Is it Time to Update Your Legacy Systems?

Your long-standing point-of-sale software supported your business through thick and thin. While it was there for your business when you needed it most, legacy software just can’t keep up anymore with the fast-paced changes that are influencing the wireless industry every day. 

Wireless retail is complicated, and in times of uncertainty it’s even more complex. Now more than ever, your system needs to streamline operations and connect your systems, not slow you down.

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but a crisis can reveal the danger of not modernizing. And while making the move to a newer, more agile retail software can seem like a major step into the unknown, it’s crucial now, more than ever, to establish a path for scaling up. So, before you take the leap of faith, ask yourself these questions.

Are you omnichannel-ready?

Legacy systems, while useful in their own ways, are usually finite technologies. What does this mean? As new processes, innovations, and methodologies are introduced to the market and create efficiencies in the industry, a legacy system isn’t able to adapt.

Research by PwC, Total Retail 2017, found these capabilities were important to consumers: 

• 68% —the ability to check stock quickly at another store; 
• 59% —real-time, personalized offers; and 
• 59% —the ability to see/​order an extended range of products on a screen in-store. 

That requires tight integration of a retailer’s entire IT infrastructure, particularly the ability to access real-time inventory and move orders across channels.

Beyond the increased network capacity, effective retail software can enable omnichannel across multiple points of purchase at all your storefronts. This means that your customers get your full retail experience with a smooth process at every single touchpoint.

Is your legacy system using cloud?

If not, you should be!

Cloud-based retail solutions provide added assurance that data, insights, and information are stored safely. Not only that, but they’re accessible from multiple entry points. With the appropriate security permissions in place, locations can access company-wide data that assist them in selling (think inventory visibility) while corporate retailers can dig into employee data for one dealer without needing to be in-store.

And talk about add-ons! Cloud platforms are synonymous with integration. APIs act as connecting pieces that can turn a retail point-of-sale into a full-suite management platform. Whether you’d like to add extended drop ship fulfillment, vendor managed inventory, employee management, or other important additives to your offering, a cloud-based POS can make it happen.

With a robust platform, your customers receive a next-level, cross-channel experience. Not only that, but you’re able to access a 360-degree view of your consumer through elevated insights and analytics powered by a greater bank of data.

Are you transacting smoothly?

Admittedly,payments aren’t the flashiest part of the retail operation, but they’re essential to succeeding in the industry.

Wireless customers spend a lot of time with your business, whether researching their new device (online or in-store), upgrading wireless hardware to get the latest model, or changing rate plans. It can be a long purchase process, so it’s crucial to minimize wait times and increase efficiencies, and the payment and transaction process is a great start.

It’s very likely that some in-store interactions can be exponentially laggy if the right tools aren’t in use. Unfortunately, your legacy POS terminals face considerable difficulty accommodating these new payment trends: 

• EMV Compliance: This not only shifts liability for a breach to the retailer, but banks often charge higher interchange fees due to the increased risk. 
• Mobile Payment: Older POS systems cannot accept the newer payment methods consumers increasingly expect, such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and other mobile wallet payments. According to eMarketer, U.S. mobile payment user penetration will rise to 25% by 2021.

Both EMV and mobile payments cut the process down, closing the sale and having customers out the door much faster than previous payment methods. 

And while it may not feel like a lot of time to you, your customers notice, trust us. 

When payments are quick and painless, they go unnoticed by the customer. But when they’re slow and friction-filled, they become the focal point and the only thing the customer will remember about their time in your store. A new point-of-sale that can easily adopt these new payment trends, and any future developments that would better the process even further.

Thinking about updating your retail POS?

Whether you’re considering a switch on your own terms or a corporate mandate is making software adjustments for your store, leaving your legacy POS behind is the right move. RQ is an integration-enabled, omnichannel-ready point of sale built for the wireless industry. See what it can do for you.