Month: December 2017

A point-of-sale (POS) system is a computer automated replacement for a cash register. Point of sale equipment plays a pivotal role in the management of a business’ day to day operations. The POS system can perform various functions such as record and track customer orders, process credit and debit cards, and manage inventory. These systems contains a computer, which consists of application-specific programs and I/O devices designed for particular work settings. POS systems can be found in most businesses that serve customers such as restaurants, hotels, entertainment establishments, and retail stores.

In recent years, the technological advancements in the equipment have significantly improved the business operations. Although remarkable improvements have been made in the area of inventory and sales, there are a number of other areas that have shown significant advancements.

Point of sale allows businesses to know their customers. Point of sales software lets the businesses track the most popular products through various customer profiles. Retailers can quickly determine what products they should market based on customers shopping preferences. They allow businesses to track their customers so that they can understand their needs properly. This will allow them to cater to their customer needs, and in doing so, will increase customer loyalty.

Retailers have the ability to implement special promotions or establish customer loyalty programs to encourage customers to purchase popular items. It lends them a better sense of who are their best customers and why they are buying, to focus more on their needs and to serve customers. It provide them the ability to test pricing concepts and new products better.

For the food industry, there are point of sale devices that will allow food orders to be sent directly to the kitchen. This cuts down on food service delivery time allowing more customers to be served at a faster rate.

POS helps businesses in reducing the amount of accounting errors. By eliminating double-entry bookkeeping and integrating credit-card transaction with a Retail Management System, data entry mistakes and correction re-entry is greatly reduced. This makes accounting much easier than before and eliminates the need to maintain paper copy accounting records. There will also be less accounting errors so bookkeeping will less stressful and more accurate.

POS allows businesses to reduce labor costs. Simplifying transaction and record keeping, and eliminating the need for separate point of sale terminals, businesses will have more time to focus on customer service. As well, businesses can keep track of peak selling periods so they can adjust employee schedules based on the time of day when the volume of traffic is high. With integrated barcode readers, label printers, and receipt printers, manual labor is drastically decreased.

In today’s hard-hitting economic circumstances, losing just one customer impacts negatively on a business. Point of sale equipments are developed to help a business operate more efficiently, increase sales volume, and improve the customer’s shopping experience. Saving time and money is a key factor when acquiring point of sale equipment.

Loyal and happy customers are the important ingredients for a successful business. Modern point of sale systems make a business more efficient. Point of Sale equipment not only allows businesses to make improvements with sales and inventory, but also in all other aspects of daily business operations. The overall affect is a successful and profitable business.

Retail store signage has been called the Silent Salesman and for good reason. Signs directly communicate with customers in efficient and direct ways to help sell your products, guide shoppers through your store, and promote special offers and discounts. Signs come in all shapes, sizes and colors to fit your stores dcor and your marketing message. For centuries merchants have been using signs to attract customers. In ancient Rome vendors would inscribe their stores name on the citys stone walls to attract customers. A practice that is not much different from todays signage except now if you carved your name into a wall youd be arrested for vandalism in most states!

Signs can be divided into two categories: indoor and outdoor. Both types of signs have their own particular uses. Indoor signs are used to help guide and enhance the customers shopping experience when they are in your store. Outdoor signs are used to get customers into your store: promote in-store events, specific products, services or sales that are going on inside. Outdoor banners are perfect for this kind of advertising. Banners are large and colorful and get the attention of cars and vehicle traffic as it passes by. Banners are great for promoting sales, grand openings, and services. Banners are easy to use and are reusable. Most come preinstalled with grommets and/or tie-downs so they can be easily attached to buildings, windows, walls or wherever attention is needed.

Freestanding sidewalk signs are another type of outdoor signage that is great for getting you message seen right were your potential customers are. Sidewalk signs come with changeable letters or have write-on/wipe off surfaces that can be changed along with your promotional schedule with just a simple wipe of a towel.

Indoor signs are used to help guide the customers shopping experience when they are in your store. Signs have a wide variety of uses, they can create a unique environment with colors and graphics, but they can also simply call out a price or an offer. One of the most common in-store signs is the point-of-purchase sign. Menu signs and boards are a great example of point of purchase signs as well as category signs in video and music stores. This type of sign helps the customer in the shopping process and creates a more comfortable environment.

