For retailers, Christmas can be one of the most important trading periods of the year. More customers, higher transaction volumes, increased promotions and greater pressure on stock can all put additional demands on stores and retail systems.
The question is: is your EPOS system ready?
Preparing for Christmas isn’t just about making sure the tills are switched on. Your EPOS should give your teams the information and tools they need to keep customers moving, stock under control and the wider business informed.
Here are seven areas worth checking now.
- Can your EPOS handle increased demand?
During busy periods, speed matters. Long queues and slow transactions can quickly affect the customer experience.
Review your current checkout processes, payment integrations and hardware to make sure your EPOS can cope with increased activity. A reliable system should make it easier for staff to serve customers quickly and accurately.
- Is your stock information accurate?
Christmas demand can make stock management particularly challenging. Having accurate, real-time stock information can help retailers understand what is available, where it is located and when replenishment may be required.
Modern retail systems can connect sales and inventory information, helping businesses maintain greater visibility across stores and other sales channels.
- Are your promotions easy to manage?
Christmas often brings discounts, multibuys, seasonal offers and promotional pricing.
Your EPOS should make these straightforward to manage and ensure that the correct prices reach stores. Centralised pricing and promotion management can also help reduce the risk of inconsistencies between locations.
- Can you see what’s happening across the business?
During a busy trading period, retailers need more than sales figures at the end of the day.
Real-time reporting can provide visibility of sales, stock and customer activity, helping management teams identify trends and respond more quickly.
For multi-store retailers, having information available centrally can be particularly valuable when comparing performance across different locations.
- Are your payments ready?
Customers expect payments to be quick and straightforward, particularly when queues are forming.
Review your payment integrations and make sure your teams understand the processes for refunds, cancellations and other common transactions before the Christmas rush begins.
- Can your store teams work efficiently?
A good EPOS system should support the people using it rather than create additional work.
Consider whether staff can easily complete tasks such as stock checks, goods receiving, transfers, returns and click & collect fulfilment. Connected store operations can help reduce manual processes and give teams more time to focus on customers.
- Don’t wait until December to find a problem
Perhaps the most important point is simple: test everything now.
If your retailer is experiencing slow processes, limited stock visibility, manual reporting or difficulties managing multiple locations, Christmas is unlikely to make those problems disappear.
Instead, the additional pressure can make existing weaknesses much more noticeable.
Preparing for a stronger Christmas
The best time to review your retail systems is before the busiest trading weeks arrive.
For some retailers, that may mean upgrading their existing EPOS. For others, it could mean adding technology that works alongside their current system or considering a wider retail management solution.
At Retail Computer Solutions (RCS), Streetwise connects EPOS with areas including stock, purchasing, warehouse operations, online sales and head-office management. It is designed to support retailers from independent businesses through to complex multi-store operations.
The Christmas rush will come. The question is whether your systems will be ready for it.
