those providing POS applications.
Apart from a wider circle of potential clients, Shopify point of sale integration brings benefits like the following:
- data synchronization between e-commerce and brick-n-mortar stores;
- real-time inventory and order updates;
- multi-channel marketing;
- improved customer experience achieved by offering the “buy online - pickup in-store” option.
Fighting Off the POS Integration Challenges
Although the need for the connection with marketplaces and shopping carts is vital for business, the process of integration itself is not straightforward and smooth at all. In fact, establishing such connection is a lengthy and complicated procedure that might cost POS vendors a fortune. To give numbers, expect that integration with a shopping cart will take from 4 to 12 weeks and cost from $60 or £50 per hour.
Luckily, it is possible to fight off these integration challenges with the help of API2Cart, a unified e-Commerce API integration solution. The significant advantage of the solution is that it allows to data interact with numerous shopping carts through one integration. Also, when new versions of platforms appear, API2Cart adds them, so you don’t have to monitor for changes and develop support for them.
API2Cart is like a single key to multiple doors allowing you to integrate your application with 40+ most widely used shopping carts, including Shopify.
Shopping Platform Integration for POS Software
Explore how to develop the integration between your point-of-sale system and multiple shopping cart solutions easily.
You can try how POS integration with Shopify and other shopping platforms would work for your business. In case you have any questions to ask, feel free to contact us.