Signs are a great investment that will change the way your store communicates with its customers. You could be selling the best widget in town and at the best price, but if you do not have an outdoor banner or sign telling everyone you have it, you wont even sell one widget. Even if you got your customers inside your store they would never find the widget if there are no point of purchase signs pointing them in the right direction and advertising your great price. That is why retail store signage is called the Silent Salesman because they communicate with customers in efficient and direct ways and never ask for a coffee break!

Shoplifting has become a common and serious problem for shop owners. Every month shopkeepers are deprived of thousands of dollars due to theft. To prevent these losses, businesses both small and large are massively employing CCTV cameras. According to a study, a CCTV camera is considered the most effective anti-shoplifting device. With a CCTV camera, shopkeepers can observe all the activities happening in their retail store from a fixed location. They can effectively notice the individuals behaving suspiciously and keep a tight check in areas that need more surveillance.

Various retail stores, malls, department stores are extensively employing these spy cameras to restrain criminal activities like shoplifting, employee thefts, armed robberies, violence and vandalism. You can also provide high-end security for the employees and customers and make your store safer and friendlier to shop and work. Retail store managers can constantly monitor all activities happening in the store with the help of CCTV cameras. It provides peace of mind by protecting the store from break-ins and thefts 24×7.

Areas to Install Spy Cameras in a Retail Store

Cash Counter: This is the most sensitive area where each customer who buys a product has to visit. Also since all cash transactions takes place here, criminals and robbers can attack this vulnerable area. Hence, it is most important to monitor consumers at and near cash counter especially during rush hours. In case of any incident, the recordings can be used for evidence and investigation.
Expensive products area: This is the most frequented place of shoplifters, especially if the products are small and easy to steal. Hence, you must surely install a hidden camera where expensive products are displayed to prevent shoplifting.
Store rooms: Installing cameras in store rooms will help you protect your inventory. You can monitor staff movement in the store room and will get clear evidence in case of theft. If employees know all their activities are being watched, they will not engage into activities like stealing and will focus on their work. This can further boost sales.
Entrance/Exit: You must install CCTV cameras and spy cameras on entrance/exit, stairs/elevator and walkways, etc. to keep an eye on the movement of traffic. If possible, you must also install cameras in parking lots. If some kind of stealing or robbery takes place, CCTV camera footage can be used for investigation and for identifying the suspect.
All over the store: Using CCTV cameras all over the retail store will also help you know about the coming danger in advance and help you take preventive measures to protect both customers and employees. If you find anything suspicious taking place in the store, you can immediately send the security to that area and take preventive measures.

You can also use CCTV cameras all over the retail store to help you conduct consumer research. By observing and watching customers, you can ascertain buying patterns and consumer behavior apart from important information, such as most popular products and sections. Using this information, you can improve your stores design and introduce consumer-focused strategies to enhance sales and overall business.

When buying a CCTV hidden camera or any other surveillance or spy camera, pay attention to size, image processing technology, picture clarity, housing, flexibility, and remote surveillance features. If you have a retail store without any surveillance system, install CCTV cameras in your retail store to keep constant check, prevent stealing, and crime investigation today!

As a collector or even if you are beginning collector of sport cards (baseball, football, basketball, etc), there are different options when buying and collecting cards. If you are an experienced collector you already know about hobby vs. retail cards and boxes. If you are new to collecting cards, you will soon find there are many differences between the two. Of course many collectors are many times trying to find that gem, autograph, jersey, or limited edition cards. So lets examine the different types and what the benefits and downfalls to both. So lets take a look and examine both types. Whether you are an experienced collector or a novice, hopefully at the conclusion of this article, you will pick up some tips, secrets, and knowledge of the two types.

First we will look at what many collectors view at the most popular types of cards; Hobby! Many collectors consider “Hobby” card to be the best. For the novice, “Hobby” boxes or packs are sold at hobby stores (local card store, online hobby shops, etc). Several benefits to buying hobby as well as some downfalls. But for the benefits lets take a look:

Hobby boxes or packs will generally always contain much more sports memorabilia (i.e, jerseys, autographs,) as well as limited edition cards like refractors, low number card or limited edition cards. Many collectors also like hobby cards because many times, in fact, more likely than not, the box or pack will guarantee memorabilia like jersey or autograph cards, or limited edition cards.

Almost all major manufacturers of cards, have both hobby and retail. However, like mentioned previously, hobby cards are many times preferred because of their collectible value and guaranteed sports memorabilia included. However this comes with a price!

