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Specials on POS Systems

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One Step Retail Solutions is having its BIG Year-end Specials on POS Systems. Retailers can take advantage of getting a complete POS system (hardware, software, and pro services) and big savings.

Check out the Year-end Specials now!

Retail New Year Checklist

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Get the most from your retail technology systems in order to increase your survival potential. Use this retail checklist to gain a competitive advantage in 2010:

  • Ensure your retail technology equipment is PCI Compliant

  • Use reliable retail-hardened POS hardware to run your POS system

  • Add more POS stations to help prevent long check-out lines.

  • Upgrade your POS software to the latest version to better manage inventory, customers, and vendors

  • Get any customized programming that tailors your system to meet unique or specialized needs

  • Have an efficient reporting tool with your POS software to gain valuable insight into your business

  • Optimize merchandise distribution to increase sell-through and prevent markdowns

  • Ensure merchandising and finance are working together as an integrated system

  • Have reliable, up-to-date security systems set up (loss prevention systems) for both your hardware and store

  • Back up your files and POS system regularly (Retail Backup recommended)

  • Integrate credit card processing and gift cards with your POS system

  • Integrate your online store (e-Commerce) with your POS system using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

  • Keep Technical Support contracts in place to get the help you need to run smoothly

  • Review your Returns Policy to minimize returns fraud

Here are some tips for 2010:

  • Gather customer information at point of sale to use for targeted promotions

  • Track your customer purchases and review customer's history at POS to improve customer relations

  • Have a customer loyalty program in place

  • Hold periodic events at your store

  • Have contests with either employees and/or customers

  • Run reports regularly to gain insight that helps you manage your business better

  • Train your sales employees on basic customer service and find ways to reward them for this

  • Minimize return fraud using upgraded POS software and security systems

  • Expand your channels of retailing (videos, blogs, social networking, etc)

  • Do planned pricing to unload stock through scheduled markdowns

  • Offer classes to individualize your store

  • Use framed signage to show why your merchandise is unique

  • Provide a shopping experience that includes respect, honesty, and trust

Visit our website for informative articles, whitepapers, and retail industry eBook - all complimentary of One Step Retail Solutions: http://www.onestepretail.com/

Time for a New Retail Strategy

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Our latest retail industry article by retail expert Scott Kreisberg talks about an "inflection point", which occurs when an industry or segment faces lasting changes so large and significant that it calls for companies to adapt with a new strategy or ability to compete, or face what becomes an irreversible decline and failure.

Almost every company faces ongoing changes of one type or another in its
industry, and retail is no exception. However, various news and events of the
past year or two make me think that there are fundamental permanent changes
going on that will leave some retail chains behind if they are not on top of it.

I am not referencing the banking crisis or recession itself, which we will
eventually pull through after some period of time. Nor am I referring only to
some of the long-term trends we outlined in our report “Six Biggest Challenges
Facing Retailers Today”, which is available on our website.

Issues such as dealing with national chains and big box retailers have been
on the table for a while, and most smaller and mid-sized chains have figured out
how to successfully deal with that type of competition.

What I am referring to is the type of change called an ‘inflection point’
as defined by Andy Grove, the long-time CEO of Intel, in his book “Only The
Paranoid Survive.” This occurs when an industry or segment faces lasting changes
so large and significant that it calls for companies to adapt with a new
strategy or ability to compete, or face what becomes an irreversible decline and
failure.

Such an inflection point may bring even greater opportunity than before
for organizations who do figure out how to take advantage of it.

Read full article