Point-of-sale systems are more than just means of collecting payments from customers. In fact, these days, POS systems can help make every aspect of running a store more efficient. Here are three trends happening right now that are helping to fuel the growth of the POS industry, which can translate to better products for the owners of businesses of all sizes.

#1 – Increases in Big Data Analytics

Information drives everything these days, and the adage “knowledge is power” couldn’t be any truer. The more information you have, and the better you can analyze it, the better service you can provide to your customers – even between in-store interactions. One of the biggest trends in the POS industry is the collection and analysis of big data. Every customer interaction provides an opportunity, and it’s up to you to seize it.

For example, if a customer comes into your store to pay his or her bill, it’s possible for your POS to collect information about that customer, including his or her birthdate, email address, and/or mobile device number. Later, when you have a promotion that may suit that customer based on his or her current plan or device, you can send an automated email without having to sift through thousands of customer names.

#2 – More Focus on the In-Store Customer Experience

Until recently, most POS systems focused on providing customers with a seamless checkout process and driving new growth. However, these days, POS systems are becoming more geared toward providing an experience while the customer is actually in your store. For example, POS systems may provide your customers with a seamless research experience, sales-floor checkout, or the ability to pay for a product at home, then come to your store to pick it up.

If a customer researches a particular device through your store’s website, the POS system could remember that research and provide a seamless transition to a conversation with a sales associate. This even helps your employees; they can get to the crux of what each customer is interested in without having to probe. In return, the customer is provided with a faster, more personalized in-store experience, and that’s likely to drive repeat business.

#3 – Movement to Cloud-Based Technologies and Applications

Last, but most certainly not least, today’s POS systems are moving to the cloud at an exponential rate. This can benefit the providers of POS software and their customers alike for a few very simple, yet important reasons.

• • Scalability – When it comes to retail, it’s every store owner’s goal to grow and expand. Growth translates to sales, and sales translate to more income. When POS software and services move to the cloud, scalability and deployment become nearly instant. Adding additional checkouts, devices, or even retail locations becomes simpler than ever before.

• Future-proofing. If there’s one thing for certain in today’s high-tech day and age, it’s the fact that everything is always changing. Software continues to improve and become more efficient, lighter, and easier to use. With cloud-based technology, updates designed to improve software can be rolled out much simpler. This means that a store owner will no longer need to actively obtain updates or purchase new equipment; those updates will be deployed from the cloud, instead.

Point-of-sale technology, like all technologies, continues to improve. In the near future, retail store owners will see improvements in the way these systems collect and process data, a better focus on the customer’s experience in the store, and movement to the cloud, which helps to guarantee scalability and prepares the store for growth in the future.