The biggest downfall of hobby over retail is price. For instance, it is not unreasonable to find a “box or tin” of cards that has just one, that’s right, just one pack of cards for $400.00. Now that pack may have 6 cards, with 5 of them all guaranteed to have major sports memorabilia, autographs, jerseys, both, and usually cards limited or serial numbered to very low numbers (in other words only a limited number produced). In addition to the price is the massive amount of sports memorabilia that is many times produced in hobby packs/boxes. As we know in any market, the more of something produced, in this case memorabilia (jerseys, autographs, etc) will many times lower the value of the product.

So in conclusion of hobby boxes and packs; yes you can and will find major memorabilia, in fact some of the rarest types of and most expensive pulls have been from hobby packs. I recall a Babe Ruth with a piece of jersey shirt, piece of jersey pants, and piece of game used bat and a cut autograph, and was numbered 1/1 that sold for $88,000 a few years ago. But this will come with a price and probably a large one at that.

Now lets look at retail. As the name implies, retail boxes and packs are sold in retail stores (big box retailers). First and foremost, the price is much cheaper, however, you will not get the same guarantees, same memorabilia, autographs, etc. But that doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t find these items or a special gem card, just harder to find. So should you avoid retail? My answer is no!

Here are some examples of a few items I have picked up “retail”. First I found some boxes that were sealed and inside you received several packs of football cards (retail version) from different manufacturers. However in addition to these packs you were guaranteed to receive a BGS (Beckett Grading Services) graded card, who are one of top graders. I bought a few of these boxes for $9.95 each. Now to get a card graded at BGS you will spend around $30.00 (with grading, shipping, insurance) for one card! So I figured I would take my chance. The first box contained a BGS graded 9.0 mint Ted Ginn Jr. rookie card. Next box had a Joe Flacco rookie BGS 9 mint, and the final box had an Adrian Peterson rookie card BGS 9.5 Gem Mint! So I did pretty good for $30.00 total (what I would have spent on one card…). And these were BGS graded, not some fly by night grading company.

Also many times, retail boxes contain cards that can’t be found in hobby, like a special refractor only available in retail. For example, I was at one of the “big box retailers” and they were selling complete sets of Topps cards (like series 1 & 2) in a sealed box. However the different thing about some of these complete sets were that some of these sealed sets had a Mickey Mantle relic card containing a piece of a shirt or jersey. This card was located right on the front of the box in a special window. Now this particular set was made only for this particular big box retail store. The price was $49.95 and it came with both series sets (660 cards total I believe), however, in addition to the cards inside, the Mantle relic card had a book value of $39.00 for just that card. So I actually paid about $10.00 when you think about it. Of course I have always kept things like that sealed to preserve the integrity and value.

Holidays bring great cheer to the lives of many individuals and even the retail managers are cheering very loudly. Halloween is one of the best days of the year for a retail establishment to show great sales figures. Some managers are truly delighted when Halloween time rolls around because they truly enjoy stocking shelves with costumes and masks that are positively hideous.

Customers seem to like these kind of adornments during the Halloween season. The children might spend a lot of time looking through the costumes that were hung on a certain aisle of the store. No costume will be missed as the children converse their feelings about the selections they see and the retailer knows that the children will not leave the store until they have a full costume.

Retailers love the sales totals during Halloween time for many reasons. They know that parents need to buy a costume for every child they lives at home. The store manager will usually be very friendly to families with six or more children in the party because that family is going to make the sales totals of the store really skyrocket. Most managers might even offer these families a room where the costumes can be examined while worn.

The variety of face paints alone that are centered on Halloween will make Halloween sales start to climb. Many face paints are water-soluble though so the parents will feel more inclined to buy them and go on to finding costumes or anything else the child wants for this special night on the town. Some costumes come with face painting kits included and parents like this option because they can get their Halloween shopping finished much faster than usual.

The retailer took notice of which costumes were selling out first because they wanted to make sure these moneymakers were restocked as soon as possible. The retail sales for Halloween evolve from parents buying costumes, facial decorations and an abundant assortment of candies and novelties that do not cost too much. These Halloween items will be continually monitored by the manager to make sure that they are available when people come to buy them.

The sales total will be extremely high during Halloween if the retailer makes sure that customers know what hours the store will be open. Some parents need to replenish candies that they have run short on and while they are at the store, they will most likely want to select a few items to drink. All of these items focus on Halloween and the retailer simply loves retail sales total during this holiday.

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